Genealogy Search Investigation: Broward County Library

Genealogy Tool Kit

Stage 1 - Planning Your Investigation

People research their family history for many reasons, and in the last 10 to 20 years, there's been an upswing in interest in the field of genealogy. Whether you're tracing your lineage to find out if you have famous ancestors or are related to royalty, searching for religious reasons or to join a lineage society such as Daughters of the American Revolution, or just curious about where you came from, you'll be joining millions of others worldwide who are also searching for their heritage.

With that amount of interest, you'll also find a wealth of online sources - so many that they can almost be overwhelming. In the past, genealogists had to do a lot of footwork, literally. Tracing your family tree meant traveling to distant courthouses to view documents, interview relatives or look for information in cemeteries. Few had the time and money to do an exhaustive search this way, but the Internet changed all that. While some hands-on sleuthing may be required - not every piece of data is available via computer - a lot of work can be done online.

But once again - so many Web sites and databases; where to even start? Your first step should be a simple one: Planning your investigation. You can cut down on unnecessary hours of dead-end research by being a careful detective and avoiding clues that get you nowhere. GSI has prepared some simple preparatory steps that can get you started in the planning phase, and possibly save you lots of time in the long run.

Selecting a "Suspect"

Your first step in opening your case is to start with one person. This will keep your focus relatively narrow (at least in the beginning) and stop your research from going in a million different directions at once. Of course, selecting a name sounds easy, right? Sure if the person's surname is unique, but what if you're looking for John Smith? If possible, try to find a name that is semi-unique; a maiden name of a grand- or great-grandmother or father, for example. If you are looking for a Smith or Jones, you will want to have some additional information before you search to avoid looking for the proverbial "needle in a haystack."

Remember that many surnames have variations in spellings. You can usually find more information on mainstream spellings (for example, Smith rather than Smythe) but you'll want to research online to see what variations of the name are out there.  If your family came to the United States in the last 200 years, the surname might have been Americanized. This was often done so the name could be more easily pronounced in English or, in some instances, the name was mispronounced and misspelled and the family simply left it that way. To find various surname spellings, you might have to look through family records. Or, you can visit a site like Table of Common Surname Variations and Surname Misspellings" at www.ingeneas.com/altnerate.html.

You can also find the following books on surnames in Broward County Library:

• Book of Irish Names: First, Family and Place Names, Ronan Coghlan, Sterling Publishing, 1989. 
• The Guinness Book of Names, 5th Edition by Leslie Dunkling, Guinness Publishing, 1991.
• Dictionary of German Names by Edda Gentry, University of Wisconsin, 2002. 
• Hispanic Surnames and Family History by Lyman De Platt, Genealogical Publishing, 1996,
• Family Names and Family History by David Hey, Hambledon and London, 

You can find out how popular a surname is by looking at online distribution maps that tell you how many people with that surname live or lived in each of the 50 states. One of the best sites for this is www.hamrick.com/names. Just follow the instructions and type in the surname of your choice and a year (1850, 1880, 1920, 1990 or all years) and the site provides a color-coded map with the information you're looking for.

These maps are useful because they can also show the places where your ancestors lived and when they lived there. Perhaps your family came from a foreign country and then settled in one certain area then branched out; for example, they might have landed on Ellis Island but moved to Connecticut. Or, your grandmother may have mentioned that her father was born in California but she grew up in Illinois. The distribution map can be a very helpful tool in tracking family movement in the U.S. and assisting you in narrowing down your search. 
                        
Go With What You Know

Now that you've selected a name to start with, you can begin your preliminary investigation. Start from the beginning, with information that is readily available.

Chances are, you probably already have information about your family's history; stories from mom, dad and your grandparents; old family photos, maybe a trunk of old documents in your aunt's attic. When first starting to trace your genealogy, your best bet is start with items and documents from your house, or a relative's house that can provide clues to your family's past. These could include:

• Photographs
• A family Bible
• Heirlooms and scrapbooks
• Birth and death certificates
• Birth, graduation, and wedding announcements
• Report cards and diplomas
• Funeral cards and obituaries

The Usual Suspects

With the knowledge gathered from the sources above, you can start with interviewing people who have the information you need. Since you've already selected a person to start with and looked through available and reliable documents, you can start making a list of anyone who could provide additional details on your family history.

One of the best way to get information is straight from the source - interviews with relatives and family friends who can give you an eyewitness account of family events, describe and give personal impressions of relatives you've never met, talk about their life and experiences, and offer new insight and details you just can't get from the computer or paper documents. They can also point you toward other relatives that might be able to provide helpful information.

When planning interviews, you might want to start with the oldest relatives first.  Interview can be conducted via mail or e-mail or over the phone, but the best way is face-to-face.

Preparation

Your first step is to target who you will be interviewing and contacting them; you can't just show up out of the blue at Great Aunt Martha's and start asking her questions about the past. Write a letter or an e-mail that includes a polite request for a convenient time and place, as well as an idea of the type of questions you'll be asking. If you need help with the letter, here's a site that offers sample interview request letters:

Give enough advance time so that your subject can gather any photos or documents they might have and are willing to share with you. Decide on your method of recording the interview.  A tape-recorded conversation is great (just remember to ask permission first, preferably in your request letter so there's no surprises when you get there). Or see if you can videotape your interview; you'll be able to see the expressions on their face as well as have a great addition to your genealogy project, a visual memento of the event, and a valuable tool for anyone - your children, grandchildren, other relatives - who might later be interested in your family's genealogy.

Select a location with no distractions in a place where the person will be comfortable and you will have the privacy necessary for the interview.

Before you interview, you must be prepared with a list of about 15-20 questions to ensure that the interview doesn't come to any awkward pauses. However, do allow the person the chance to let the conversation go in other directions. You never know what you might learn.

Encourage your relative to share their family photo album with you. Photos from the past may trigger memories - yours and your relative's - and keep the interview flowing. Ask if you can borrow photos to scan and keep as a visual reminder and companion to the oral interview. (Just make you're careful with any borrowed material and prompt in returning it.)

Also, be mindful and respectful in your questions and avoiding asking about sensitive family issues such as family feuds and the like, or anything that might be construed as too personal. Even if you want to hear the stories, don't be pushy. If your relative wants to open up to you about them, they will.

Questions to Ask

Before you begin your interview questions, decide what your goal for the interview will be. What do you want to learn? Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no and strive for open-ended questions that allow the person to talk about their memories and personal experiences.  You may even want to write the questions on a pad in the order you'd like to ask them, or even write them on numbered index cards.

If you're not sure about what to ask, here are some ideas that can help you on the way. Of course, you'll also be asking questions based on your knowledge of the family or to find out necessary information; ask those specific questions first since the interview may go off into other directions along the way.  Feel free to personalize and adapt sample questions to your own needs.

For more tips and ideas about oral histories and genealogical interviews, as well as more sample questions, you may want to visit these Web sites:

http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm
http://genealogy.about.com/od/oral_history/Oral_Histories_Interviewing
_Relatives_and_Collecting_Oral_History.htm
http://www.genealogy.com/tip10.html
http://www.cyndislist.com/oral.htm

Rootstelevision.com is a great site that offers videos on how to conduct genealogy; the site also contains video and web conferences and other information on searching and researching your family history. Click here to go to view their segments on oral histories: http://www.rootstelevision.com/players/player_storytelling3.php

The Interview

This might sound obvious, but make sure you check all of your recording equipment ahead of time. Bring back-up batteries and extra tapes if you're recording, or extension cords if needed. Also bring paper and pens just in case so that you can write down key points during the interview. They're also handy for jotting down your own impressions of the interview surroundings, the person you're interviewing or any post-interviewing observations or thoughts.

Make a checklist of the items you'll need for the interview and review it before you leave your house. The site offers a sample checklist along with other interviewing ideas and tips: http://www.byub.org/capturingpast/

You can also check out this book on interviewing for a family history from Broward County Library:

How to Create a Video Family History: The Complete Guide to Interviewing
and Taping Your Family's Stories & Memories. By Rob Huberman, Comteq Publishing, 2003. 929.1028 HU

Be on time to your interview (obviously) and think about bringing a small host/hostess gift with you, such as flowers or a card. Make sure the person is comfortable with you and with any equipment you may bring for recording the interview.

Also, be respectful of the other person's time; in your request letter, you should have mentioned a time frame for how long the interview will take. Stick to these parameters, especially if you're interviewing an older person.

After the interview, be sure to follow up with a thank you card and perhaps a transcript of the interview itself. This shows that you appreciate and value the contribution this person has made to your genealogy search.

Transcribe the interview as soon as possible; if you can't understand a word or two, it will be easier to get it right if it is still fresh in your mind. Make sure you make a back-up copy of the interview, just in case.

(SIDEBAR)

BOLO - Be On the Look Out:
For easy reference, here's a list of all the sites mentioned in this section:

BOOKS

Surnames:
Book of Irish Names: First, Family and Place Names, Ronan Coghlan, Sterling Publishing, 1989. 
The Guinness Book of Names, 5th Edition by Leslie Dunkling, Guinness Publishing, 1991.
Dictionary of German Names by Edda Gentry, University of Wisconsin, 2002. 
Hispanic Surnames and Family History by Lyman De Platt, Genealogical Publishing, 1996,
Family Names and Family History by David Hey, Hambledon and London, 1996

Interviewing for a Family History:
How to Create a Video Family History: The Complete Guide to Interviewing
and Taping Your Family's Stories & Memories. By Rob Huberman, Comteq Publishing, 2003.

WEB SITES

Surname Popularity Map:
www.hamrick.com/names

Surname Variations and Misspellings:
www.ingeneas.com/altnerate.html
http://www.searchforancestors.com/surnames/origin/

Sample Interview Questions:
http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm
http://genealogy.about.com/od/oral_history/Oral_Histories_Interviewing
_Relatives_and_Collecting_Oral_History.htm
http://www.genealogy.com/tip10.html
http://www.cyndislist.com/oral.htm

Sample Pre-Interview Checklist:
http://www.byub.org/capturingpast/

Online Video Interviewing Tutorial:
http://www.rootstelevision.com/players/player_storytelling3.php