Prepare thoroughly with focused questions and respect for sensitive topics. Engaging elders and others who hold unique insights can provide authentic details about family history, traditions, migrations, occupations, and significant events, forming a solid foundation for your genealogical journey.
You can gather valuable information from your family members and relatives if you’re well-prepared and know what questions to ask. Insights from your nuclear and extended family about your history and lore can take a long way in your genealogy research.
Irish genealogists recommend talking to relatives about your family history before hiring a professional researcher. This is among the first and most important steps you should take in your genealogy research, and it will save you time, money, and energy.
This guide takes you through the process of gathering information from your family members, unlocking authenticity and a robust foundation for your genealogy research.
Read – How Can DNA Testing Help In Irish Genealogy Research?
Preparing for Family Interviews
The first step in gathering information from your family members is understanding your family dynamics. At least grasp the names and crucial dates of your nuclear family and, if possible, the extended family. The further you explore, the more you will discover gaps and patterns forming the questions you need to ask relatives.
Family artifacts, old photos, certificates, familiar or peculiar names, and physical traits may form a perfect basis for your line of questioning to understand your heritage better.
Identify Key Family members
Once you’re set to seek further information from family members, list down several who you believe have insights or firsthand knowledge rare to others. Grandparents, great-uncles, aunts, and other elderly relatives may fall into this category and should be your go-to people for family folklore.
Create a research calendar and allocate substantial time for every crucial lead you identify. The most important aspect here is to remain focused and let them know your intentions with the information. It’s also advisable to establish a comfortable setting for your interviewee, such as places they’re familiar with or that can evoke memories and put them at ease.
Besides a comfortable setting, your conversation with the interviewee should be relaxed and respectful, a critical aspect if you’re planning to touch on sensitive matters such as mental illness, divorce, adoption, abuse, crime, and illegitimacy.
Since most of your interviewees are likely to be your elders, avoid questions or framing them in a way that seems disrespectful or invades their boundaries. That is not to say that you should avoid, hide, or deny issues in your family that may be uncomfortable. All you must avoid is anything that may lead to conflict or embarrassment.
It’s wise to first understand the context and circumstances surrounding a sensitive issue to find the best way to raise it. If you must ask, be empathetic and consider any feelings the question may evoke in the interviewee. Similarly, be ready to offer compassion and support if a need arises.
Essential Interview Questions
Some crucial information you can gather from your family members for genealogy research include names, dates, places, family background, ancestral land, customs, significant events, and the general life of your ancestors. Below is a breakdown of some open-ended questions you can include in your questionnaire to enrich your genealogy research.
Personal Information
Seeking personal information focuses on individuals and tracks every available information about them. Some of the questions you may ask include;
- What was my great-great grandparent’s name, and what was its meaning?
- When and where was my grandfather born?
Family Background
Questions about your family background may cover different individuals or topics spanning from your own siblings to ancestors. Some of the questions you may ask include;
- Tell me about my parents.
- Would you recall any stories from my grandparents about their lives or those of their parents?
Residency and Migration
Suppose your family immigrated from a foreign land. In that case, questions about their residency and migration are essential in understanding the dynamics in your family and shaping your future genealogy research. Examples of your questions may include;
- Are we natives in this land? If not, why did our ancestors migrate, and when?
- Where specifically did we originate?
Traditions and Culture
Traditions and customs are integral to a family and align with family history throughout generations. Therefore, it is imperative to have questions focused on the topic to determine any erosion so far. Best questions include;
- What were the family traditions when you were growing up?
- Are there specific traditions that our family followed?
- What was our ancestors’ religious affiliation?
Occupation and Daily Life
Understanding your ancestors’ occupation and daily life provides a glimpse of what life was like back in the day. It can help you appreciate the circumstances under which they made any decision you may not be comfortable with. Crucial questions may include;
- What did my grandfather do for a living?
- Did he have any profession or notable achievements?
- Please describe a typical day in the family’s life back then.
Significant Events
Significant events in your family are typically recorded and serve as checkmarks when you want to authenticate any claims. Besides, they mark a new leaf in your family, such as marriage, death, or birth. Favorite questions may include;
- What is the most memorable holiday or family reunion for you?
- Are there any significant historical events that dramatically affected our family in particular?
The list of topics and questions to cover could go on and on, and it all depends on your genealogy research objective, your family’s uniqueness, and the availability of information. Whatever route you explore, be sure to form a robust basis for your next genealogical step. Above all, ensure you record and safely preserve the information you collect.
Recording and Preserving Information
All the information you gather from your relatives is only valuable if recorded and preserved safely. The records, notes, and data may be overwhelming, hence the need to prepare audio, video, and written notes.
A smartphone or a voice recorder will capture all the nuances and how the interviewee narrates the stories while letting you focus on the conversation. A video makes it even better as it can be shared down generations, but not every interviewee may be comfortable with it. See if you can combine the three data collection methods to enhance recording and preservation.
If you’ll be storing the information in public records, it’s essential to keep things confidential, anonymize the details, and apply privacy policies.
Ask Around
Gathering information from your family history is a critical step that provides a firsthand experience of your genealogy and guides further research. However, you must approach this stage carefully and hide sight to dig for the most valuable information and remain relevant in your research. Also, find the best ways to organize and preserve your data to make it worthwhile for further genealogy research and reference for the many generations after you.