1: Gather Your Records   2: Gather Records from Others   3: Interview Relatives   4: Prepare Uploads   5: Add and Manage Media Items (FMP)   FMP Project 3                  Translation Tips    Music   Print Friendly and PDF   










Project 3: Docs and Photos


Goal 3: Interview Relatives



Goal 3: Interview living relatives about their memories and life stories. Vault


Capturing family history recollections from living relatives ensures that their legacy can be shared before they pass on.

Choices


A Prepare for successful interviews.


Class Outlines:    Basic


Summary
  1. People: Make a list of living people whose stories need to be captured. These people may also be good sources for photos and documents. This article discusses the benefits of interviewing living relatives.

    PR—The Benefits of Recording Your Living Family

  2. Interview Tips: Use these tips to help you conduct interviews with relatives.

    LT: 9 Tips for Interviewing Relatives
    FS—Capture Grandma's Story

  3. Here are some additional tips for interviewing family members.

    MH—Tips for Interviewing Family Members
    Dragging Genealogy Information Out of Our Family - 2019

  4. Questions: Here are essential questions to ask your relatives in a family history interview.

    TH—50 Interview Questions to Ask
    FHD—100 Questions Every Family Historian Should Ask Their Relatives

  5. Try these 52 questions for families, from FamilySearch.

    FS—52 Stories for Families

  6. Ensure the questions are respectful and handle any delicate situations carefully.

    AR—Interviewing the Reluctant Relative

Exercises


B Hold and record the interview.


  1. App: To learn about using the FamilySearch Memories app to record stories, read these articles.

    FS—FamilySearch Memories App
    FS—Using FamilySearch Apps to Record Oral Histories

  2. Follow-up: Learn about the two sides of interviewing, including steps to follow before, during, and after the interview.

    AC—Interviewing Family Members—28:13   



Exercises


C Upload the audio or written interview document to Findmypast.


  1. Decide which information should remain private (as in a family journal) and which can be uploaded to Findmypast.
  2. Create descriptive notes for each interview document you created. These will be used in the upload process.
  3. Use the upload process described in Goal 5. If you have handwritten notes, digitize them first.
Exercise


DLearn about oral histories.


  1. Learn about the importance of oral histories.

    LT: The Importance of Oral Histories
    AF: Why Oral Histories Are So Crucial to Good Genealogy #1

  2. Learn how to organize oral history information.

    GC: Organizing Oral History Information

  3. Here is an extensive guide to the why's and how's of oral history.

    Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History

  4. Explore oral history projects from FamilySearch and Ancestry.