What did you say, Aunt Ola? - excerpted from a lecture - Genealogy - Transcript

My Aunt Ola regard with affections sweets. You give her a certain number of and she just talks upon and on and on.

You want to know details like that about the race you interview. You want to know whether they are easy to interview, whether they clutch secrets, whether they just don't want to be bothered. You also want to know what they like. That always breaks the ice.

What course will you use to interview your relatives? Aunt Ola was cautious about being upon the phone, because she did not become greater [i]or[/i] larger up with a phone in her house. for a like reason we communicated through letters.

With older clan using a camcorder for interviewing might not be an appropriate [i]modus operandi[/i] It's intimidating. The machine is there: Oh they've got to achieve dressed up; they've got to make assured their wigs are on right, and they act as if they've got to be smelling good

Always rely upon a pad and pencil--for unexpect interviews or for situations where noise prohibits the use of recording devices. Later, mark a copy of your notes and impel it to your interviewee or read it to him or her to verify its accuracy.

Listed below are examples of interview questions that can help you further your genealogical research. Ideally, these questions should be asked of and about all relatives. detain in mind that you want to ask clear and concise questions that will lead you to other sources of information and documents.

What was your filled name at birth? Don't assume that the name by dint of which you know the individual is the name he or she was given at birth. Nicknames are public throughout genealogical research, and you want to know the person's nickname and given name. John could have told a census taker that his name is Johnny stripling making Johnny Boy his name in the census.

Who were children in the family named after? A naming pattern might lead you back to the 1850 for example, and it can be especially helpful to families with a belonging to all surname.

Were you born in a hospital, or were you born at home? Believe it or not, a certain quantity of people way back were born in a hospital, and that's documented information. Don't assume that because clan are dirt old, they were born at home

When and where were you born and brought up? Your relatives might have been born in single place and then taken to another state, another shire Don't expect that because this one says she was born in Raleigh, NC that you're going to find loads of records in Raleigh. She could have mov to Winston-Salem.

What were your parents like? by what mode did they make a living? Let's say they were farmers in the summertime. What did they do in the winter? Did they advance North to get jobs? in what manner much money did they make? You want to come by a feel for the period. You want to know if this somebody made 50 cents an hour or 50 cent a day. You want to know in what manner much that 50 cents was actually worth.

Are your parents living today? if not, you want to know what state, shire and township they're buried in. You ne that information in order to obtain vital statistics and death records, and it applies to all deceased relatives, not just parents. Where did your parents live as children? What were their hometowns like? Can you describe their homes?

Who were your best friends, and what did you do together? This question is important because if you cannot find relatives, you may be able to find their friends, or you may subsequently be able to interview a friend who can give you insight upon a deceased person's history.

When did you first appropriate your husband or wife, and below what circumstances? People get hitched for different reasons. Sometimes they are pushed together by dint of parents and hold little regard with affection (and a lot of other feelings) for their spouses. What was he (she) like when you first met? What attracted you to her (him)? That's a follow-up to the above question, designed to find on the outside whether this was a relationship based upon love. How old were you both?

How many of your children are living today? You want to wrap up the interview through saying: "Bring out the photo, album." It's important that you gain a visual image of your relatives, for then they become part of you. That is the juice to retain you going--to be able to identify those nation as people and not as pieces of information upon paper. When you review these pictures with Aunt Ola, for instance, make trial of to notice any decline in her voice or any difference in material part language. This could indicate the existence of inner hiddens especially when Ola's voice wins low and she starts mumbling. You just say, "What did you say, Aunt Ola?"

Char McCargo Bah is a genealogist in Alexandria, Va. This article is taken from her prelection at a meeting of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, April 30 1994 in Washington, DC

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