Reminder: We would love to create "Profiles" for our Myfamily site. There is a Lot yet to be discovered about our Evans & allied relatives.... and the ones we know the best are the ones closest to us. Interviewing your elders [or yourself if you are an elder!] is invaluable and it is a heritage to bequeath our descendants. Frequently elders enjoy being interviewed... if someone else does the work of writing it down [or tape recording it]. Below are some suggested questions that you might ask... but you might think of better ones on your own. If you are the elder, just answer the questions yourself. If it's an elderly relative, ask him or her to spend a bit of time with you and share their experiences for future generations. We don't want to put information on living people on the net, so, once the interview is complete, we will figure out a way to make parts anonymous. Here are some suggested interview questions by the source [Kimberly Powell] listed below. Feel free to substitute questions of your own. These are just suggested questions to help you get going. Here goes: 1. What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname? 2. When and where were you born? 3. How did your family come to live there? 4. Were there other family members in the area? Who? 5. What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms?Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones? 6. Were there any special items in the house that you remember? 7. What is your earliest childhood memory? 8. Describe the personalities of your family members. 9. What kind of games did you play growing up? 10. What was your favorite toy and why? 11. What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)? 12. Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite? 13. Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it? 14. What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College? 15. What school activities and sports did you participate in? 16. Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes? 17. Who were your childhood heroes? 18. What were your favorite songs and music? 19. Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names? 20. What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend? 21. Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper? 22. Who were your friends when you were growing up? 23. What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family? 24. Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods? 25. How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions? 26. How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child? 27. Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them? 28. What do you know about your family surname? 29. Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather? 30. What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors? 31. Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family? 32. Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members? 33. Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family? 34. Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family? 35. What was the full name of your spouse? Siblings? Parents? 36. When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates? 37. What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel? 38. Where and when did you get married? 39. What memory stands out the most from your wedding day? 41. What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage? 42. How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time? 43. Why did you choose your children's names? 44. What was your proudest moment as a parent? 45. What did your family enjoy doing together? 46. What was your profession and how did you choose it? 47. If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice? 48. Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable? 49. What accomplishments were you the most proud of? 50. What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you? The above comes from: "Fifty Questions for Family History Interviews: What to Ask the Relatives" By Kimberly Powell <http://genealogy.about.com/mbiopage.htm> {I would also ask if he or she remembers any stories [or other information] about family history passed down to them by their own elders}