Gathering basic information. Interviews
Goal: before going to archives, know the surnames, village, religion and approximate years. To start, the surname of a grandmother or grandfather and the name of the village are enough. Result of this stage: three generations in a table, every fact marked "according to…" or "per document…", scans of documents and photographs.
What is most important to find out
| What | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The village or town where the ancestor was born and lived, and neighbouring villages | The place determines the parish and archive (places) |
| Religion and which church they attended | It determines which books to search: Orthodox, Greek or Roman Catholic, Jewish |
| Surname, maiden name of women, nicknames | The surname changes in documents (principles) |
| Names of the father and mother, brothers and sisters | The parents' names are the key to a metric record |
| Years (at least decades) of birth, marriage, death | They narrow the search in books |
| Who the godparents, godfathers and neighbours were | They are relatives who will help find a record |
| Military service, wars, captivity | Separate documents (other sources) |
| Deportation, famine, repression, dekulakization, resettlement | The family may have disappeared from the village — search the documents of these events |
| Emigration (USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Poland) | Relatives abroad have their own documents, and the diaspora often kept the name of the village |
How to interview
- Start with the oldest relatives. It is easiest while they are still alive.
- Record audio or video, with the person's permission. State the date, the person's name and the degree of kinship at the start.
- Ask openly: "Tell me about your father", "Where did you live as a child?", "Who lived next door?". Do not suggest the answer.
- Ask about things they remember, not dates: holidays, trades, moves, conflicts, nicknames. You will find the dates later in documents.
- Ask them to show photographs and write on the back who is in them.
- Repeat the conversation: people recall new things when they see documents.
Mark where each piece of information comes from: "per grandmother Olena, 2024", and do not mix it with what is proven by a document.
Which home documents to collect
- Birth, marriage and death certificates; passports, certificates.
- Military IDs, award documents, credentials.
- Work record books, school-leaving certificates, diplomas.
- Letters, postcards, photographs, family Bibles and prayer books with entries.
- Documents about land, inheritance, resettlement, rehabilitation.
- House books and residence-registration certificates.
Scan or photograph every document, name the file by the pattern Surname_Name_type_year and keep it in two places. Even a document that seems unrelated to genealogy may give a place of birth or parents.
The first table
| Person | Date and place of birth | Date and place of marriage | Date and place of death | Parents | Source of information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan Petrenko | ≈1885, village of Oleske | — | — | Petro, Maria | per grandmother |
Add generations as long as there is something to write. Empty cells are your research plan.
How Predok helps
With a village and a surname, do not wait for the archive — ask Predok:
- "My ancestors lived in the village of Oleske, now Volyn region. Great-grandfather Semen Kahanyuk died in 1950. How can I find information about his birth and parents?"
- "Where and when did people with the surname Kahanyuk live? How is it written in sources?"
- "Which parish and uyezd did Oleske belong to in 1890? What sources and scans exist there?"
The answer gives the parish, the list of surviving files with call numbers and links to scans, if any. Next — sources.