I'm training myself to ask questions about my genealogy and family history research of the available Artificial Intelligence tools. This is hard to do for an experienced male aerospace engineer! But it is instructive!
1) Today, my prompt was: "You are a professional genealogist asked to provide genealogy and family history information to novice genealogists in a talk titled "Building Your Family Tree." What advice would you provide?"
I asked this question to the free AI tools on OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Microsoft's CoPilot, Google's Gemini, and Perplexity.
2) In my opinion, by far the best and most complete answer I received was from OpenAI's ChatGPT:
In the talk "Building Your Family Tree" I would provide practical, easy-to-follow advice to help novice genealogists start their family history journey. Here’s a structured approach:
1. Start with What You Know
• Begin with Yourself: Write down your own information—birth date, place, marriage details—and work backwards.
• Interview Relatives: Talk to parents, grandparents, and extended family members. Ask for names, birth and death dates, marriage dates, and places. Stories, memories, and family traditions can provide valuable clues.
• Look at Home Sources: Check for family Bibles, scrapbooks, photo albums, birth certificates, and letters. These documents might have key information about your family’s past.
2. Organize and Document Your Findings
• Use a Pedigree Chart: Start with a simple pedigree chart to document your direct ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.). Fill in birth, marriage, and death information as you find it.
• Family Group Sheets: Record details about each nuclear family. This helps track siblings, marriages, and children in each generation.
• Keep Notes: Write down where you found your information (census, family interviews, etc.) and make sure to note sources for each piece of data.
3. Explore Online Genealogy Resources
• Start with Free Sites: Use FamilySearch.org for free access to millions of records. It’s a great starting point.
• Subscription Sites: As you get deeper into research, consider Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, or FindMyPast, which offer vast collections of documents, family trees, and DNA connections.
• Census Records: These are a treasure trove, providing information about where your ancestors lived, their age, occupation, and family members.
4. Use Vital Records
• Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates: These documents can provide names of parents, places of birth, and other crucial details. Contact state or county vital records offices for copies.
• Church Records: Baptisms, marriages, and burials may be recorded by local churches, especially for earlier generations when civil registration wasn’t common.
5. Follow a Surname or Location Strategy
• Surname Research: Focus on one surname at a time. This can help keep you from getting overwhelmed.
• Location-Based Research: Investigate the town, county, or country your ancestors lived in. Learn about the history of the area, its migration patterns, and where records might be held (such as local archives or libraries).
6. Evaluate and Analyze Your Sources
• Cite Your Sources: Always record where each piece of information comes from, whether it’s a family member’s memory or an official document.
• Assess Credibility: Not all sources are created equal. Compare multiple records to confirm details and identify inconsistencies.
7. Collaborate with Others
• Join a Genealogy Society: Many local societies offer resources and guidance specific to the region you are researching. They often host workshops, provide access to exclusive databases, and foster connections with other researchers.
• Use Online Forums and Groups: Platforms like Facebook, Reddit, or genealogy forums are excellent for finding advice and connecting with distant relatives who may have valuable information.
8. Explore DNA Testing (Optional)
• DNA Tests: DNA testing can offer clues about your family origins and connections to distant relatives. It’s helpful for breaking through “brick walls” or discovering unknown relatives.
• Use Caution: While DNA is a powerful tool, it should be used in combination with traditional records. Unexpected results may come up, so approach this step thoughtfully.
9. Stay Patient and Persistent
• Genealogy is a marathon, not a sprint. Be prepared for obstacles like missing records or conflicting information. Take breaks and keep returning with a fresh perspective.
10. Preserve and Share Your Research
• Create a Family Tree Online: Consider creating a digital family tree to share with relatives. Many websites make it easy to build and update your tree as new information comes in.
• Write Your Family’s Story: Once you have gathered enough information, consider writing a narrative of your family’s history to pass down to future generations.
Final Thoughts
Remember, building your family tree is like detective work. Each new discovery is a clue that can lead to more, and every family tree is unique. Enjoy the journey of uncovering your family’s story!
3) It is obvious to me that all of the AI tools, but especially ChatGPT, have been pre-trained by published genealogy books and sometimes websites on how to answer the question.
For almost every question, it takes ChatGPT (and the other tools) just seconds to formulate a response and list them on the website. It takes me longer to read, copy and paste the responses into a document and blog post than it does for the AI tool to formulate the response!
Copyright (c) 2024, Randall J. Seaver
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