Concerns about COVID-19 cause genealogical societies to cancel or postpone activities and events

Within 24 hours of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic last Wednesday and federal, provincial and state governments issuing directives, genealogical societies in Canada and the United States started announcing they had closed their libraries and cancelled or postponed meetings, open houses, and conferences for at least the next four to six weeks.

Nanimo Family History Society workshop postponed
The Nanaimo Family History Society in British Columbia has postponed its all-day workshop, scheduled for March 28, “until a later date due to ongoing health concerns.”

Saskatchewan Genealogical Society’s conference postponed
The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society’s biannual conference, this year in Prince Albert, April 17 to 19, has been postponed. Refunds are being issued to registrants. The theme was 2020 Vision: Seeking Ancestors Using DNA and Digital Tools. A new date has not yet been announced.

Gene-O-Rama cancelled in Ottawa
The Ottawa Branch of Ontario Ancestors is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and had planned to hold a special Gene-O-Rama on April 3 and 4, with well-known speakers from Canada and Thomas MacEntee from the United States. The event was to be held in a school, but schools in Ontario are closed until April 5, and all people travelling to Canada from another country are encouraged to self-isolate.

Adding the location of the event and a speaker coming from outside the country to all the other pandemic issues, they were left with no choice but to cancel.

Mike Moore, past chair of the Ottawa Branch issued this statement yesterday on social media:

It is with great reluctance during our 50th anniversary celebrations that Ottawa Branch must cancel Gene-O-Rama 2020 due to the escalating concerns over COVID-19. We have been unable to find an alternate facility that meets our needs for a date later in the year, so reluctantly cancelled the event. All payments will be refunded. … We hope to see you at Gene-O-Rama 2021 in the spring of next year.

Ontario Ancestors suspends all in-person activities
The Ottawa Branch’s statement was released less than 24 hours after the Ontario Ancestors board directed its branches to suspend all in-person events, volunteer work, and research groups until April 5.

Ontario Ancestors conference
As for the largest genealogical event in Canada, hosted by Ontario Ancestors from June 5 to 7 in Hamilton, the organization is still waiting to see how the situation progresses and weighing the pros and cons.

What the society has done is communicate its concerns and its intent to keep everyone informed. They have also extended the early-bird registration deadline to April 30.

Ontario Ancestors added a COVID-19 page to the conference website with the following statement:

At Ontario Ancestors the health and safety of our members, Conference attendees, vendors, exhibitors and employees are our priority and will guide our decisions.

We are closely monitoring health and safety concerns regarding COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus). We are in close contact with the Hamilton Convention Centre officials and with them we are closely monitoring the Federal, Ontario and Local health authorities advisory statements and guidelines.

However, given that our 2020 Ontario Ancestors Conference and Family History Show scheduled for June 5-7, 2020 in Hamilton is almost three months away, we have not cancelled the event at this time. 

If circumstances closer to the event date require a change in the event status, all registrants, speakers, exhibitors and vendors will be immediately notified, and all information will be posted here on the conference website.

In the event the Conference is cancelled, all registration fees will be refunded. In addition, if there are any changes to event schedules, we will provide information about options that may be available and/or other specific details.

We will work with our Conference and hotel venues to check that they maintain appropriate sanitary, health, and safety measures and we encourage attendees to follow guidelines recommended by the relevant Canadian health authorities and the World Health Organization.

Our cancellation policy remains in place for your benefit at this time. Please check back here frequently for any updates on the event, including any cancellation policy changes.

Monthly meetings
With very few exceptions, genealogical societies have cancelled monthly meetings scheduled for the next few weeks.

As example, the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, whose monthly meetings often attract between 150 and 175 people, cancelled yesterday’s meeting.

Their annual conference is scheduled for September 25 to 27, so they are likely closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic.

FamilySearch centres
As for all the FamilySearch centres and libraries, David E. Rencher, director of the Family History Library, released the following statement:

Out of concern for the health and safety of our guests, volunteers, and staff, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City will temporarily close starting at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 13, 2020 until further notice. This closure is to support preventive efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.

Regional FamilySearch centers and libraries have been asked to consider the direction of their local and government leaders, and then make informed decisions about temporary closures. If you plan to visit a FamilySearch center soon, please call ahead to ensure it is open at the regular times. 

RootsTech London postponed
Perhaps the biggest surprise among all was the news that RootsTech 2020 in London, scheduled for early November, has been postponed until the fall of 2021. In its announcement, FamilySearch International said, “The health and safety of all RootsTech London attendees, exhibitors, and speakers is the highest priority of FamilySearch International.”  

American genealogical events
Dick Eastman is maintaining a list of cancelled and postponed genealogical events in the US, along with a few in the UK.

In-person meetings going online
In some cases, societies are moving temporarily to an online format for their meetings and events.

The Toronto Branch of Ontario Ancestors has decided to go ahead with its March 23 meeting, including the presentation by Jane MacNamara on Records of Migration and Settlement at the Archives of Ontario — but it will be held online, rather than in person. You must be a branch member to watch.

For the New Zealand conference, DNA Discovery 2020, speakers Blaine Bettinger and Angie Bush will now deliver their presentations online, instead of in a classroom. Presentations will be delivered March 21 to 22 and March 27 to 28. Registration is NZ$120.

Write it down
Since we won’t be able to attend a genealogical event in the very near future, this may be the time to start a diary or write our memoir. Wouldn’t it be great if one of our ancestors had written about their experience during the Spanish Flu, and we had a copy?

Perhaps this meme will inspire you.