The Claude (now Sonnet 4) artificial intelligence tool can be used to write family-friendly biographies of my ancestors that might interest and engage my relatives and descendants to help them learn about and understand their ancestry. Using the ABC method described in Using Artificial Intelligence In the Ancestor Biography Creation (ABC) Process, here is one ancestor biography.
2) For the Claude AI biography, I attached the PDF of the genealogical sketch for the specific ancestor using the plus (+) icon, and then prompted the AI tool with: "You are an expert genealogist. Please create a biography based on information in 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 engaging and suitable for family members."
3) Here is the Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 biography:
Ann (Marshman) Richman (1784-1856) Biography
Early Life and Family Origins
Ann Marshman was born in about 1784, in the market town of Devizes, Wiltshire, England. She grew up during a time of great change in England, as the Industrial Revolution was transforming the country from an agricultural society into a manufacturing powerhouse.
Ann was the daughter of John Marshman, a weaver by trade, and Anne (Angel) Marshman. Her parents had established their family in the village of Hilperton, located just outside the town of Trowbridge in Wiltshire. The Marshman family was part of the thriving textile industry that dominated this region of England, where wool processing and weaving provided livelihoods for many families.
Family and Siblings
Ann was not an only child—she had four older siblings who were all baptized in Hilperton between 1767 and 1783. Her brothers and sisters were Thomas, Elizabeth, Martha, James, and John Marshman. Growing up in this large family would have meant sharing household duties and learning the skills necessary for survival in a working-class family of the late 18th century.
Tragically, Ann's mother Anne (Angel) Marshman died in 1795 when Ann was still quite young, likely around 11 years old. This loss would have significantly impacted the family dynamics and may have required Ann to take on additional responsibilities within the household. Her father John continued working as a weaver and likely remained in the Hilperton area until around 1800, eventually moving to nearby Trowbridge where he died in 1806.
Marriage and New Beginnings
On February 8, 1811, at the age of approximately 27, Ann married John Richman at St. Michael's Church in Hilperton. This was a local parish wedding conducted by banns—a traditional Church of England practice where the intention to marry was announced publicly for three consecutive Sundays before the ceremony. The wedding was officiated by curate J. Bailes.
Both Ann and John signed their marriage register with an "X" mark rather than their signatures, indicating that neither could read or write—a common situation for working-class people of their era. This was not unusual, as formal education was not widely available to the poor, and children typically learned trades rather than academic skills. John's brother Thomas Richman served as a witness, along with Richard Hiscock, showing the close-knit nature of their community.
John Richman was described as a bachelor of Hilperton at the time of their marriage, suggesting he had strong local roots in the same village where Ann had grown up.
Motherhood and Family Life
Ann and John were blessed with eight children between 1811 and 1825, though their journey as parents was marked by both joy and heartbreak. Their children were:
- Elizabeth Richman (born 1811) was their first child, baptized on October 6, 1811. She would grow up to marry Thomas Hogan and lived a long life in Hilperton, dying in August 1897 at approximately 86 years old.
- Sarah Richman (born 1814) was baptized on April 3, 1814. She eventually moved away from Hilperton, marrying James Thompson in Bath, Somerset, on September 22, 1847; they had four children. Despite living elsewhere, Sarah maintained connections to her birthplace and died in Hilperton on January 24, 1891.
- John Richman (born 1816) was baptized on February 13, 1816. He married Maria Matthews in Hilperton on October 11, 1835; they had seven children. They later moved to Bradford-on-Avon, where he died before June 1, 1884.
- Ann Richman (born 1818) was named after her mother and was baptized on March 8, 1818, at St. Michael's Church in Hilperton.
- James Richman (born April 22, 1821) would eventually emigrate to America, representing the adventurous spirit that led many English families to seek opportunities in the New World. He married Hannah Rich in Hilperton on September 7, 1845; they had nine children. After making his journey across the Atlantic. James settled in Putnam, Connecticut, where he died on December 20, 1912, at the remarkable age of 91.
- Thomas Richman (baptized June 22, 1823), but died tragically young at age 21, being buried on September 11, 1844.
- Mary Richman (baptized on June 22, 1823, likely a twin to Thomas), but died before March 1825 at just one year old.
- Mary Richman (baptized 23 March 1825) but lived only two months, dying and being buried on May 22, 1825.
The loss of multiple children, including two daughters both named Mary within a span of just two years, reflects the harsh realities of life in early 19th-century rural England.
Working Life and Daily Routine
Throughout her adult life, Ann worked as a weaver, continuing the textile trade that had sustained her family for generations. The 1841 census specifically lists her occupation as weaver, indicating that even while raising her large family, she contributed significantly to the household income. This was typical for women of her social class, as families needed multiple sources of income to survive.
Weaving was skilled work that could be done at home, allowing Ann to tend to her children while earning money. The textile industry in Wiltshire was booming during this period, with water-powered mills and home-based cottage industries working together to supply the growing demand for cloth throughout England and its expanding empire.
Later Years and Household Changes
By 1841, when Ann was around 59 years old, the family was living on Marsh Lane in Hilperton Marsh. The household had changed significantly from the busy years of child-rearing. Living with Ann and John were their unmarried daughter Elizabeth, now 30 and also working as a weaver, and their son James, age 20, who worked as an agricultural laborer.
John had transitioned from his earlier work to become a coal hauler, reflecting the changing economy and perhaps the physical demands of different types of work as he aged. Coal was becoming increasingly important as England industrialized, and coal haulers played a vital role in transporting this essential fuel to homes and businesses.
Ten years later, in the 1851 census, John had changed occupations again, now working as a butcher. The family was still living in Hilperton Marsh, and their household had evolved to include two granddaughters: eight-year-old Mary Richman and three-year-old Rosa Richman, who was noted as a scholar and had been born in Bath, Somerset. These granddaughters, along with the children of her sons John and James, brought new life and energy to Ann's later years, allowing her to experience the joys of grandmotherhood.
Final Years and Legacy
Ann Marshman Richman died before July 31, 1856, at approximately 72 years of age. She was buried on July 31, 1856, in the same Hilperton parish where she had been married 45 years earlier, where her children had been baptized, and where she had spent virtually her entire life.
Ann's life spanned a remarkable period in English history. Born during the reign of King George III, she lived through the Napoleonic Wars, witnessed the Industrial Revolution transform her community, and saw the beginning of the Victorian era. She experienced the challenges of working-class life in rural England, including the loss of children, economic uncertainty, and the need for both spouses to work to support their family.
Her legacy lived on through her surviving children, particularly through her son James, who carried the family name to America, and through her daughters who remained in Wiltshire. The fact that her granddaughters were living with her in her final years suggests she played an important role in their upbringing, passing on the wisdom and skills she had learned through decades of managing a household and working in the textile trade.
Ann's story represents that of countless English women of her era—hardworking, resilient, and devoted to family despite facing significant challenges. Her life was intimately connected to the small community of Hilperton, where generations of her family had lived, worked, and contributed to the social fabric of rural Wiltshire life.
6) I 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 can write. I was an aerospace engineer in my former life, and my research reports and genealogical sketches reflect "just the facts gleaned from my research." The AI tools are very perceptive, insightful and create readable text in seconds, including local and national historical events and social history detail.
Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.
Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver
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