Trace your family history by interviewing family

When looking for information about your family history, a goldmine of information is most often a close relative. You might have never considered talking to other family members about their lives and what they may know about earlier generations. Very few people have these discussions, at least not of any real depth.Many times there have been opportunities to ask, but at the time we weren’t interested in knowing and now it could be too late. Now is the time to make chatting with your family a priority. Talking to your relatives should be a priority when doing genealogical research.

Your great-grandmother may no longer be alive, but you may have parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, all of whom can be good sources of information about recent generations of your family. They can provide names, dates, locations, photographs, diaries and gossip. They may also be able to suggest other people to whom you could talk, who may have known your departed relatives. You never know, they might even have documents that could add to your genealogical file. Think about how helpful this information could be.

It’s best to do this interviews in person whenever possible. Some people could be put off by receiving an impersonal questionnaire in their mailbox or inbox. The information that your relatives give may be highly personal, evocative and closely guarded. You’re likely to discover much more by conducting the interview face-to-face by displaying your interest in whatever your relatives say and taking care to reassure them of your honorable intentions.

Under no circumstances should you misuse the information you uncover and always be discreet. Keep in mind that the information you gather during these interviews pertains to living people or those that lived within living memory. In order to encourage your relatives to discuss what they know with you, reassure them that you won’t disclose any of the information to other family members, especially if it’s of a sensitive nature. Let them know that you consider the information to be important family history data. For your relatives the information is a lifetime of valued memories – to treat it with profound respect.

When your relatives are comfortable with your motives, they may provide all kinds of detail that you never dreamed they knew. Your interest might spark additional memories and lead to more revelations.  Be sure you schedule ample time for these important interviews. It’s hard to say just how long Aunt Doris will talk once she starts.

By the way, another great tool for gathering information from your family members is Mundia.com.  This is a free family history website that allows you to collaborate with your family members to make your family tree online.  I strongly encourage you to check it out if you want to trace your family history.