How to interview your elders about family history

The most valuable family records are often in someone’s memory. A grandparent may know the names of their own grandparents, the village the family left and why — things no archive holds.

Ask simple, specific questions: What were your grandparents called? Where were they from? Who were their brothers and sisters? What work did they do? Old photographs, wedding dates and family stories make good prompts.

Record the answers in their own words, and note who said what and when. A detail one aunt remembers can be confirmed or corrected by a cousin later.

Many elders will never use an app. With Kinealogy you can send a link about one person; they answer a few plain questions on their phone, even by voice, with no account — and every answer waits for you to approve it before it reaches the tree.