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Interviewing a relative or research subject is a great way to gain unique perspective, learn new information, and preserve family stories and traditions.
First, decide who to interview: family members, extended relatives, neighbors (and former neighbors), church members, school friends - basically anyone who may have knowledge of your research subject at any point in their lives. You may want to start with your oldest living relatives first, or those you don’t see that often. You can interview the same person as many times as you (and they) would like! If you cannot interview in person, you may try reaching out by mail (include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your questions to make it as easy for them as possible), or through email, or trying video conferencing.
Try to record on video or audio if possible, though always with the subjects’ knowledge and permission. Try to practice with the recording device ahead of time. Always start the clip with the name, date, and location of the interview.
Let your subject know ahead of time what topics you’d like to discuss with them, and see if there are any topics off limits. Interviews tend to go better when there is a task at hand, such as cooking a recipe together, or there are props like photographs to help jog their memory.
Ask open-ended questions (see below for examples). Encourage more of a narrative, and only assist in their telling of their story - try to hold back from dialogue. Let the interview flow wherever your subject would like and don’t worry so much about answering all of the questions on your list (which is why it may be important to start with your highest priority need-to-know questions).
If they can’t remember the date for an event, try to figure out if it was before or after other well-known events and get an estimate of the date. Remember that human memory can be tricky, and even if someone believes something to be true there could be faults. Record their memories, but don’t use their data out of context without verifying.
Before you leave or stop the interview, check your notes for anything you have follow--up questions on or any handwritten notes you may have trouble reading. When your finished and back home, transcribe the interview into writing for your records. There are programs that help you do voice-to-text for this. Be sure to follow-up and thank them for their time.
See also: Transcribing Records
Interview Questions
Please use the interview questions below as inspiration for you to create your own interview, adapted to your interview subject and the questions you would like to discuss.
About your name
Why were you given your name?
Where you named after anyone?
Did you have any nicknames growing up?
Your birth and early childhood
When and where you born?
Why was your family living there?
What type of house did you live in?
What was the neighborhood like?
Did you have your own room?
What did you do for fun?
What’s your earliest memory?
What was your personality like as a child?
Your parents
What are your parents names? Your mother’s maiden name? Nicknames?
Where were your parents born and when?
How did your parents meet?
Where were your parents married?
Do you remember your mother working?
Were your parents strict?
What’s your favorite memory of them?
What meals did they cook?
Who was the first person in your family to come to the United States? Why did they come here?
About your grandparents
What do you remember about your grandparents?
Where and when did they get married?
What do you remember about their story?
Did they call you any special nicknames?
What were your names for them?
What were visits at their house like?
Did they have brothers and sisters?
Do you know their parents names?
How did they earn a living?
What hobbies did they have? What did they do for fun?
Did they go anywhere on vacation or travels?
Did they live through any wars or hardships?
Questions directed to your Grandparents
What do you remember about your children growing up?
How did you meet Grandma / Grandpa?
Tell me about your siblings and your parents.
Did you get along with them?
Did you have a favorite relative - maybe an Aunt or Uncle growing up?
Where was your favorite place to live?
Your siblings
Tell me about all your brothers and sisters (names and nicknames, birthdates, birth order…)
Did you and your siblings get along growing up?
What were your siblings personalities like?
Your family
Do people in your family have certain traits or characteristics?
Do you have any family recipes or favorite meals?
Did you go on family vacations?
How did (a world event) impact you or your family?
Do you know any family stories or legends?
What are some traditions you’ve passed down from your family?
School life
How did you get to school in the morning?
What did you study in school?
What were your favorite subjects?
Did you have a favorite teacher?
Did you play any sports?
Growing up
What chores did you have?
Did you receive an allowance? What did you spend it on?
Tell me about your favorite fads growing up, or clothing trends you remember.
What kind of music did you listen to when you were young?
What were your friends like?
Did you have a favorite place to hang out with them?
Tell me about a time you got in trouble.
Did you move around a lot?
Did you have any pets?
Who did you look up to growing up? Who were your heroes?
Were you ever in the paper?
What was the hardest time of your life?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
What were your twenties like?
What were some things you were worried about?
What was your first car?
Career
What was your first job?
Where else did you work?
What did you do with your early paychecks?
Did you struggle with finances?
Dating and Relationships
When did you start dating?
Where was your favorite place to go for a date?
How did you meet your significant other?
Tell me about your wedding.
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
What was the proposal like?
Religion & Holidays
What were your favorite holiday traditions?
Were you a religious family?
Did you and your family attend church on Sundays?
Favorites
What are some of your favorite songs?
Favorite all time books / movies / tv shows?
Advice & Recollections
Do you have any advice for the younger generations?
What do you want people to remember about you?
How is the world today different from when you were a kid?
What was your favorite time in life?