The Claude (usually 3.7 Sonnet) artificial intelligence tool can be used to write family-friendly biographies of my ancestors that might be suitable for my relatives and descendants to help them understand their ancestry. Using the ABC method described in Using Artificial Intelligence In the Ancestor Biography Creation (ABC) Process, here is one ancestor biography.
1) I have written genealogical sketches for almost every known ancestor back 9 generations in blog posts based on 35 years of genealogical research in my 52 Ancestors/Relatives Biographies series. The genealogical sketch for my great-grandmother, Julia E. "Juliett" (White) Richmond (#11 on my Ahnentafel List), including sources and record abstracts, is 52 Ancestors Friday: Julia E. White (1848-1913).
2) For the Claude AI biography, I attach the PDF of the genealogical sketch for the specific ancestor, and then prompt the AI tool with: "You are an expert genealogist. Please create a draft biography from the attached file, including parents, siblings, spouses and children (with birth and death dates and places), summarize life events, and add historical facts as appropriate, but do not add or embellish any extra genealogical details. Use section headings. Expand the information in each section to add more details. The tone should be casual and suitable for family members."
3) The expanded biography of Julia E. "Juliett" Richmond (1848-1913) created by the AI tool Claude 3.7 Sonnet, lightly edited, is:
Julia E. (White) Richmond (1848-1913)
Early Life and Historical Context
Julia E. White was born on September 8, 1848, in East Killingly, Connecticut, during a period of significant industrial growth in New England. As the second daughter and second child (of six) of Henry Arnold White and Amy Frances Oatley, she came into the world just before the Civil War era. East Killingly, like many Connecticut towns of the period, was likely centered around textile manufacturing and farming communities.
Marriage and Family Life
At the age of 19, Julia married Thomas Richmond on June 20, 1868, in Killingly, Connecticut. Their marriage took place in the post-Civil War reconstruction period, as America was rebuilding and expanding. Together they created a remarkably large family, even by 19th-century standards, with nine children:
- Anne Frances "Annie" Richmond (1869-1939), their firstborn, who would later marry Walter Pickford in 1887 and care for her father in his final days.
- Frederic J. Richmond (1870-1875), whose short life ended at just five years of age, a sadly common tragedy for families in the 19th century.
- Everett Glens Richmond (1875-1917), who would marry Ida May Fiske in 1900 and would pass away in the same year as his father.
- Grace L. Richmond (1876-1963), who would later marry (1) Alfred Shaw in 1907 and (2) William Moody in 1950.
- Emily White Richmond (1879-1966), who would marry George Taylor in 1901 and later move to San Diego, California.
- Charles Percival Richmond (1880-1911), who would marry Jessie Brown in 1907 and move to Santa Barbara; he predeceased both his parents.
- Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962), who would marry Frederick Walton Seaver in 1900 and reside in Leominster, Massachusetts.
- Edwin Thomas Richmond (1883-1935), who would marry Alice Bertha Corey in 1906, and later handle his father's estate.
- James Henry Richmond (1886-1913), the youngest, who would marry Ethel Rosetta Judson in 1911, and predeceased his father by four years.
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(Thomas and Juliet (White) Richmond Family, ca 1895, image from family sources)
The family's experience with loss was not uncommon for the era, with the death of young Frederic at age 5 and the loss of three adult children (Charles, James, and Everett) within a relatively short span of years. Despite these hardships, Julia's legacy grew through her more than 20 grandchildren, representing a significant extended family network typical of New England families of the period.
Residences and Community Life
The Richmond family's movements through New England tell a story of adaptation and opportunity:
- 1870: Residing in Stonington, Connecticut, a coastal town known for its maritime industry
- 1880: Resided in Killingly, Connecticut, their original home area
- 1900: Resided in Leominster, Massachusetts during its industrial boom period
- 1910: Resided in Killingly, Connecticut, perhaps drawn by family ties
- 1913: Final years in Putnam, Connecticut, a thriving mill town
These moves likely reflected the changing economic opportunities of late 19th-century New England, as families often relocated to follow industrial development and employment opportunities.
Religious and Musical Life
Julia's involvement in the Episcopal Church went beyond mere attendance. She was an accomplished musician who contributed significantly to church life through her musical talents. As both a pianist and organist, she would have been a valuable member of her church community, as musical literacy was highly prized in religious settings of the era. Her participation in the church choir further demonstrated her commitment to religious musical expression.
The donation of a lecture Bible to St. Phillips Episcopal Church in Putnam after her death in 1913 suggests she was held in high regard by her religious community. This gift would have been used for public readings and study, making her memory an enduring part of church life.
Domestic Life and Social Context
As a housewife during the Victorian and early Edwardian eras, Julia would have managed a large household during a period of significant technological and social change. The late 19th century saw the introduction of many modern conveniences, though the degree to which the Richmond household embraced these changes is unknown. Her role as mother to nine children would have required considerable skill in household management, nutrition, health care, and education.
Final Years and Legacy
Julia, called Juliett in her later years, faced breast cancer at the end of her life. She passed away on October 1, 1913, in Putnam, Connecticut, at the age of 65. Her burial alongside her husband in Grove Street Cemetery in Putnam established a permanent memorial to their family legacy.
Her life spanned a period of remarkable change in American history, from the pre-Civil War era through the early 20th century. She witnessed the transformation of New England from a primarily agricultural society to an industrial powerhouse, the evolution of transportation from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles, and significant advances in medicine and technology.
Julia's legacy lives on not only through her numerous descendants but also through the musical and spiritual contributions she made to her community. The fact that her family chose to honor her memory with a lecture Bible suggests that she was viewed as someone who valued both learning and spiritual growth, traits she likely passed on to her children and grandchildren.
4) A poem and song lyrics to commemorate the life of Julia E. "Juliett" (White) /Richmond (1848-1913) can be found in "Juliett's Legacy of Love" -- An Ancestor's Genealogy Poem and Song Created by Artificial Intelligence. The song created from the song lyrics can be heard in that blog post.
5) An audio overview (essentially a podcast created by the Google ContentLM AI tool) discussing the life of Julia E. "Juliett" (White) Richmond can be heard at https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/a4302175-3ffe-45ff-b1c3-6a43045a2dd4/audio.
6) I lightly edited the Claude biography text to add more family detail and correct minor errors. Every large language model (LLM) AI tool writes descriptive text much better than I write. I was an aerospace engineer in my former life, and my research reports and genealogical sketches reflect "just the facts." The AI tools are very perceptive and insightful and create readable text in seconds, including applicable local and national historical detail. For example, the Claude 3.7 Sonnet expanded biography above was written in less than 30 seconds. It takes me longer to copy it and paste it into a computer file than it takes for Claude to write it.
7) What do you think of the biography? What other information should be included? What information should be condensed or excluded? Do you like the use of sections to make the flow sensible? Do you like the style of writing? Does the lack of source citations bother you (note that every fact is documented in the genealogical sketch used by Claude)? Should I add images from my research such as the gravestone, a birth, marriage and/or death certificate, etc.? Should I add a map to show the subject's location or migration?
8) The biography of her husband, Thomas Richmond (1848-1917), was published in ABC Biography of #10 Thomas Richman/Richmond (1848-1917) of Wiltshire, England and New England, USA.
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