Family Interviews

(last updated 21 August 2005)

The First Rule of Genealogy is to start with what you know, and work your way back. You've already identified what you know about your family and learned to record it on the proper forms. Now it's time to learn how to gather information from family members.

Correspondence Types:

1. Oral interviews
   • In person
   • By telephone
2. Written
   • Letters (snail mail)
   • E-mail

Tasks:

Initial Call & Mailing:

Call your relative to ask her for help. Mail pedigrees and family group sheets the same day you call. Whether you're interviewing her personally or just corresponding by letter, the forms are the best way to begin.

• Initial Information: Send the information you've already collected, such as partially filled-out forms, rough biographical sketches, etc. Send this information because:

1. Sometimes things that you remember will spark your relative's failing memory.
2. Mistakes in your records will goad even a tight-lipped relative into making corrections.

• The bait:  Show the relative that his information will serve as a launch pad, allowing you to then gather and share information that she doesn't already have.

Tell her you'll be searching for records she has not yet found, like birth, marriage, and death certificates, family photographs, censuses, obituaries, wills, deeds, immigration records, diaries, and court records.

Ask her what she'd like to know about the family, and make arrangements to research these things for her.

Follow-up Call: 

A couple days after you think the forms have arrived, follow up with a phone call, preferably on Sunday when she's not as busy. This call accomplishes three things:

• Assures that the relative received the forms.
• Gives you the opportunity to teach her how to fill out the forms.
• Shows your relative that you're going to keep calling her until she mails the forms.

Occasionally, the interviewee will not provide any new information because she is embarrassed about the family member in question.  Living family members often withhold information on illegitimate births, abusive parents, or criminals.  If the interviewee seems to be withholding information out of embarrassment, explain to her the following....

• You are determined to find the records on the ancestor.
• In order to more accurately research and understand the ancestor, it is necessary to gather all sides of his story.
• You will consult many sources for the story. Each source will yield a different perspective of the story. You'd like to get the interviewee's views as well so the story can be as balanced as possible. 
• The interviewee can perhaps paint a truer picture of the ancestor by describing the factors which may have motivated the ancestor's behavior.

If the interviewee is still reluctant to tell his story, gather some initial evidence from another source which will prompt a response.  After searching this other source, analyze the data thoroughly, and make some conclusions about it.  Contact the interviewee, tell her your conclusions, and see if she has anything to add that will complete the picture.

Teaching the Next Generation: 

Some interviewees are more willing to share stories if they understand that one reason to compile and share them is to teach the next generation. The following samples may help the interviewee understand this: 

"My children are beginning to ask me who they are and where they came from.  It's sad that I have no answer for them.  Could you help me teach them about their family?"

Special Details by Interview Type:

For letters, think SASE:  With your inquiry, send a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.  Don't expect your relatives to care as much as you do about your family. Make it as easy for them as possible.

E-mail

Make your subject line compelling. Don't use "Genealogy info." or "Send me all your genealogy research."  This tells the receiver you're interested in taking, but not giving, and that you haven't narrowed your query to an easily-answered question.

For a good subject line, use something like "Francis Ritchey: care to collaborate?"  This tells the receiver that you'll share your information with her, and that you're asking her to send you his records on only one individual, which is an easy thing to do.  If the receiver is gung-ho about researching Francis Ritchey, she'll be dying to open any message whose subject line combines Francis' name with the word "collaborate."

Oral Interviews

Preparation

Before you call, tape an introduction. Include:

• Interviewer's name & location.
• Respondent's name, age, & location.
• Relationship between interviewer & respondent.
• Date of interview.
• Example: "This is Michael T. Ritchey of Provo, Utah, interviewing Dora Mae (Harpley) Ritchey of Akron, Ohio. Today is 28 November 1997. Dora is  the mother of my father Paul Kenneth Ritchey. She is 80 years old."

In many states, it is illegal to record a telephone conversation without permission.  Regardless of local laws, however, it is always best to get permission.   Failing to do so might cause the interviewee to quit granting interviews.

Questions

Instead of short-answer questions, ask open-ended ones. Replace "Where did you go to school?" with "What was school like back then?" or "Describe a typical school day back then."

Equipment

Cassette tapes: Use 60 or 90-minute cassettes. 120-minute tape is too thin and will break, melt, or stretch easily.  The same goes for micro cassettes.

After recording, break the tabs off the cassette top.  This keeps you from erasing the interview or recording over it.  If you later decide to to record over the interview, simply cover the tab holes with adhesive tape.

Face-to-face interviews

Sit at right angles to your subject, with the recorder between you.   Psychologically, sitting directly across from the interviewee creates an antagonistic or adversarial atmosphere.  Sitting at right angles makes things friendlier, like you're on the same side.

Bring photos, letters, and other artifacts that will jar the subject's memory.

Telephone interviews

There are two major types of microphones, each with its own strengths and weaknesses: 

An in-line microphone is plugged between the phone and the wall jack, and also plugged into the recorder. It usually produces high quality sound. However, since it draws power from the phone line instead of the tape recorder, it is sometimes not the best choice when using rural phone lines where electricity is spread thin.  Since this mic drains some of the remaining power from the line, the recording quality may drop. This mic fits in the palm of your hand, and costs about $20 at Radio Shack.

A suction cup microphone is attached to the outside of the phone's earpiece and plugged into your tape recorder. The result is usually a lower quality recording. However, this mic takes its power from the recorder, not the phone line. Therefore, it can actually make a better recording in rural areas where the power in telephone lines is weakened. This mic fits in your pocket, and costs about $9 at Radio Shack.