Preparing to Gather Information Once you've reviewed what you know about your family's history, you'll want to develop a list of questions based on what you hope to learn. That way, when you're talking to relatives you'll be able to focus the conversation. It is a good idea to let your family members know that you are interested in talking with them over the holidays. That way, they'll have some time to think about family stories and perhaps gather together some old photographs or mementos. Finally, before you head off to your holiday gathering, take a second to put together a portable "Family History Kit." The Kit will include the tools you'll want to have handy when an opportunity for gathering memories presents itself. You might include pencils, a notebook, pedigree charts, family photographs, a camera, and a tape recorder. ==================== What Types of Questions to Ask The next step to gathering your family history is figuring out what to ask. Certified Genealogist Sharon DeBartolo Carmack suggests asking questions that begin with "Why, how, and what" instead of "Who, where, and when." The key is to not ask questions that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." You'll learn the most from questions that require a person to think about the answers and give you information you won't find in any records. This personal information is much more interesting than names and dates. Sharon DeBartolo Carmack reminds researchers that the first thing to consider is "What is the purpose of conducting an oral history interview?" Is your goal to simply gather facts or is it to learn what life was like for your ancestors? You do have to start with the basic facts (the who, when, and where) but keep in mind that you'll probably find all of that information in a record somewhere. What you won't find in the records are your ancestors' thoughts, feelings, and motivations — the why, how, and what. ==================== Who Has the Data? Does your state, province, county, parish, church, old military unit or alma mater have material available that you think would be of interest to genealogists and historians? Do you have any compiled lists of names or databases -- other than your personal family tree (genealogies can be posted at WorldConnect: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/) -- that you would like to share and that you think would be of value and interest to others? In most cases, RootsWeb would be proud to host them. Please see the guidelines, tutorial and examples of data formats for user-contributed data: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/guidelines.html ==================== Saxon Roots Homepage http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~saxonyroots/home.htm ==================== http://www.rootsweb.com/~idgenweb/deaths/search.htm Idaho State Death Index, 1911-1950 ==================== Did You Know? One of the best places to store precious photographs is in a safe deposit box at your local bank. The climate controlled boxes help to slow deterioration and protect from possible fire damage. ==================== Visit the new Surname Search Utility at http://surnames.obitlinkspage.com ====================