I had a project in mind for several years and I decided to make this the year that I get around to implementing it. I have often thought about how many questions I have for my living relatives and how to get this in a simple format, and most importantly, all in one place. Too often, phone calls or other conversations are placed on note paper and scattered all over throughout my boxes of documentation. What I have had in mind is the development of a Family History Survey which allowed me to combine all of my important questions for my relatives, into one place.
I had already thought of quite a few questions I wanted to include, it just took some mental prep to sit down and type it all out. After I typed my questions, I searched on Google for any other such family history surveys, to compare my questions and see if there was anything major I was missing from the questions I had prepared myself. I was surprised to find very few of them out there. I found the following to be useful:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865595932/Genealogy-150-questions-to-ask-family-members-about-their-lives.html?pg=all#3VUqrVhXZX8JqiJe.32
and
http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm
The problem I found with some is that they were getting to be too long. I want all of my relatives- from my older relatives who have difficulty writing much at a time; to my busy younger relatives who are always on the go- to see the survey and think it is something they have the time and ability to do.
The other problem was that I had SO many questions I wanted to ask. It is a challenge to keep the survey short but also keep it to a length that gives you the information you most want to document about your relatives' lives.
Once I had settled on the questions I wanted to ask, I then began to organize them into categories: Questions about the individual; Questions about their memories and knowledge of their immediate family; and questions about their knowledge and memories about their extended family. The "Individual" category has a sub-category regarding marriage and children, for those whom it applied to.
After checking and rechecking to make sure the questions were worded correctly and there were no spelling errors, I then set about placing enough space after each question to that it could be answered adequately. Finally, my survey was nearing completion.
I then put together a letter to precede the survey. This would explain to my relatives what I had sent them and why. Below is an excerpt of my letter:
"I am sending, in this packet, a series of questions meant to help me understand more about you, and about our family in general. Many of the questions are open-ended, to encourage you to provide as much detail as you would like in answering them. If you run out of space, feel free to use the back of each page. I have included extra paper should you wish to expand further. Please provide as much information and detail as you can. The more information you provide, the more you help to preserve our shared family history.
I am also including packets for aunts
and uncles married into the family, because in addition to having an
impact on my life, your story is also important to the overall story
of our shared family, your descendants.
It is very important to me that you
complete this questionnaire, as it will help us all understand more
about our family. I may already know the answers to some of these
questions, but please answer them anyway. This survey provides a way
for me to formally document these aspects of your life. While it may
look long, I have chosen each of these questions carefully to create
a complete picture of who you are, and to document your memories of
the past.
Please write as clearly as you can,
and use a pen if possible. I have included an envelope to make it
easier for you to send your responses back to me. If you are inclined
to do so, you may answer digitally as well via email. Please know
that I do not intend to publish this information publicly but that it
will instead be available within our family. If there is anything you
wish to remain completely private (i.e., only I would see it), please
specify.
Please let me know if you have any
questions. Thank you very much for taking the time to fill this out!"
After this was done, I began printing and assembling my packet. In addition to the letter and the survey, I also included an extra manila envelope to help encourage responses and cut down on costs to my interviewees. Everything was packaged up and taken to the post office.
Below is the final version of my questions (I removed my spacing so as to not stretch out this post):
Part I: You
Your full name:
Date and place of birth:
Were you named after someone else? Who?
Where/when you were baptized?
What is your earliest memory?
What schools did you attend when you
were younger, and where were they? Elementary, High School, College,
etc.
If you attended college, what did you
major in?
Did you participate in any
extra-curricular activities/sports/clubs when you were in school?
What were they?
What is your profession, and what
motivated you to join that line of work?
Where do you work/ where have you
worked in the past? When?
Do you- or did you when you were
younger- have any hobbies or special interests? Please describe them.
What is your favorite book?
What is your favorite color?
What music did you enjoy when you were
younger? Now?
What is your favorite memory from when
you were growing up?
Who were your playmates or friends when
you were growing up?
Did you travel when you were young? On
summer breaks from school? If so, where?
Did you serve in the military? Please
describe your service. What unit did you serve in? Where did you
serve?
Where/when did you learn to drive a
car? Who taught you?
Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?
Who did you most admire when you were
young? Why?
Who do you think had the greatest
impact on shaping you into the person you are today and why?
What did you aspire to do or be when
you were growing up?
Have you ever belonged to any
organizations or groups? Which ones?
Do you have a philosophy of life you
live by? Please describe.
Do you have religious leanings or
beliefs? Please describe them.
Have you ever received any awards or
honors? Please describe.
What do you consider to be your
greatest achievement in your life thus far?
What do you most want to be remembered
for by your descendants/other relatives?
What memories do you have of current
events you have lived through (Great Depression, wars,
assassinations, presidential elections, civil rights, other important
national or international events)?
In your opinion, what are the greatest
inventions or advances made by humanity during your lifetime? The
worst?
How would you say the world has changed
since you were young?
Do you remember your first contact with
newer technologies (radio, tv, COLOR tv, computers)? Describe. When
did your family first obtain these items?
Marrriage
(if applicable):
Where and how did you meet your
eventual spouse(s)?
Describe your first date(s):
Who proposed? How?
Who were the members of your wedding
party?
Where was your first apartment/home
together? Did you move during your married life? If so where and why?
How/why did you choose the names you
did for your child(ren)?
What values did you try to establish
when raising your child(ren)?
What do you think is the key to a
successful marriage?
Part II: Your Family
Describe the house(s) you lived in
while growing up.
Did your family move around when you
were young? If so, where and when?
Growing up, did your family live near
other family members? Who?
When you were growing up, did your
family have any special traditions (on holidays, birthdays, other
special times of the year, etc.)? What were they?
Describe a typical family dinner from
when you were growing up. Who cooked? What kinds of food did you
usually eat?
When you were growing up, did you
mother/family have any traditional foods/recipes? What were they? Do
you mind sharing them with me?
Did your family attend family reunions?
Picnics? Other special gatherings with family?
What activities did your family do
together?
What did your father do for a living?
What did your mother do for a living?
What is your favorite memory of your
mother? What was she like?
What is your favorite memory of your
father? What was he like?
Please describe any other memories of
your parents that you wish to share:
What hobbies or interests did your
father have?
What hobbies or interests did your
mother have?
What were your parents' political
beliefs?
Of all of the things you learned from
your parents (or other family members) what do you feel was most
important?
Part III: Extended Family
Have you noticed that any particular
traits or characteristics run in the family? Describe them.
Growing up, did you know and/or spend
time with your cousins? Which ones? What would you do together?
Who was the oldest relative you
remember knowing or knowing about? Please describe.
Did you know your maternal
grandparents? If so, what memories do you have of your maternal
grandparents? What were they like?
Did you know your paternal
grandparents? If so, what memories do you have of your paternal
grandparents? What were they like?
Did you know your great-grandparents on
either side? If so, who?
If you didn't know your
great-grandparents, did you ever hear stories about them? What did
you hear?
Did your grandparents or
great-grandparents ever tell you any stories? What were they?
Did your grandparents ever tell you
stories about their parents? What were they?
Did you ever hear any stories about the
origins of certain family names or ancestors in your family? Explain.
Did you ever hear any stories about
famous/infamous ancestors in your family tree? Explain.
Are there any special heirlooms that
have been passed down in your family such as photos, bibles, or other
objects? Please describe.
Did your family keep in touch with any
distant relatives? Do you still? Who are/were they? Do you still have
any old correspondence saved?
Enjoy! I hope to be posting again soon!