Family History Tips and Prompts
By Lindy Shock
EnochStudies.com
My paternal grandparents died in a tragic car accident when my dad was 14. Although I have never met them, I have always felt close to them. I actively sought out stories that helped me get to know them better. I found myself trying to gather as many stories and pictures from their seven kids, including my dad. I tried many things to pry these stories out of them. It was super frustrating. I want to share with you what worked best for me, so that you can save yourself some of the frustration, and instead, enjoy some pretty incredible experiences with your loved ones.
Here is what didn’t work: I asked each of my aunts and uncles to send me written stories of their parents. Only one Aunt sent me something, and it was a page and a half that she had written for something else.
That wasn’t quite what I was hoping for.
Next, I had the great idea of sending them questions they could answer – prompts to get their memories flowing. I was hoping the questions would spark memories that would lead to more memories, and I would get an plethora of wonderful stories.
Nope.
One uncle emailed me quick, two-sentence answers to my questions. And that was it.
Finally, my cousin sat down with her mom and using the questions I sent, asked her for her stories. She recorded them on a digital recorder, then sent me two and a half hours of incredible stories. I listened to it a couple times, loving every minute of it. I learned so many great things about my grandparents, from how they did the laundry, to the kind of people they were. What an incredible treasure this recording was! Thanks to my cousin I now had an effective system I could duplicate.
I then sat down with each aunt or uncle who lived within two hours of me, and asked my cousins to help with those who lived farther away. What I discovered is, everybody LOVED telling their stories. We laughed together and cried together, and I could ask follow-up questions to get more details. The questions did spark memories, which lead to more memories, and I finally got my plethora of stories! It was a glorious experience.
As you get ready to sit down and ask your older generation all about their lives, I want give you a few more tips.
1) Just to recap, the best way I found to get the stories, was to sit down with them and record them telling the stories to me. I also would bring an digital recorder to family events, and turn it on whenever my aunts and uncles started chatting about the good ol’ days.
2) I suggest that you to have two recording devices – I used a USB digital recorder, and my phone. I know a couple of people who recorded stories and lost them to drives that failed, or record buttons that weren’t pushed correctly.
3) Once you have the recordings, I would suggest loading them on an archival ancestral site. There they will stay safe, and can be available for other family members to enjoy.
4) If you can, I would suggest that you gather photos from everybody as well, make sure to label who is in each photo, and put those on an archival site as well.
5) Lastly, below are some prompts for questions you could ask. If there are specific experiences/memories you want to know about, make sure to add those as well. For example, because my grandparents died in a car accident, I asked everybody what they remember from that day, and the weeks that followed. If you have specific things you want to know about, add them to your prompts.
I am excited for you to dive into your family history stories. It is so rewarding and exciting to uncover some of the history that makes you who you are.
PROMPTS:
What was one of your favorite vacations?
Did you have a treehouse or club house? If so, what was it like?
Did you enjoy high school?
What was your first car?
What were the technology like while you were growing up? Like telephones, washer and dryer, tvs, computers, cars?
What were some of your first experiences with a computer?
What are some of the advancements and changes you have seen in your life? (technological, social, political, economical)
What pets have you had?
What are some stories about your siblings?
What is a special moment you have had with your mom? You dad?
What do you remember about your grandparents house?
What was your father’s and/or mother’s profession?
What did you study in college?
What was one of your biggest trials?
What was one of your biggest blessings?
Did you ever have a garden?
What hobbies do/did you have?
What do you want your legacy to be?
What lesson/advice do you want to pass on to your your posterity?
Who are some of your very dearest friends?
What are some fun things you would do with your friends?
Who is somebody who changed your life for the better?
Have you ever almost died?
What are some of your earliest memories?
How did you meet your spouse?
What was your engagement and wedding like?
(For a mother) What were your pregnancies like?
What was it like when your kids were born?
What jobs have you had?
How much money did you make an hour back then?
When you were growing up, how much was gas? an ice cream cone? a movie ticket? a candy bar? a stamp? etc.
What were your favorite school subjects?
What trouble did you get into growing up?
What are some of the foods and meals you remember having? Do you have any of the recipes?
