Oral histories are stories that living individuals tell about
their past, or about the past of other people. Preserving oral
history is a critical first phase of genealogical research and
data preservation. Because those who provide the information are
generally older members of the family, both their lives and
their memories are at risk of being lost to time. Therefore, it
should always be the first priority of a beginning genealogist
or family historian to find these patriarchs and matriarchs of
the family, be they grandparents, great-grandparents,
granduncles, grandaunts, great-granduncles, great-grandaunts,
older first and second cousins, and even older neighbors and
acquaintances of these people. What Oral Histories Can Reveal
Treat the information you gather through oral histories as
guidance, not as the ultimate source, because memories often
fade and facts get confused with other facts. Sometimes,
however, the information you obtain through oral interviews
exists nowhere else and must be taken at face