Genealogical documents and records can tell a lot, but they rarely provide the whole tale. That’s where oral histories come in. Your sitting down with family members and hearing their stories might capture the emotions, voices, and experiences that make your family distinctive. These tales enrich your studies and become heirlooms.
From interview preparation to preservation, this book will walk you through recording family stories. One or two steps can result in wonderful stories helping to preserve your family’s history.
Why Take Oral History?
In oral histories, the personal family history is revealed. It goes beyond just names, dates, and places to a glimpse of the values, customs, and personalities of your family. No other document can bring alive the past like when a grandmother talks about reliving childhood exploits or a parent describes their very first job. Family history also serves to preserve stories about why your family celebrates certain holidays or where a favorite recipe originated.
Oral histories are not just facts. Your family’s story captured will remain to be shared long after the tellers have gone.
Plan and Prepare
Good oral history interviews prepare for the moment. Choose which family members to interview and consider their life stories or phases. Contact them in advance and discuss your project. Explain why you want their recollections and how they will form a part of the family legacy. This way, people will feel important and give them time to decide what they want to say.
Take a recording in a quiet, nice place where the participant will not be disturbed. Switch off all electronics to prevent interference when having the conversation. Sitting facing each other at a desk is often the most natural and allows for eye contact, making the conversation more casual and natural.
Right Equipment
Simply put, with just a few very basic tools, you can even record family stories without a professional setup. A smartphone or digital voice recorder can record audio, but a smartphone usually is. Smartphones, tablets, and digital cameras that can take video can also record video.
Test your equipment before you begin so it all works. Make sure voices can be heard in your chosen space. If the recorder cuts off mid-telling of a touching story, that is the worst. Bring spare batteries or a portable charger.
Start with open-ended questions
An oral history interview should encourage storytelling; therefore, ask questions that let your family member share details and observations. Open-ended questions are best since they allow more than a yes/no answer. Here are some examples to get you started:
- “What was your childhood like?”
- “How did you meet your spouse?”
- “What’s the story behind our family’s holiday traditions?”
- “Are there any family members you admire?”
Don’t interrupt your family member when they are in the middle of answering. Let them finish talking—the best stories and worthwhile conversations come from calm meditation. Ask gentle questions, for example, “Can you tell me more about that?” or “What was that like?”
Let your conversation flow naturally.
A list of questions is useful, but let the conversation flow. Instead of a script, let your family member tell their own stories. If they tell you something you weren’t expecting, run with it—these detours often yield the most interesting personal insights.
This is a sharing of memories, not an interrogation. Nod, smile, and encourage while they chat. Listening attentively makes them feel comfortable and can reveal minor facts that may enrich your family’s tale.
Capture Details and Emotions
Such things as emotions and details make oral histories magic. Take the time to ask your family member how they felt at that moment. Specifics such as what the childhood home looked like or what a family meal smelled, can be added to any story. These oral history experiences make them more interesting and provide the next generation with a closer understanding of their elders.
Instead of asking, “Did you like school?” “What was your school like?” “Do you remember any teachers or friends?” These questions make people dig deeper into their lives and share information that is not generally found in history books.
Be aware of others' limits and be sensitive
Family stories can be sensitive topics or sore memories. Do not force them to speak about what they are uncomfortable with. Let them know that they do not have to say anything they don’t want.
Ask, “Is there anything you’d prefer not to talk about today?” This gets them comfortable and ensures the interview stays pleasant.
Keep and Share Stories
After conducting the interview, save the interview in a safe place. Save files to a PC, an external disk or on to the cloud. Audio or video transcription makes it easy to listen and share parts of the story, including the tellers themselves.
These stories are to be continued and kept alive and cherished by sharing them with the rest of the family. It can become a digital family archive, a family history book, or even a short family documentary. Oral histories during family reunions unite everyone together to remember each other once more.
Create a Tradition
Family stories can be tape-recorded year after year. Continue finding oral histories by adding more stories every year or by interviewing other relatives. Every generation will add to your rich family memory archive. You should also request the younger members to help assist in the interviews too. Passing the family storytelling along guarantees that your family’s heritage remains alive for generations to come.
Final Thoughts
Oral histories preserve the family history in a great way. You are essentially linking future generations with their ancestors by preserving these memories. Everyone has a story or two to tell, and its recording will be cherished for several decades.
With family stories, you can create a collection that will truly be worth gold, holding your family’s history close to your heart with preparation, patience, and an open heart.
Genealogy Quarry has a material connection with Ancestry.com, a third-party service provider. We are compensated by Ancestry.com through commissions when users engage with the search forms on our site (e.g., https://genealogyquarry.com/family-tree/) and subsequently purchase a trial or subscription from Ancestry.com. The search forms presented on our site are advertisements that direct users to Ancestry.com. While we strive to provide valuable resources and information to our visitors, please note that we are compensated by Ancestry.com when users purchase their services through these search forms. All opinions and content expressed on Genealogy Quarry are our own. We disclose this material connection in accordance with applicable guidelines to maintain transparency with our users.