FAMILY HISTORY QUESTIONS TO GET YOU STARTED

FAMILY HISTORY QUESTIONS

 

1. What were your maternal grandparents' names and dates of birth? Where were they born?

 

2. What were your paternal grandparents' names and dates of birth? Where were they born?

 

3. What kind of work did your grandparents do?

 

4. Where did your maternal grandparents live?

 

5. Where did your paternal grandparents live?

 

6. Do you have special memories of your grandparents?

 

7. What food did you have when you visited?

 

8. Did you do any special activities?

 

9. Are you named after one of them? And if so, why?

 

10. If they died before you knew them, how are they remembered?

 

11. Childhood - School and Home

 

12. Did you go to school or were you home schooled?

 

13. How did you get to school?

 

14. Did your school have a uniform?

 

15. Who was your favourite/most influential teacher? Why?

 

16. Who was your least favourite teacher? Why?

 

17. What were your favourite subjects? Your least favourite?

 

18. Were you good at anything in particular at school or home?

 

19. What were the most important skills that you learned at home?

 

20. What kind of clothing did you wear? Was it homemade?

 

21. Did you have a special occasion dress or outfit?

 

Special Occasions

 

1. What was your favourite holiday or special occasion?

 

2. How were birthdays celebrated in your family?

 

3. What’s a special memory from a birthday, Christmas or special occasion?

 

4. Was your family religious? What place of worship did you attend?

 

5. How did you celebrate special holidays? Did you give gifts, decorate, dress up, go to church or worship?

 

6. Your teenage years

 

7. How many years of school did you attend?

 

8. Did you do an apprenticeship, go to TAFE, college or university? Where, when? What did you study?

 

9. What were your goals, hopes, and dreams as a young adult?

 

10. What was your first job? How old were you?

 

11. Did you have more than one job? Which was the best? Why? What were the people you worked with like?

 

Older years

 

1. What was/is your occupation/trade? Have you had multiple professions over the years?

 

2. What tasks did your work involve? Did you enjoy the work?

 

3. If you could have chosen another profession, what would it have been?

 

4. Did you ever get married?

 

5. When, where, and how did you meet your spouse?

 

6. How did you get engaged?

 

7. What was your wedding like? What did you wear, what food was served, where was it held?

 

8. Who were your bridesmaids/best man?

 

9. Did you go on a trip or honeymoon after the wedding? Where to?

 

10. If you chose not to marry, what was the reason?

 

11. About your partner/spouse

 

12. What is your spouse’s full name? Their siblings and parents?

 

13. What is your spouse's occupation? Interests?

 

14. Can you describe a little about your spouse’s personality?

 

15. What do you love the most about your spouse?

 

16. What was your first home together like? Where was it? Did you rent it, buy it?

 

17. What would you say is the key to a successful marriage?

 

18. Do you have any children? How many?

 

19. What are the names and birth dates of your children? The names of their spouses?

 

20. Do you remember what it was like finding out you would soon be a parent?

 

21. What were your children’s births like? At the hospital, at home? Who was there?

 

22. What city or county were each of your children born in?

 

23. Where did you live when your kids were growing up?

 

24. Did you move around much? Why did you move and to where?

 

25. What was your home(s) like when your children were young? Did you own or rent?

 

26. What special memories do you have of your children’s baby or preschool years?

 

27. What was your favourite way to spend time with your kids?

 

28. What was the most difficult part of raising kids? The best part?

 

29. What hobbies did you have when you weren’t working or caring for children?

 

30. What kind of music did you like to listen to?

 

31. What kind of books/magazines did you like to read?

 

 

 

Travel and World Events

 

1. How many nationalities/passports do you have?

 

2. How many places have you lived? Travelled to?

 

3. Which was your favourite?

 

4. Which did you dislike the most? Why?

 

5. What major world events have happened in your lifetime? Did any have a big effect on you?

 

6. Which personal events in your life would you say had the greatest impact on you?

 

7. What’s the best advice you can give your great-grandchildren, your great-great-grandchildren?

 

8. What do you want people to remember the most about you?