Interview and Audio Record Relatives

How to interview and audio record their living relatives and post the audio recording to familysearch.org.

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Select a Relative to Interview

Think of someone that knew your ancestor.

  • For example, interview Mom about what she remembers about your grandmother or her grandmother.

  • Arrange a face-to-face interview with someone still living.

    Caution
    		 Over-the-phone recordings require compliance with telephony laws.

  • Ask what they remember about your common ancestor.

  • Ask open-ended questions. Ask questions that cannot be answered with a “yes” or a “no.” For example, “What do you remember about your grandparents?”

Get the Free Gear

  • OPTION 1 Best

  • OPTION 2 Better

    • Ask someone you know with a smart phone to help you record.

  • OPTION 3 Good

    • Without a smart phone, you can use another audio recording device and convert to a digital format and add it to familysearch.org. For example, I have used a Sony ICD-PX333 to record audio to the MP3 digital format. It is $150. The free app is cheaper.

      Tip
      		 Recording direct to a digital format avoids the cumbersome process of converting analog signals to digital. Using that 20-year old cassette recorder to capture audio will require you to convert to a digital format.

Aim for Short Audio Segments

Aim for short audio segments.

  • You can also start and stop your audio and video recorder with each question you ask.

  • Once you have your interview, try to break it down into smaller chunks that can be labeled by topic, such as “First Date” or “Saturday Afternoons.” Audio editing software make this editing process simple.

  • Use free audio editing tools like Audacity (audacityteam.org) is an easy-to-use free app for PCs & Macs that I’ve used for years).

Preserve the Audio Recording

Preserve the audio recording FREE.

  • Preserve the audio recording on familysearch.org as a memory about that person.

  • Attach the audio segment to a person on your family tree.

  • The Memories app allows you to easily associate the recording by picking the person by name from the familysearch tree. It is the easiest way to do this.

  • Without that app, get the audio onto your computer and transfer it to familysearch the longer way.

Caution
 Although names and dates for the living are hidden on familysearch.org, audio memories are NOT hidden for living people on familysearch.org. This message is about recording the living to capture their memories of those that have already passed on.

Possible Interview Questions

Possible interview questions (the Memories app also prompts with questions):

  • What is your earliest memory of person A?

  • How did you know person A?

  • What were Sundays like when you were growing up with person A?

  • Do you remember any of your grandparents? Any great-grandparents? What were their names? What were they like?

  • What were person A's siblings like?

  • What was person A's hometown like?

  • How many people were in person A's family? Describe each family member.

  • What aunts, uncles, or cousins do you remember? What were they like?

  • Did person A serve in the military? If so, where and when?

  • What challenges did person A face?

  • Tell about ancestors you know about—names and dates and any stories about them.

  • What are the names of person A's children? What are their birth dates, where were they born, and what were the circumstances of their births, and their lives? (if they are living, be careful adding them to familysearch)

  • What changes did person A tell you about in their lifetime in technology, society, politics, and so on?

  • Tell about the house in which person A lived.

Updated on 01 Jan 0001

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