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Interviewing relatives - has anyone done this?

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  • Interviewing relatives - has anyone done this?

    Hi,

    Recently I was showing my wife's aunt some of the photos of one of her relatives that I'd obtained from elsewhere, and she was quite lucid about her own childhood memories of the person. It got me to thinking, wouldn't it be wonderful to get this kind of anecdotal information written down or recorded in some other way. So, I wonder if anyone on here has ever conducted this type of interview with a relative, and what hints and tips would you be able to offer. Also, if you have been able to actually record the interview as an audio or maybe even video, then again what hints or tips might you be able to offer.

    Thanks in advance

    Clive

  • #2
    hi Clive I was lucky enough to be sent a Tape my Grandfathers Sister had been asked to make about her childhood it is absolutely fascinating I have listened to it lots of times and am so pleased she was asked to do this, she mentions my Grandfather who neither I or my Mother knew as he died when she was a baby, so it is extra special to me.
    I dont know about tips though I'm sure somebody else will know, good luck.

    Forgot to say she mentioned things like learning to play the piano with the window open and the neighbours coming out to listen as nobody else owned a piano in their street its things like that make it worth while.
    Last edited by Guest; 22-09-14, 00:44.

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    • #3
      My Mum was quite poorly for the last couple of years and had to go into a nursing home. She refused to join in with or take any interest in very much that was going on. I had inherited some old photos so I scanned them into my laptop and numbered them (I didn't know who a lot of the people were). The advantage of scanning them was that I could zoom in to the faces as Mum's eyesight was quite bad.

      When I visited I would show her a few and she would tell me who the people were. She also had loads of extra info and anecdotes that I'd not heard and the photos acted like prompts. Because I'd numbered them I would write in a notepad what she said about each photo and when I got home I would type it up and annotate the photos.

      She could only cope with short bursts of this because she got tired quickly but it gave us something to talk about and gave her an interest. Some of the photos that she'd not seen before were of her parents and grandparents

      I've put the notes into Word documents and every so often I refer back to them and try to verify the info.
      Jackie

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      • #4
        I have a great interview I did with my aunt years ago. I recorded it and her son now has a copy and he can listen to his mum. I should have done a lot more people, but I have done OH aunt, his father, and another aunt. They were not recorded and I would strongly recommend if you can, record or video, as with taking notes you miss a lot. The next thing, I think is not to interview them but have a conversation. Let them talk and just ask questions about what they are talking about, don't change the conversation, just jot down what you would like to go back to when they have finished.

        Tora

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        • #5
          My second cousin who has recently moved back to Ireland from England has met a few of her Dad's and my Grandfather's living relatives.

          She sent me an email a few days ago saying that she had spoken on the phone to her Dad's cousin (a McNulty) who is in her mid 80's and gave some additional family info.

          (I already knew that one of my grandfather's sisters Margaret Pollard, married Michael Joseph McNulty in Dublin 1923.)

          "Michael McNulty (cousin's Dad), and Michael McNulty's brother, Peader, all fought with the Four Courts Garrison during the 1916 uprising."

          In my book that I have “1916 Rebellion Handbook” I was able to confirm her story.

          M. McNulty & P. McNulty both of The Mill, Blanchardstown, Co. Dublin were listed amongst the 289 prisoners, including Frank Pollard of 31 Lower Dominic St. Dublin, (another of my Grandfather's siblings) who were removed from Richmond Barracks Dublin on the 30th April 1916 and lodged in the Stafford Detention Barracks on the 1st May.

          Don't you just love it when family history come together!
          teresa

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          • #6
            I have not interviewed relatives but have had long conversations about their lives and memories.
            I find far more information comes with just talking rather than interviewing.
            Cheers
            Guy
            Guy passed away October 2022

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            • #7
              After seeing a film my cousin made of his Mum and one of our aunts, I filmed my Mum talking about her early life. I'm so glad I did as few months later, the dementia was really kicking in and it would have been impossible I had a few questions in my head to start her off and a few that I really wanted an answer to. If she fought shy of answering those, then I didn't press it and changed to another subject that I was confident wouldn't be controversial. My tip is to let the person just talk away and have questions in your mind that you can use to get them back on track if they ramble a bit. A notepad can seem off-putting to some folks so only use it if there's something mentioned that you would like to come back to later and always ask if they would mind if you used it for that purpose. If you are using a video camera, position it so that you get a good view of the person but it's not directly in their line of sight. Also ask if they would mind being filmed.

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              • #8
                And the other side of the coin is........

                My late father took early retirement from the place he had worked all his life. One of his retirement presents was a cassette recorder and he set to and recorded his life story.

                There are 40 cassette tapes almost entirely concerned with his work and contain mind-numbingly boring details about digging for footings and what happened when the concrete delivery was late. There is almost nothing personal on them - my mother is referred to as "my wife" when she gets a mention. Anyone listening to them in the future will learn nothing about my father's personaz\lity or any interesting details about family, friends and relations.

                I would LOVE to throw them away but somehow I don't quite dare. They are a burden, lurking under my stairs!

                OC

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                • #9
                  I often ring an aunt in America and she loves to talk about the family, I have found out so much stuff from her, sometimes without even asking ,she will suddenly say of course you do know blah blah blah but I dont ,so I quickly write down notes to add to tree later.

                  OC thats a shame , dont tell me you have listened to all 40 ?

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                  • #10
                    When my Dad was in the early stages of dementia..he suddenly blurted out one day, his Royal Navy Reserve number. That was something I had never heard him mention before!
                    teresa

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                    • #11
                      I took my mum for a walk around the area she grew up in, via Google Streetview. This triggered lots of memories for her. It would have been good to have recorded it, because I couldn't take any notes, but it wasn't planned so I wasn't prepared for making a recording. Maybe a re-run at Christmas ...
                      Yorkshire names: Brown, Weighell, Hudson, Hartley, Womersley, Laycock, Maude, Atkinson, Whittaker, Hammond, Hutton, Brook, Murgatroyd, Wright, Topham
                      Warwickshire name: Hart
                      German names: Peltz, Eichborn

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                      • #12
                        Apparently, about twenty years ago my mother's cousin interviewed his uncle (one of my grandfather's younger brothers) about what life was like during the first half of the 20th century. He told me he had this stuff on CD somewhere, so hopefully I can get hold of a copy as it does sound fascinating.
                        Eighteen -- Hadleigh, Suffolk; Reading, Berkshire
                        Hendry -- Ballymena, Antrim; Glasgow, Lanarkshire
                        Wylie -- Ballymena, Antrim; Glasgow, Lanarkshire

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                        • #13
                          When my late neighbour attained the age of ninety, I asked her if I could go in and talk to her about what the village had been like when she was a little girl. (She came to the village when she was three, before her mother married my great-uncle George.)She agreed, but said she wouldn't be able to tell me anything of use as her memory wasn't "so good." I didn't write anything down - just listened, and it was fascinating. I asked where she'd lived and who'd been the neighbours - these included 3 aged unmarried siblings who kept a couple of cows and from whom she'd collected the milk every day (farmer Bob, Sally milker and flasher Tom and his carryings on ) and the names of all the residents of the houses she'd passed on her walk to school. I also learned about my great-uncle Jack, who'd boasted that he wasn't going to pay the rent increase demanded by his landlord, resulting in UJ & family subsequently being evicted and having to spend a couple of nights in "Smith's barn" until an alternative cottage was found!
                          Absolutely riveting and fleshed out many of the stories my grandmother had told me when I was a child.

                          Jay
                          Janet in Yorkshire



                          Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

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                          • #14
                            I think you need to assess the person concerned and decide what method would be best.

                            Sometimes an interview with prompts of photos and questions works well and other times simply a conversation guided to areas you want to know about.

                            I visited a 2nd cousin who was in her 90's after finding her through my research and she was fine with a cross between interview and conversation as she was keen to help me develop the tree. I wish now I had recorded it is as she has since died and I am sure there are things I missed in my notes ( made unobtrusively throughout the meeting) - we then went on to lunch and just became relatives having a chat about anything and nothing.

                            She made me laugh at the end when I said goodbye by remarking that she had been nervous about meeting me but had come to the conclusion 'we were of the same kidney' and had enjoyed the occasion!

                            Margaret

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                            • #15
                              With the permission of the person you are talking to, a discreet voice recorder could be good. If its placed somewhere out of the way both parties soon forget its there. It saves making clumsy notes because the interviewee might stop to wonder why you are noting some things down as opposed to others and spoil the flow of conversation.
                              Anne

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