Conducting an Interview

Before you begin a virtual genealogy search, you may want to make sure you have already collected the data that is already available offline. One of the most important parts of creating a family history is preserving the stories of relatives. Often, there will never be a way to retrieve these unique experiences and overlap with real history unless YOU actually are the person who records the information. Remember Aunt Martha? You see her every year at Thanksgiving Dinner - and you've heard her tell the story about Great-Great-Grandpa and the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889. But did you (or anyone) ever get a video camera and sit down with her to record her memories? You might be surprised, but if you wait just a little longer, Aunt Martha and ALL of her memories will be gone forever. You can't retrieve that from an online database! People who are living today remember things that others haven't seen or heard. I highly recommend you take the time to (at least) jot down some of the things you've already heard - and think of some questions to ask the next time you are together as a family. Don't be shy: Aunt Martha will fuss about "why do you want to know this?" and "I can't remember something that long ago." Be patient and assure her that you want the younger generation to remember all the things that the family experienced. There is no better way to discover how lucky we are today than to hear a story about life in the Dust Bowl or fragments of the tale of an Italian family's harrowing ocean crossing in the dead of winter. One more piece of advice: don't dismiss the improbable yarn about connection to some major event or person. If there is one thing I've learned, it is that our older relatives (without multi-media distraction) listened a lot more than we do and probably forgot more than we have ever known about our family. Lastly, make copies of your video or type up your notes in an email. They may not care about it now but someday, the rest of the family will start asking if anyone remembers... Happy hunting!