Verbal Sourcing:

Verbal Sourcing Family History and Genealogy are living relatives or friends that have a recollection of the deceased person that you can do an "Oral History Interview" with. When obtaining information from a person, it's important for you to consider several things before you discuss dates and information. These I have learned from personal experience! If at all possible, please try to audio tape or video tape the interview. It's a lot easier to interview a person if you don't have to worry about writing everything down. Plus, don't forget your batteries!

It's very important for you to remember that you are there to interview them. You need for them to talk as much as possible for you to get the best information possible about your relative. This is where you will need to use your "listening ears" a lot. Whether it is on a phone or in person, please try to encourage them to talk by asking open-ended questions, such as: Will you please describe the sense of humor that your Mother had? What were a few of the talents that your Father had? These will lead them into giving a more lengthy description. Yes and No questions are closed ended. Sometimes they are necessary but should be kept to a minimum. The more details that they can give, the better. A great source of a set of questions for an "Oral History Interview" can be found at http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Quest.html. These questions and Mind Joggers are wonderful. Please sit down and try to think up a few of your own also. Often, there are Ethnic or Religious questions that you can mix in that will help.

Please set up an appointment to interview them when you will not be in a hurry and they will not be in a hurry either. Timing is very important and making the interview as relaxing as possible is too. Please consider the time of day and the schedule of the person that you are going to interview, as well as your schedule. The more comfortable the person is, that you're interviewing, the better. There is nothing worse than being rushed when you are interviewing someone. Remember too, you can always visit or call at a later time or date.

What was the relationship like between this living person and the person that you are asking for information on? Did they get along? Were they close? If they got along well and were close, people have the tendency to remember information better about those that they are closest too. If they didn't get along well or were not close to each other prior to death, there might be a chance that the information that you will be given may not be correct. As a rule of thumb, I always try to find a paper document/source that will corroborate with what the living person told me. Please DO NOT argue with a living person or tell them that they are wrong. They may sincerely believe that they are correct and very well might be with parts of the information. It's much better to listen to all of what they have to say, record it on tape if possible, and then sort it out later. In the end, you may make or publish a book about your family and they can read the truth about the information then. It's always best to take the high road and keep the conversation on a very kind and friendly level.

What is the health of the relative or friend that you are interviewing? Sometimes the person that your interviewing might remember information because they were close in age to the deceased relative. If so, that means that they may be suffering from the normal malady's of old age. So, they might have good days and bad days. Sometimes it's better to interview an elderly person right before lunch time or not too close after a meal which might make them a little sleepy. The more alert they are, the better. Keep in mind the time of day and the location of the interview. If the person is elderly and lives in a nursing home, they might not have a private room. Some people are more comfortable talking in private or outside if it's a warm and nice day.

Once you have completed the interview, it's a must to send a thank you note to the person that you interviewed. I also promise to give them a copy of the genealogy that I put together when I'm done. They usually appreciate that.

When you have used a person as a verbal source, it's up to you whether or not you want to reflect that in your writing. If the information was correct, after using a document/paper source to verify, then it's proper to give credit where credit is due.

Written Sourcing:

Written Sourcing for Family History and Genealogy is a very necessary part of your genealogy research. I, as a standard for my work, verify all Verbal Sourcing with a written document, if at all possible. Often, the only way that you can move forward with your family history and genealogy is to use the many written sources that are availiable. Anyone that is planning on breaking through those walls that we hit when we are researching our ancestors will need to deligently, carefully and intelligently locate and utilize the written sources that are available. Written sources can be found on the computer, in books, in newspapers, on microfilms, on microfische, on tombstones, in family historys, in bible records and on maps. Here is a list of the most common sources that we can use:

• Census Sound Indexes and Census Records
• Vital Statistics - Birth, Death and Marriages
• Newspapers - Obituaries, Marriages, Births, & Community Involvements/Events
• County Histories - Biographies
• Cemeteries - Tombstones & Burial Records
• Atlas - Maps, City Directories
• Libraries - Local, Genealogical, Historical, Public
• Church/ Temple Records - Membership, Christening, Baptism, Confirmation, Bat/Bar Mitzvah, Marriage & Death
• Computer Postings - that can be verified w/documents.
• Adjutant General - Grave Registration, Military Records
• Wills and other Probate Records - Guardianships, Divorce
• Deeds - Grantor, Grantee Indexes - Land Grants
• Pensions
• National Archives

If you are diligent with doing your verbal and/or written sources, your family history and genealogy will come together nicely. You will find information about your ancestors that you never knew before. I love to find new documents and pull a small piece of information out of it that magnifies that line of my family. I can honestly say that it has happened more than a few times. I hope that it happens for you as well.