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 is: "Please suggest areas that a genealogist with intermediate experience could expand to, or improve on, while doing genealogy research in various record types, and in telling family stories."
I asked this question to the free AI tools on OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o, Anthropic's Claude, Microsoft's CoPilot, Google's Gemini, Meta's AI, and Perplexity.
2) In my opinion, by far the best and most complete answer I received was from OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o:
An intermediate genealogist has already gained a solid foundation in basic research techniques, but there are many ways to expand skills and dive deeper into both research and storytelling. Here are some areas to consider for growth:
Record Types and Research Expansion
Land and Property Records
Explore deeds, mortgages, and land grants. These often reveal not only property ownership but also relationships, migration patterns, and economic status.
Use land maps and plat books to visualize property holdings and neighbors.
Trace the sale of inherited land, which can help in finding heirs and family structures.
Probate and Wills
Study intestate probate records (when someone dies without a will) to learn about lesser-known family members or relationships.
Analyze guardianship records when minors are involved, as they can provide insight into family dynamics.
Research the distribution of assets and compare it to land and tax records to understand wealth and social standing.
Military and Pension Records
Go beyond enlistment and service records. Look for pension applications and bounty land warrants, which may include affidavits from relatives or friends.
Investigate regimental histories and military rolls for a deeper understanding of an ancestor's military experience.
Church and Religious Records
Look into denominational archives for membership records, baptisms, marriages, and funerals.
Consider broader research into the religious history of the family’s region to understand migration and community ties.
Occupational and Apprenticeship Records
Search for guild or apprenticeship records to understand an ancestor’s trade.
Investigate local occupational directories or newspapers for advertisements of their business.
Tax Records
Dive deeper into tax lists to track an ancestor’s residence, wealth, and land over time, especially in non-census years.
Look for anomalies such as sudden increases in wealth, which might indicate inheritance or a business venture.
Immigration and Naturalization Records
Explore naturalization papers, which can provide personal information such as place of origin and witnesses.
Review border crossings and passenger lists, including ship manifests, for specific details of immigration and settlement.
Court Records
Broaden research to include civil court cases, which may cover disputes, debts, or community interactions.
Criminal records and prison registers can reveal surprising details about an ancestor's life, from minor offenses to serious crimes.
DNA Research
Expand beyond basic ethnicity estimates. Use autosomal DNA to confirm ancestral lines or break down brick walls.
Participate in triangulation projects to confirm relationships with DNA matches.
Use Y-DNA or mtDNA testing for deeper exploration into direct paternal or maternal lines.
Telling Family Stories and Contextual Research
Narrative Writing
Develop storytelling skills by writing biographical narratives for key ancestors. Incorporate historical context to enrich the story.
Create themed family histories, such as focusing on occupations, migration, or military service.
Historical Context and Social History
Research the social history of the time period to bring ancestors’ experiences to life. For instance, look at economic conditions, wars, cultural trends, or local events during their lives.
Contextualize ancestors within major events like the Great Depression, World Wars, or the Industrial Revolution.
Photo Analysis and Preservation
Learn techniques for analyzing old photographs, including identifying clothing styles, photo formats, and potential locations.
Use technology for photo restoration and preservation, and consider adding photos to family trees to enhance visual storytelling.
Mapping Ancestors’ Lives
Create migration maps to visualize family movements over time. This can be done with tools like Google Earth or family tree software.
Use historical maps to compare the environment your ancestors lived in and how the geography influenced their lives (e.g., proximity to waterways, cities, or farmland).
Digital Scrapbooks or Family History Books
Compile research into digital scrapbooks that combine records, photos, and stories into a cohesive narrative.
Design and publish a family history book, with a focus on including personal stories, documents, and photographs.
Transcribing and Analyzing Documents
Improve skills in document transcription, particularly in older handwriting styles like cursive or Gothic script.
Practice paleography by transcribing letters, diaries, and early wills, paying attention to linguistic differences and legal language.
Family Lore and Oral Histories
Conduct oral history interviews with older relatives, documenting family stories, traditions, and anecdotes.
Compare family lore with actual records to either confirm or refute stories passed down through generations.
Technology and Advanced Research Tools
Genealogy Software Mastery
Become proficient with advanced features in genealogy software like Legacy, Family Tree Maker, or RootsMagic, including sourcing, timelines, and report generation.
Collaboration and Crowdsourcing
Engage in collaborative research by joining surname or geographic study groups. Work with others to solve research puzzles.
Use crowdsourcing platforms like WikiTree or FamilySearch to contribute to community-based family trees and research projects.
Advanced Online Search Strategies
Develop advanced search techniques for genealogical databases by learning to use wildcards, Boolean searches, and filters effectively.
By focusing on these areas, an intermediate genealogist can broaden their research capabilities, uncover more nuanced information, and enhance the depth of their family stories.
Perplexity.ai offered these resources in their response:
- https://dna-explained.com/2023/04/18/so-you-want-to-become-a-professional-genetic-genealogist/
- https://www.sog.org.uk/education/learning-hub/guides-tips/genealogy-as-a-career/
- https://www.waybackgen.com/whats-new/things-no-one-told-me-about-becoming-a-professional-genealogist
- https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comments/ytbpn6/im_a_professional_genealogist_ask_me_anything/
- https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/free-resources/becoming-a-professional-genealogist/
- https://ppgs.org/cpage.php?pt=63
4) In general, I think the ChatGPT-4o answers to the prompt are reasonable. While most experienced genealogists are aware of these methods and resources, many inexperienced and occasional genealogists are not. In my opinion, the answers are terse and could be more fully explained.
- The answer doesn't mention home sources, but scrapbooks, obituary collections, letters, photographs, awards or honors, school records, yearbooks, etc. can be very useful. Manuscript and archival collections are not mentioned.
- Personal correspondence with other researchers (who perhaps have the same ancestor(s)), joining and working with genealogical societies, Facebook and other social media interaction, and blogs for "cousin bait" are not mentioned for collaboration.
- Using family images, historical images, documents and maps are suggested in the Story-telling section, but family videos and audio segments are not.
- Lifelong education via books, periodicals, websites, conferences, seminars, webinars, videos, mentoring is not mentioned although the query doesn't specifically ask for suggestions.
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