The Art of Recording Family History

 

by Pa Rock

Family Historian

Those of you who follow this blog, admittedly a very select group, know that over the years I have written and preserved a lot of family history.   Much of my family history, especially the recent stuff from the 20th century, came from my own personal observations and recollections, but I also had the foresight to capture some of the personal recollections of my parents and some of my aunts and uncles. And, like every other family researcher who ever lived, I also have regrets about those people that I failed to talk to while they were still alive - and those questions I didn't get to ask.

My mother, a heavy smoker, received a medical diagnosis at a relatively young age which revealed that her time with us would be limited.  That happened at a time, roughly forty years ago, when I was just developing an interest in preserving family history.    One day I showed up at Mom's house with my "boom box" and a couple of blank cassette tapes, and sat down over coffee and interviewed her.  We talked for about an hour.  I would bring up a topic - something like "Tell me about your mother's parents." - and the would drift back in time and tell me about the moments in their lives which stood out to her.  I worked without an outline, and never did a follow-up interview.  Shame on me, because I missed so much.

Twenty-five years or so after that I captured some of my father's memories, but in a different manner.  I purchased one of those "Family Memories" books  that provide a long outline of questions to ask parents or grandparents - each on a separate page so they can write responses - and then I included that book among Dad's Christmas gifts along with a note telling him if he filled it out, I would make sure that each of his grandchildren got a copy.  It was almost two years later that he returned the book, completely filled out along with some loose pages that he had written and included.   Some of the questions in the book had not appealed to him, and my father had scratched those out and written in questions that he liked better and then answered those.

I organized the pages of my dad's magnum opus and made a copy for each of his even grandchildren.  Unfortunately, my mom's tape, which I copied an shared with her siblings shortly after her death, had disappeared over the years - even the siblings' copies - and all of that that I had left was a transcript of most of the tape.  I preserved that transcript in this blog, and used it as well as my dad's book in writing biographies of my parents which are also preserved in this blog.

This is a long holiday weekend for many families, and holidays, when families traditionally gather, are wonderful times for collecting family tales.    Today's advanced personal technology makes preserving those memories easier than ever.  If you happen to stumble onto a family gab session about the old days, just pull out your phone and ask if you can save those old stories.    There may be some hesitancy at first, the laughter and tears of days gone by will soon overshadow the presence of a recorder.

This morning I came across a suggestion on an internet discussion board about one way to conduct a family history interview that I suspect would be very effective.  The fellow that posted it said that it had worked well for him.  For that special older person whose family memories you would like to capture, try this:

Take the interviewee for a drive with a recording device between the driver and the person doing the talking.   (Conversation is often easier in a car when the participants can just talk and not have to worry about facial expressions and looking each other in the eye as they speak.)   Have some standard questions ready to get the conversation rolling.   While the interviewee is busy talking, drive by places that should evoke memories - the old home place, neighborhood, high school, church, cemetery - or anyplace of special family significance that will bring memories to the surface and get those words to flowing.

Share those memories, save those memories, and have a wonderful Fourth of July!