Family History Interviewing Tips

Family History Interviewing Tips

Obtaining information through personal interviews is one of the most fulfilling ways a family historian uncovers the past and finds missing pieces of the present. But before you run off with pages of questions for your grandmother, elderly uncle or cousin to answer, consider these points to make it a more successful interview.

Prepare for the interview. Take a tape recorder (be sure to ask their permission to use it), extra tapes and batteries, a note pad, and a list of areas you want to pursue. A great technique is to bring along pictures or documents to show them. This will often spark memories and help them recall details about other individuals.

Ask opened ended questions, ones that go beyond just facts or yes/no answers. Ask about peoples traits, habits, qualities, stories, and so forth. Consider asking about the time period - what was life like "back then"? I do recall my grandma mentioning how scared everyone was during the flu epidemics in the early 1900s. Remember though that asking questions without a personal focus on the interviewee could come off as an interrogation. For example, if you're asking Grandma how she met Grandpa, rather than simply asking, "How did you meet Grandpa"?? you might say, "How did you, a young woman from Iowa, ever have the opportunity to meet a man from upstate New York"?

Don't jump time lines. It's difficult and sometimes confusing for people to be asked to jump back and forth in their minds to different parts of their lives. Allow the memories to flow in natural progression.

Memories are emotional as well as visual and even the most pleasant ones can be exhausting to relive, particularly for the elderly. You may have to end a session before you're ready. If your subject has found your visit pleasant he or she will be willing, even eager, to have you back.

Respect any unwillingness to discuss certain subjects or events. As eager as you may be to get the information, you have no "right" to it. Remember, there is no "Freedom of Information Act" within families.

Hopefully, these few points of interviewing etiquette will make your visit with your relative or family friend more comfortable, and if it is true that

Here are some tips. Good luck!

An interview is not a dialogue. The whole point of the interview is to get the narrator to tell her story. Limit your own remarks to a few pleasantries to break the ice, then brief questions to guide her along. It is not necessary to give her the details of your great-grandmother's trip in a covered wagon in order to get her to tell you about her grandfather's trip to California. Just say, "I understand your grandfather came around the Horn to California. What did he tell you about the trip?"

Ask questions that require more of an answer than "yes" or "no." Start with "why," "how," "where," "what kind of. . ." instead of "Was Henry Miller a good boss?" ask "What did the cowhands think of Henry Miller as a boss?"

Ask one question at a time. Sometimes interviewers ask a series of questions all at once. Probably the narrator will answer only the first or last one. You will catch this kind of questioning when you listen through the tape after the session, and you can avoid it the next time.

Ask brief questions. We all know the irrepressible speech-maker who, when questions are called for at the end of a lecture, gets up and asks five- minute questions. It is unlikely that the narrator is so dull that it takes more than a sentence or two for her to understand the question.

Start with questions that are not controversial; save the delicate questions, if there are any, until you have become better acquainted. A good place to begin is with the narrator's youth and background.

Don't let periods of silence fluster you. Give your narrator a chance to think of what she wants to add before you hustle her along with the next question. Relax, write a few words on your notepad. The sure sign of a beginning interviewer is a tape where every brief pause signals the next question

Don't worry if your questions are not as beautifully phrased as you would like them to be for posterity. A few fumbled questions will help put your narrator at ease as she realizes that you are not perfect and she need not worry if she isn't either. It is not necessary to practice fumbling a few questions; most of us are nervous enough to do that naturally.

Don't interrupt a good story because you have thought of a question, or because your narrator is straying from the planned outline. If the information is pertinent, let her go on, but jot down your questions on your notepad so you will remember to ask it later.

If your narrator does stray into subjects that are not pertinent (the most common problems are to follow some family member's children or to get into a series of family medical problems), try to pull her back as quickly as possible. "Before we move on, I'd like to find out how the closing of the mine in 1935 affected your family's finances. Do you remember that?"

It is often hard for a narrator to describe people. An easy way to begin is to ask her to describe the person's appearance. From there, the narrator is more likely to move into character description.

Interviewing is one time when a negative approach is more effective than a positive one. Ask about the negative aspects of a situation. For example, in asking about a person, do not begin with a glowing description. "I know the mayor was a very generous and wise person. Did you find him so?" Few narrators will quarrel with a statement like that even though they may have found the mayor a disagreeable person. You will get a more lively answer if you start out in the negative. "Despite the mayor's reputation for good works, I hear he was a very difficult man for his immediate employees to get along with." If your narrator admired the mayor greatly, she will spring to his defense with an apt illustration of why your statement is wrong. If she did find him hard to get along with, your remark has given her a chance to illustrate some of the mayor's more unpleasant characteristics.

Try to establish at every important point in the story where the narrator was or what her role was in this event, in order to indicate how much is eye-witness information and how much based on reports of others. "Where were you at the time of the mine disaster?" "Did you talk to any of the survivors later?" Work around these questions carefully, so that you will not appear to be doubting the accuracy of the narrator's account.

Do not challenge accounts you think might be inaccurate. Instead, try to develop as much information as possible that can be used by later researchers in establishing what probably happened. Your narrator may be telling you quite accurately what she saw. As Walter Lord explained when describing his interviews with survivors of the Titanic, "Every lady I interviewed had left the sinking ship in the last lifeboat. As I later found out from studying the placement of the lifeboats, no group of lifeboats was in view of another and each lady probably was in the last lifeboat she could see leaving the ship."

Tactfully point out to your narrator that there is a different account of what she is describing, if there is. Start out by saying, "I have heard . . ." or "I have read . . ." This is not to challenge her account, but rather an opportunity for her to bring up further evidence to refute the opposing view, or to explain how that view got established, or to temper what she has already said. If done skillfully, some of your best information can come from this juxtaposition of differing accounts.

Try to avoid "off the record" information--the times when your narrator asks you to turn off the recorder while she tells you a good story. Ask her to let you record the whole things and promise that you will erase that portion if she asks you to after further consideration. You may have to erase it later, or she may not tell you the story at all, but once you allow "off the record" stories, she may continue with more and more, and you will end up with almost no recorded interview at all. "Off the record" information is only useful if you yourself are researching a subject and this is the only way you can get the information. It has no value if your purpose is to collect information for later use by other researchers.

Don't switch the recorder off and on. It is much better to waste a little tape on irrelevant material than to call attention to the tape recorder by a constant on-off operation. For this reason, I do not recommend the stop- start switches available on some mikes. If your mike has such a switch, tape it to the "on" position--then forget it. Of course you can turn off the recorder if the telephone rings or if someone interrupts your session.

Interviews usually work out better if there is no one present except the narrator and the interviewer. Sometimes two or more narrators can be successfully recorded, but usually each one of them would have been better alone.

End the interview at a reasonable time. An hour and a half is probably the maximum. First, you must protect your narrator against over-fatigue; second, you will be tired even if she isn't. Some narrators tell you very frankly if they are tired, or their spouses will. Otherwise, you must plead fatigue, another appointment, or no more tape.

Don't use the interview to show off your knowledge, vocabulary, charm, or other abilities. Good interviewers do not shine; only their interviews do.

Interview Questionnaire

The  purpose  of  this  questionaire  is  to  guide  you  in

recording the life  experiences of a member  of your family.

The information  you record  will become  an important  link

between you and your descendants.

At the top of a sheet of paper write: the full name, and the

date and  place of birth  of yourself,  your  mother (maiden

name), your father, your brothers and sisters,  your spouse,

and your children:   and the date and place  of marriage for

yourself,  your brothers and  sisters (with spouse's names),

and your children (with spouse's names).

Write  your  thoughts  on  sheets  of  good  quality  paper,

numbering  each  answer  to correspond  to  the  appropriate

question.   Write your name on  each sheet,  too,  and leave

room to add new thoughts later.

Grandparents

   1.  What were the names of your mother's parents?

   2.  When  and where  were they  born and  where did  they

       live?

   3.  What did they do for a living?

   4.  Do you have personal memories of them?

   5.  What were the names of your father's parents?

   6.  When  and where  were they  born and  where did  they

       live?

   7.  What did they do for a living?

   8.  Do you have personal memories of them?

   9.  Did you know your grandparents well?

  10.  What  do  you  remember  hearing  about  your  GREAT-

       Grandparents?

  11.  Did you ever meet them?

  12.  Did your great-grandparents, grandparents, or parents

       come to the US from  a foreign country?   Any stories

       told in your family about the crossing?   Do you have

       any relatives in foreign countries?

  13.  What traditions are still practiced in your family?

Childhood

The family house

  14.  What type of house did you live in as a child?

  15.  Other buildings on the same property?

  16.  If you moved  during your childhood,  tell  where and

       when and what you can remember  of each house and the

       family circumstances and the reason for the move.

  17.  In what room did you eat?  Kitch?  Dining room?

  18.  How was your home heated?

  19.  Did you have a fireplace?

  20.  What kind of kitchen stove did your parents cook on?

  21.  What fuel was used?

  22.  Did you  have to buy  the fuel  or was this  a chore,

       such as cutting wood, with which you had to help?

  23.  Did you always have electricity?    If not,  when did

       you get it?

  24.  Did you ever use candles or kerosene lamps?

  25.  Did your family have a cellar?    Where did you store

       food?

  26.  Where did your family get  water?   Was it plentiful?

       What methods were used to conserve water?

Family relations, responsibilities, conditions

  27.  What  was  your  position in  the  family?    Oldest?

       Youngest?

  28.  What were your duties as a small child?

  29.  Who cooked the meals?   Who did the ironing?

  30.  Did you buy or make your own clothing?

  31.  When did you learn to cook and who taught you?

  32.  Did  you  ever  learn   to  sew?    Crochet?    Knit?

       Embroider?  And who taught you?

  33.  Did you  ever learn  the mechanics of  a car  and who

       taught you?

  34.  Did your family keep in touch with distant family?

  35.  Did you visit relatives often?

  36.  How did you get your mail?

  37.  What do you remember about family pets?

  38.  Were you especially close to anyone in the family?

  39.  How did the family spend its evenings?

Family income and livelihood

  40.  What did your father do for a living?

  41.  Did your mother ever work outside of the home?

  42.  Did you contribute to the family income?

  43.  When  did  you get  your  first  job outside  of  the

       family?

  44.  Did your family have a garden?

  45.  Who did the work on the garden?

  46.  What kinds of vegetables did you grow?

  47.  Did your family have fruit trees?

  48.  Who did the canning?

  49.  Did you raise chickens?

  50.  What kind of meat did you eat?

  51.  Did you keep a cow for milk?

  52.  Did you make your own butter and cheese?

  53.  Did anyone in the family sell eggs or butter?

  54.  If you lived on a farm, what crops were planted?

  55.  Who did the work?  Family?  Hired hands?

Days, seasons, and special occasions

  56.  What did Saturday mean to you?

  57.  What did Sunday mean to you?

  58.  Did you attend church on Sunday?

  59.  Where did you attend church?

  60.  How did you spend Christmas?

  61.  What kinds of gifts did you receive at Christmas?

  62.  Did your family observe Easter?

  63.  How and where did you observe the Fourth of July?

  64.  How was your birthday celebrated?

  65.  What kinds of gifts did you receive on your birthday?

  66.  Did your family entertain often?  When?

  67.  Did your  family attend  picnics?   Family  reunions?

       What do you remember about them?

  68.  How did you keep cool in the summer?

  69.  What did you wear in the winter to keep warm?

  70.  Do you remember any blizzards or tornadoes or floods?

Friends and Games

  71.  What did you do for recreation?

  72.  Did you or your brothers or sisters have any hobbies?

  73.  Who was your best friend?

  74.  What  did  you  and  your friends  do  when  you  got

       together?

  75.  Did you and your playmates play any organized games?

  76.  Did you ever learn to swim?

  77.  Did you participate in youth organizations?

School

  78.  Where did you go to school?

  79.  Did you ever attend a one-room schoolhouse?

  80.  How did you get to school?  If you walked, how far?

  81.  What do you remember about these walks?  Did you walk

       alone or with friends?

  82.  Were these walks a hardship in winter?

Transportation and surroundings

  83.  Describe  the size  of the  town where  you lived  or

       shopped.

  84.  Where did your parents shop?

  85.  How large or small were the stores?

  86.  If you lived in a small town or on the farm,  did you

       ever go into the city to shop?

  87.  What was the largest town  you remember visiting when

       you were young?

  88.  Did you ever travel on a train while you were young?

  89.  Did you or your family own a horse and buggy?

  90.  When did  your family acquire  its first  car?   What

       make?  How much did it cost?

  91.  When did you learn to drive a car?

  92.  Where did your family go on vacation?

Outlook

  93.  Whom did you admire most when you were young?

  94.  When you were small, what did you hope to do when you

       grew up?

Higher Education and Career

  95.  What education did you get past high school?  Did you

       study in your adult years?

  96.  Did your family support, oppose, or encourage you?

  97.  Who influenced  you most  and helped  you to  develop

       your skills?

  98.  Would you choose the same career  if you had it to do

       over?

Marriage and Later Life

  99.  When and where did you meet your husband or wife?

 100.  How and when did you get engaged?

 101.  When and where did you marry?

 102.  Did you go on a honeymoon?

 103.  Where was your first home?

 104.  What is your spouse's occupation?

 105.  Where and when were your children born?

 106.  Did you or your spouse go into military service?

 107.  If your husband  went into service,  what  did you do

       while he was away?

 108.  What memories do you have of war years?

 109.  To what organizations have you belonged?

 110.  Have  you   been  politically   active  during   your

       lifetime?

 111.  Which presidents have you voted for?

Philosophy and Outlook

 112.  Do you  have a philosopy of  life to share  with your

       descendants?

 113.  Do  you have  a favorite  philosopher,  teacher,   or

       writer who best expresses your philosophy?

 114.  Do you  have religious  leanings or  strong religious

       beliefs?

 115.  In  your  opinion,   which  have  been  the  greatest

       advances or inventions of all?

 116.  What  things have  given  you  the most  pleasure  or

       satisfaction?

 117.  Is  there  anything  that has  caused  you  perpetual

       concern?   What  events or trends have  disturbed you

       most in your lifetime?

 118.  What  has  been  your experience  in  regard  to  the

       following?

       a.  Answers to prayers?

       b.  Necessity and power of love?

       c.  Will power  as opposed  to being  ruled by  one's

           feelings?

 119.  What  do  you  consider to  be  your  most  important

       achievements?