Like many others, I learned my family's history by talking with those who remembered it, listening to stories of the good old days, and discovering the important events that shaped my families life. I picked up on the gossip and even learned the songs they sang when sharing celebrations and other family customs, all from the memories of those who were there. It gave me answers, a sense of belonging and stories that I can pass down from generation to generation. Family history gives a strong impression of a much longer lifespan and survival beyond death. Oral history can be defined as a systematic process by which an individual's memories or eyewitness accounts of the past are collected and the process recorded and analyzed to provide answers or prompt questions about written sources left without response. Records have shown that the use of oral evidence dates back to Herodotus, considered the father of history. This showed that he relied heavily on eyewitness accounts to tell the stories of the Peloponnesian War, and before the art of writing became the norm, even when written evidence was available, historians s They also relied on eyewitness accounts to help them piece together the past. and improve written materials (Ritchie). The use of oral history experienced a revival when it was facilitated by the invention of recording equipment. The use of oral sources continues to be a legitimate informant of historical evidence, providing eyewitness accounts and valuable information enhancing formal written records. Unlike "history from above" promoted by historians like Leopold von Ranke, who focused solely on writing the histories of political, social and religious elites, History......mid paper......history plays a vital role in accurately documenting history and can be reliable. This therefore raises questions about the nepotism of the historian who criticizes the reliability of oral testimonies when they arise from the same principles as written history. Works Cited Commager, Henry, Steele. History. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co., 1980. Ritchie, Donald A. Doing Oral History. New York, NY: Twayne's Publishers, 1995. Seldon, Anthony and Joanna Pappworth. By word of mouth Elite oral history. New York: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1983. Sitton, Thad, George L Mehaffy and L JR Davis O. Oral history. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983. Thompson, Paul. The voice of the past; Oral history; 3 edition. New York: Oxford University Press Inc, 2000. Vansina, January. Oral tradition as history. Great Britain: James Currey Ltd, 1985.