Topics and Questions

There are several Web sites which have a variety of questions you can use to conduct an oral history. The most extensive can be found here at Genealogy.com, through the Biography Assistant. Some of the subjects you can cover:

• Childhood
• siblings
• schooling
• clothing
• chores
• illnesses

• Teenage Years
• schooling
• clothing
• dating
• leaving home
• employment

• Family Traditions
• holidays
• birthdays
• heirlooms

• Adulthood
• employment
• leaving home
• dating
• marriage
• children

• Life Events
• politics
• religion
• wars
• natural disasters

• Locations
• first home
• town
• moving
• local social events
• visiting large (or small) cities

• Miscellaneous
• indoor plumbing
• movies
• television
• music
• family recipes
• songs and poems
• medical history