Family
Information about Birth:
Find out the date and place of birth and any interesting information relating to either the place of birth or any notable environmental features.
Where were you born?
Do you remember your first home? Neighborhood? Town? City? County?
When did you move to your present home? Neighborhood? Town? City? County?
Immigration/migration:
Discuss your reasons for emigration to the United States or migrating from another state. Discuss the struggles you went through to emigrate/migrate and how you dealt with them. Discuss the experience of arriving in a new place and adjusting to a new environment. Discuss whether your dreams were fulfilled and would you do it again.
Education:
List the number of years of formal schooling, including names and locations of schools. Ask about types of courses, skills learned, etc.
How many years of formal schooling did you have?
Is this more than your parents had?
Did educational expectations differ for boys and girls?
Did you have any special training outside of formal education?
Employment:
List the age of the interviewee at the time of his/her first employment. Get information concerning the place of work, type of work, wages, working conditions, etc.
Were all your family members expected to earn money? How were occupational choices made? What were the attitudes towards women working outside the home?
Do you remember the working conditions of your first job? How have conditions changed over the years?
Religion:
Ask about membership in churches, synagogues, mosque or religious organizations. Find out how participation in such activities was affected by economic, social and other conditions. To what religion do you belong?
Were you exposed to more than one faith in your lifetime?
How did and does religion affect the way you were brought up and your present life and the way you brought up your children?
What were and are your attitudes towards others of different faiths?
Marriage:
List age at time of marriage, name, age and occupation of spouse and the total number of years married, number of marriages. Also, find out the number of children produced by the marriage, their names, ages, birth dates and any information relating to any of their deaths (if applicable). Discuss how you met your husband/wife.
Tell me about your courtship.
Discuss why you got married.
Discuss obstacles if any you encounter to your getting married from in-laws or your own family. Discuss what do you like most about your husband/wife.
Discuss what do you dislike the most about your husband/wife.
Has your marriage been happy?discuss.
Family Lore:
List any family stories, legends, tales, sayings, superstitions or beliefs.
Do you remember any favorite family stories? Please give an example.
What were some favorite superstitions and beliefs in your family?
Were there any outstanding events that involved a member of your family at any time? Discuss What are some of the family traditions known to almost all of the members of your family?