Ukrainian Genealogy Research: STEP 2: Gather Family Information

In addition to collecting material objects and documents, you must remember to collect information that no one has yet recorded, which means it may disappear. Do not forget to conduct a family history interview!

These interviews could fit well on the first step in this article since papers and artifacts will not disappear, but memories can fade, and people might begin to confuse the facts. In the end, as one genealogical site wrote, “Baba Varvara may not live until the interview.”

Plus, an interview will not only give you information about the ancestors, but will help to keep interesting stories, thoughts, and feelings associated with your ancestors.

Choose a person that might know the most about the family line you are researching. It is better to create a list of people. Once you have it – start preparing. And, do not limit yourself to only the oldest relatives.

To gather as much as possible, increase your interview list by including your grandfather’s friends, colleagues, or neighbors who lived with your family and can remember something important and interesting. Even a local historian can tell or recall something.

It is best to conduct a one-on-one interview. However, sometimes it’s not bad when several family members gather, and the memories of one person help others revive their memory. To help your relatives remember the loved ones and stories about their lives, you can create a warm, relaxed atmosphere.

Another good tip is to arrange the interview in advance and explain its purpose. If the interviewees want, you can share a copy of the recording or its text version with them. Arrange a place and time when everyone will be comfortable and won’t be in a rush.

It might be difficult for some people to set aside a long time for an interview, for others, the age might become a reason for short attention span or focus. Break the interview into several short meetings. When circumstances suggest, you can replace the meeting with a telephone interview.

Think in advance how you will record the interview. Handwritten notes are most likely not suitable, as live communication will always be the most effective approach.

It’s better to find recording equipment or at least use your smartphone to record audio or if you like, video. So, get ready in advance for the fact that you will need to recharge the device from the network or a power bank.

Check the quality of the recording before the interview. Will the sound be clear if recorded at a certain distance from the speaker? Will the microphone enhance the background noise during pauses? And, plan where you will place the microphone or camera.

What a shame it will be if a simple technical issue becomes an obstacle to the success of your interview. Don’t let it happen by thinking ahead.

Most importantly, prepare the questions you want to ask. Do it in advance without hoping that good question will just magically pop into your head.

Asking very direct questions during the family interview is the most common mistake. A person that hears questions of that type is often lost. The memories we are looking for during these interviews are “stuck” in people’s heads, and it makes them nervous when they can’t remember the date or a place from life, thus increasing their confusion.

These are examples of question that might be hard to answer to:

The list can go on and on, but we think you got the point.

From time to time, you can add one or two direct questions to each of the open questions. Make sure they do not interrupt the memories or tire the speaker. For instance:

Be creative in your family history interview! 🙂