My family's always been pretty open about answering family history questions. Even delighted I took an interest. The times when I was hesitant to ask it involved "scandals" like why a cousin is so much older than the rest of us. But when I asked, they'd just tell me. So I don't have any suggestions if they're always hesitant or angry about answering.

We used to look through old pictures when I was young. That was a good time to ask questions. Do they have any old photos you can ask about? You can say you want to copy some into a family album for yourself or future kids.