Discover North Carolina Ancestry
Posted on November 22, 2018 by Constance H. Knox
Interviewing family, in my opinion, is one of the best parts of genealogy. It’s fun and rewarding. You, as the interviewer are like a reporter. You’ll research your subject, do some background investigation, do the interview and report the results. Please keep in mind that there are two posts here, part one is about how to conduct the interview and part two is about how to record the interview. Both are equally important, please review both.
Here are 12 TIPS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR FAMILY INTERVIEWS.
Bonus Tips
DNA Test? Ask (in advance of the interview) if they’ll consider doing a DNA test. Depending on the research needed, I usually recommend all males do both YDNA and Autosomal DNA (atDNA) tests and that women do at least an Autosomal DNA test.
If you need answers on the maternal line, then a Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test might be appropriate too. The mtDNA test looks only at the mothers, mother’s, mother (and so on) direct line. It’s always good to test the elders DNA while you can.
Get their permission before you buy the test and then administer the test during your visit, while your there interviewing your family members. Don’t leave the test behind, it will never get done. Trust me, get them do cheek swab or spit in the tube while you’re there.
Where to do a DNA test? AncestryDNA, Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), 23andMe, and MyHeritage are popular testing companies. No matter where you test, read the disclaimers so you understand the privacy policy. Also, be prepared for surprises. You never know what you’ll find using DNA as evidence.
What to ask? Prepare in advance of your interview your goals and questions. Refer to the blog post “Learn Genealogy – Kick Start” for the type of information you need to collect. Also…
Here are a list of questions and topics you can choose, that may inspire questions to ask:
Be careful about subjects causing concern, stress, and prying into family secrets. etc. If family wants you to know, they’ll tell you. You can always end your conversation with “Is there anything else you want to talk about?” If they say no, respect them and move on.
Don’t try to ask all of these questions, you’ll exhaust yourself and others. But use them as inspiration to create your own list. Once the conversation starts to flow, the ideas and follow up questions will come to mind.
Lastly, try not to have more than one or two spectators while doing the interview. I prefer to interview people alone.
Most of all, have fun. Enjoy the conversation! Take notes, and polish them up immediately after the interview before memory fades.
For more on recording the interviews, please see Interviewing Family Part Two – Recording The Interview . Don’t skip this post thinking you won’t need it, because you don’t plan to record the interview. Trust me, at least read the post.
Have you conducted family interviews? Tell us in the comment section below.
Comments are welcome below.
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