I Wish I”d Asked That – Family Questionnaire Part 3

@DDuPreeWilliamsby Debra DuPree Williams 

This week we finish with our questions for family members. This is a great tool for those who don’t want to take the time to write a memoir. Your family will thank you one day if they haven’t already done so. I know that there are many questions my sister and I wish we had asked of our parents and grandparents, and even of our aunts and uncles. So many family stories lost to time. I hope you have found this helpful and that you have added your own questions to the ones in my list.

Your Extended Family:

• Who is the oldest family member you knew in your formative years?

• Where did they live? Tell us about their home.

• Did they share family stories with you? Tell us about those.

• Did you have family traditions?

• Did you all gather for holidays? Where? How often?

• How have holiday celebrations changed over the years?

• Did you have family reunions? Where? How often? When did they stop? Why?

• What occupations did your grandparents have? Tell us about that.

• Did you ever go to work with them? What did you do there?

• Did your family live near one another?

• If they did at one time but then began to move away, who moved first? Why?

• Do you have family recipes? Will you share those?

• If you have handwritten copies of recipes, would you be willing to have copies made?

• Do you have a family heirloom? Tell us about it and why it’s special to you.

• Does anyone in the family have other family heirlooms that you know about?

• Has anyone done a family tree? If so, who has and will they share it? 

• Has anyone done DNA testing? Will you share results?

• Do you have old family photographs you are willing to share?

• Would you be willing to host or attend or help organize a future family reunion?

• Would you be willing to speak at a family reunion and share your knowledge?

• Are you a member of a lineage society?

• Which ones?

• Will you help family members with their papers?

World Events:

• What world event most impacted you?

• Do you remember the day it happened?

• Where were you? Tell us about it.

• If you vote, when was the first time you voted?

• Was it a local or a national election?

• Did you have a party affiliation? Why? Why not?

• Have your political views changed since that time? Why?

• Did you or any family member you know of, hold political office?

• Where? What was it and for how long?

• Have you ever traveled to a foreign country?

• Where did you go? When?

• Do you know about the travels of any of your ancestors?

• When and where did they go? Why?

This wraps up our three-week family questionnaire posts. I hope these have given you something to think about and that you will use them to gather as much knowledge about your family as you can – before it’s too late. As I said, this is just a guideline. You will certainly have your own questions depending on whom you are interviewing.

Did you find these questionnaires helpful? Did you come up with more questions? Share those with us in the space below.

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