Living Sources www.ancestry.com/library/view/ancmag/2082.asp step 3

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Living Sourceswww.ancestry.com/library/view/ancma
g/2082.asp step 3
For Centuries, genealogy was an oral tradition.
There was a least one person who had the
responsibility to memorize the genealogy. Today
in some cultures they may still memorize.
However, it seems as though one person in a
family is the gatekeeper or flame keeper. This
person is perhaps the best one to contact in
gaining information.
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Six basic ways of collecting

• Formal personal interview
• Informal personal interview
• Telephone interview
• Letter writing
• Querying
• Electronic correspondence (internet)

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Equipment

• Recorders regular size, mini, micro
• Video cameras
• Note paper and pen
• Laptop computers to type as they tell the
  stories.
• Remember to Migrate your old media to new media.
  Example Cassette tapes deteriorate over time.

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Formal Personal Interview

• Primary goal is to meet with a family member to
  gather information
• Book How to Tape Instant Oral Biographies by
  Bill Zimmerman
• Basic Rules
• Contact the person in advance. Explain the
  purpose and what you are trying to accomplish
• The person must be comfortable with the topics
• Take the time to be well prepared for the actual
  interview. Write down the questions you will
  ask. Maybe even provide the person with a copy
  in advance so they can be thinking about their
  answers.

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• Make the interview session as comfortable as
  possible. Visit for a minute or two, do not just
  jump into the interview. You could explain the
  equipment you are going to use.
• Give ample time for the person to answer the
  questions. DO NOT interrupt the person.
• If the person mentions something you did not
  think about, write it down for later.
• Remember peoples memories are not infallible.
  Verify the information you get with the correct
  documents.
• An Interview is a source and should be treated
  like a book and should be noted accordingly.
• Always record the date of the interview.

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Informal Personal Interview

• Every family gathering becomes a potential source
  of information.
• Carry copies of family group sheets to family
  gatherings. This way you can update the
  necessary information.
• Types of family gatherings reunions, weddings,
  baptisms, holidays. Always be well prepared in
  advance.
• Record the records on your research logs.

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Telephone Interview

• If you can record phone conversations, do so.
  However, let the other person know what you are
  doing.
• Introduce yourself and the purpose of the call
• Advance work is vital.
• Telephone interview is identical to the personal
  interview.
• Treat this interview as a source of information
  in your research logs and verify any information
  given.
• If a family name you are researching is unique or
  not. Use the phone book and call people with
  that name. Web sites http//www.whowhere.lycos.
  com/
• Reverse look up http//www.infospace.com/info/rev
  addr.htm?actnavorg
• http//www.anywho.com/ White pages, reverse look
  up, international
• Quest phone directory http//www.qwestdex.com/cgi
  /search.fcg?
• http//www.infospace.com/ White pages, reverse
  look up, international

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Letter Writing

• For years that was about the only way you could
  get information from family members and
  courthouses.
• The person receiving the letter has time to think
  and ponder your requests.
• No guarantee they will respond, your likelihood
  of getting a response could depend on

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• Be Courteous curt, rude or demanding letters
  could be thrown in the trash. Type the letter if
  at all possible. If you handwrite, print it.
• Be inclusive - Identify yourself and explain the
  reasons for writing. Try to make the reader
  connected to your project.
• Be Specific Make your questions to the point
  and do not ask for too much at one time.
• Be thoughtful Self-addressed stamped envelope
  with your request.
• Be Thorough Keep a letter writing log. Name,
  date, sent, date of response, and what you
  requested.
• Be Prompt Answer immediately with a thank you
  note or follow-up letter.

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Writing to Public Offices

• Make sure you have the correct address of the
  department you wish to contact.
• Public libraries have books that you can find
  address
• Family history libraries should have the Red
  Book and The Source book
• Internet for phone numbers and addresses
• Make sure you include the correct amount of money
  for your request. Online sources can help you,
  or phone the office and find out the costs.

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• Provide specific information for your request
• Specific record type
• Full name of person
• Sex and race
• Parents name in full with mothers maiden name
• Day, month, and year of known events in the
  persons life
• Full place name where known events occurred
• Reason you are requesting the record
• Your relationship to the person you are
  requesting the information about

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Querying

• 1st write down what you know about the person
• 2nd write down what you want to learn further
• You can send these to a newspaper or magazine
  that publishes such queries.
• These can put you in touch with new family
  members working on the same line.
• A well-worded query can produce exciting results!

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Internet Queries

• This has become the leading method of locating
  specific information or leading you to someone
  who might have some information.
• Post to a bulletin board. Many out there
• You have to visit them periodically or check to
  see if they send emails when something new is
  added
• Maintain your own website.
• Electronic Correspondence use the same rules as
  in letter writing.

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Query Websites

• www.familyhistory.com
• http//www.iigs.org/newsletter/9802news/genmess.ht
  m has several inks to message boards
• http//www.gencircles.com Type in your family
  name
• http//genforum.genealogy.com/ They do not
  delete messages, there are about 5 million
  postings. Post by in city, county, state and
  surname
• http//www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/messages/
• http//lists.rootsweb.com/
• http//www.rootsweb.com/jfuller/gen_mail.html
• http//rsl.rootsweb.com/ Rootsweb Surname list
• http//www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles
  /503.asp Writing a successful Query
• Emails Do a name search in your favorite search
  engines and look for your family names. When you
  find one look for an email address and write to
  them. You can also search at www.familysearch.org
  look for email addresses on the pages.

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Why use the internet to connect?

• Find distant cousins working on the same lines.
  Maybe not your direct line but that of your
  ancestors brothers or sisters.
• Add names to your family tree. Example one man
  added 10,000 names to his tree, and received
  photos of ancestors born 2 centuries ago.
• Think the odds are slim? Think again!!! If you
  go back 15 generations you have more than 32,000
  ancestors. Some of them had 10 or more siblings.
• The chances of finding someone on the internet is
  great.
• You might even break through your brick walls.

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• Remember that you can not take everything you
  read or see, you must document the sources.
• The task of gathering family information is not
  always an easy one. But using all the resources
  available greatly increases the chances of
  building a solid genealogy.