50 Genealogy Questions To Ask Your Parents/Grandparents etc.....

1 -  What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname?

2 -  When and where were you born?

3 -   Were there other family members in the area? Who?

4 -  Were there other family members in the area? Who?

5 -  What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?

6  - Were there any special items in the house that you remember?

7  - What is your earliest childhood memory?

8 -  Describe the personalities of your family members.

9 -  What kind of games did you play growing up?

10 -  What was your favorite toy and why?

11 -  What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?

12 -  Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?

13 -  Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?

14 -  What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?

15 -  What school activities and sports did you participate in?

16 -  Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?

17 -  Who were your childhood heroes?

18 -  What were your favorite songs and music?

19 -  Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?

20 -  What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?

21 -  Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?

22 -  Who were your friends when you were growing up?

23 -  What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?

24 -  Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?

25 -  How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?

26 -  How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?

27 -  Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?

28 -  What do you know about your family surname?

29 -  Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?

30 -  What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?

31 -  Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?

32 -  Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?

33 -  Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?

34 -  Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?

35 -  What was the full name of your spouse? Siblings? Parents?

36 -  When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?

37 -  What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?

38 -  Where and when did you get married?

39 -  What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?

40 -  How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?

41 -  What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?

42 -  How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time?

43 -  Why did you choose your children's names?

44 -  What was your proudest moment as a parent?

45 -  What did your family enjoy doing together?

46 -  What was your profession and how did you choose it?

47 -  If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?

48 -  Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?

49 -  What accomplishments were you the most proud of?

50 -  What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?