| Interviewing Relatives | |
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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 the only
value in life is love and knowledge then you may well come away with both.
Some related links:
DearMYRTLE article on interviewing:
http://www.ancestry.families.aol.com/lessons/beginners/lesson21.htm
Pointers and some suggested questions:
http://kwthompson.homepage.com/gny/Misc/interview1.htm
The "Art of Interviewing Relatives":
http://www.cimorelli.com/pie/library/intr_art.htm
Oral history interview tips:
http://www.ugrr.org/ugrr/gene/oral-que.htm
Capturing the Past - Guide
to Oral History Interviews
http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/
