* Problems getting information from relatives!

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Bonzo
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Problems getting information from relatives!

Post by Bonzo »

I am having problems getting information out of relatives and the only way is go and see them face to face.

For instance I have some wedding photos and I have numbered each person and sent a paper version out and no replies. I have also uploaded them to my website and all the user has to do is write me an email saying person 1 is Fred Blogs and he is the brides father but I have had a zero response rate!

I have now decided to take a different approach and am writing some website code that uses some face detection code to crop the face from the photo and put it into a form. The user can then write the name and relationship into the box and press submit. It is nearly complete for my use but I was thinking would other people find it useful? If so I could make it more user friendly and put it onto a website for others to use. If you would like to try it PM me and I will give you a link - it is in a temporary test location at the moment so I do not really want to post the link here.

Any comments would be interesting; if you think it is a good or bad idea even if you do not try it out.

The face detection code is not fool proof and I am thinking about adding a manual method where the user can select the face by clicking a couple of points around it. Similar to the process in Family Historian.
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jimlad68
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Re: Problems getting information from relatives!

Post by jimlad68 »

Not got into that yet, but sounds very useful, please let us know how you get on.

Speaking to relatives can also be a problem, many are the other side of the world and you know if only you sat down with them you would get loads of info, but then there are people born say 1st half of 1900 who will only give you 1/2 the story, at best, only after research to you find the law and institutions involved!!
Jim Orrell - researching: see - but probably out of date https://gw.geneanet.org/jimlad68
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margarita
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Re: Problems getting information from relatives!

Post by margarita »

Please persevere in some way in getting this information - while you can!! You are fortunate in still having family members who can supply names, background stories etc.

Unfortunately, by the time I got down seriously to study my family's history (when I retired) there weren't many of the older generations left.

Just a thought: when you sent out your paper versions did you send reply-paid envelopes with them? People might be more inclined to reply if they don't have to search for an envelope and go to the Post Office for stamps.

The web-site idea sounds interesting, though.
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AnneEast
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Re: Problems getting information from relatives!

Post by AnneEast »

It sounds a great idea but please bear in mind that some of your relatives may not be as computer savvy as you are. This might specially apply to those older generation who could perhaps give you the information. Sometimes face-to-face is the only way!
Anne
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LornaCraig
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Re: Problems getting information from relatives!

Post by LornaCraig »

When attempting to obtain information from relatives do you always give them assurances about privacy? Many people are understandably sensitive about family information, even if it relates to people in an old photo who are 'long gone'.

As Anne says, your relatives may not all be as computer savvy as you are. But those who are may be extra cautious, so beware that your online approach doesn't backfire. If people are unwilling to reply on paper they may be even less willing to reply via a website (even a private site). People are aware of how easily information, or misinformation, can be published online and they may fear their information will be made public.

In pre-internet days that issue never arose, and a chat with an elderly relative who liked a gossip could be very productive.
Lorna
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Bonzo
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Joined: 06 Feb 2012 21:47
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Re: Problems getting information from relatives!

Post by Bonzo »

Yes some useful comments here and I have to agree with them and like others here have said the only way to get information from people is to sit with them and ask questions. But again that is not always practical as I do not want to drive a couple of hundred miles to ask one or two questions.

As soon as I tell one of them I have found a new relative the word gets around and I get emails asking to see a copy of the tree; so they can use the computer when they want to!

Anyway I will carry on with my project as I enjoy - up to a certain point - building websites. I have a couple of small problems that I have spent hours on and are driving me up the wall but that is another story.

I will let you know whether I get any feedback from them when I have completed the build and sent them a link.
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Jane
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Re: Problems getting information from relatives!

Post by Jane »

Another thought if they can use a computer, why not have a "Hangout" or a Skype meeting. With Hangouts you can share your screen and ask questions all at the same time, without the driving.
Jane
My Family History : My Photography "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."
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SunnyLady
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Re: Problems getting information from relatives!

Post by SunnyLady »

People are often happy to receive, but not to send, family information. I have shared info in the past in the hopes of an exchange and it's gone into a black hole with no further/amending info sent to me. Also have shared something saying this info "for your private use, for background, and not for publication or further transmission" only to find it word for word a couple of years later in a book (unattributed [don't get me going on sources or rather the lack of them] ... in this case was glad it was not attributed). It's put me off being helpful. Privacy too is an issue and we do not all have the same definition of what is felt to be "private".

I share the frustration of unidentified photographs (so tag the ones you take now!)... Said book had photo in it with the author deciding who was who, with no one now alive to identify them properly. BUT subsequently from other sources it's been found the identification is likely to be wrong... He had not asked around... So access to such a site might have helped (and book will be in error for ever with future readers unaware it's wrong)

Chatting face to face (despite Skype) with relatives not an option when they are on other side of the world, but if one can, do so... They see the whites of your eyes and can judge your assurances. Even so they may not want to share. My mother used to say "my life so boring" and then I found out, too late, that she had witnessed or had been part of things that are fascinating... Not just to me, as family historian/her daughter, but possibly to a broader audience.

And please don't assume that those born before 1950 are not computer savvy... They may just be more discreet about what they do know than the Facebook/"Twitter it all" generation, or simply do not want to share for all sorts of reasons.
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Bute01
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Re: Problems getting information from relatives!

Post by Bute01 »

Have you thought of the telephone?

If you have already sent the pictures etc. you have the 'excuse' to give them a call and ask if they have any answers.

I was recently given an address of a very distant relative by a cousin. I wrote her a letter asking for family history on her side, and gave my email and phone number. The day the letter was received I got a call and we talked for almost an hour (complete strangers) learning where we each fitted into the family, who was married to who, children etc.

I think when people are asked like that they are willing to give information freely, maybe the letters, pictures etc were just put aside as "something to do later".

Just have a large sheet of paper and pen handy - not something I had when I answered my call!
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