I've used FREE Artificial Intelligence tools to create biographies, poems, songs and podcasts about my ancestors lives, plus my genealogy research and family history in the recent past. Every ancestor lives a unique life with unique relationships and life stories. Today, I want to share a poem, song and podcast about my third great-grandmother, Elizabeth (King) Spangler (1796-1863) of Pennsylvania and Virginia, #51 on my Ahnentafel list.
I requested ChatGPT4, Grok, Gemini, and Claude (all FREE AI LLM tools) to create a poem and song lyrics, and Google NotebookLM a podcast, about Elizabeth (King) Spangler (1796-1863).
I uploaded a PDF of my genealogical sketch which has all of the information I have about the life of Elizabeth (King) Spangler (1796-1863) - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 44: #51 Elizabeth (King) Spangler (1796-1863).
(AI ChatGPT4 image of Spangler family in Pennsylvania in 1840)
1) The prompt I used for the poem and song lyrics was: "Please write a poem and song lyrics to celebrate the life and legacy of Elizabeth (King) Spangler (1796-1863) using the attached document."
2) I chose the poem created by Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 today:
ELIZABETH'S LOVES
In York's fair town, when spring was new,
March fifth, seventeen ninety-six,
A daughter came to Philip's crew—
Elizabeth, among the mix
Of siblings twelve, a house so blessed,
Where German voices filled the air,
Trinity Church where she was pressed
To Christ's own love with baptism's prayer.
Young Lizzie grew with sisters nine
And brothers three to share her days,
In Pennsylvania's gentle clime
Where German settlers made their ways.
The King name echoed through the years,
(Once Konig in the homeland tongue),
Through childhood joys and childhood tears,
Her family's song was always sung.
At nineteen years, her heart was won
By Daniel Spangler, farmer true,
Fifteen years older, yet begun
Their love would last their whole life through.
March twelfth, eighteen fifteen's spring,
Trinity Church blessed their vows,
As wedding bells began to ring
And love adorned Elizabeth's brows.
To Winchester they made their way,
In Frederick County's fertile ground,
Where Shenandoah's waters play
And mountain breezes could be found.
There children came, both joy and grief—
Sweet Anna born, then called away,
Teaching a mother that relief
And sorrow walk the self-same day.
To Mercer County's Sandy Creek
They came when eighteen twenty-nine
Had passed, their fortune there to seek
On Donation Land, plot nine-two-nine.
Two hundred acres, rich and wide,
Where Daniel plowed and Elizabeth
Kept house with children by her side,
Through seasons of both joy and death.
Ten children blessed her loving care,
Though two were called to heaven's shore,
Eight beautiful girls found their loves there
And spread the family name once more.
From Anna Maria's Iowa ground
To Rebecca's California home,
Her children's paths would span around
This nation where they all could roam.
When Daniel's earthly race was run
In eighteen fifty-one's July,
Elizabeth, though not undone,
Faced widowhood with courage high.
The farm was sold, the debts were paid,
But family bonds would see her through—
To Crawford County she was swayed,
Where Helen's love would make life new.
Her father's will had long before
Provided for his daughter dear,
A thousand dollars and much more—
The interest each and every year.
Such forethought blessed her latter days
When Daniel's death brought trial and test,
Philip's provision still would raise
Her spirits up and give her rest.
In Conneautville's peaceful space,
With Helen Brown, her daughter true,
Elizabeth found her resting place
While Civil War split states in two.
March eighteenth, sixty-three's cold spring,
She joined her Daniel and her Lord,
Her earthly song no more to sing,
But heaven's choir her reward.
From Pennsylvania's gentle hills
To Virginia's valley green,
Her children spread where God fulfills
His plans in places unforeseen.
Iowa, Illinois, and more—
Colorado's heights, California's shore—
The Spangler name would ever soar
On wings that Elizabeth once bore.
Sixty-seven years she walked
This earth with grace and gentle might,
Through joys and sorrows, lived and talked
With family gathered round her light.
In Conneautville Cemetery's ground
Her weathered stone stands testament
To lives well-lived, love's truest sound,
And days in faithful service spent.
*Rest well, dear Elizabeth, mother and wife,
Your legacy lives on in each descendant's life.*
3) Here are the AI song lyrics created by X Grok 3 (used as custom lyrics on Suno.com), using a traditional American folk ballad style in an upbeat tempo - the link to the song is here: "Elizabeth's Loves."
ELIZABETH'S LOVES
(Verse 1)
In York’s green hills where the new world woke,
Elizabeth King, with a heart of oak,
Born in ‘96 to a German line,
Twelve siblings strong, like stars they’d shine.
Through Trinity’s doors, her name was blessed,
A daughter of faith, with dreams to quest.
From Pennsylvania’s cradle, her story grew,
A life of love, and trials she knew.
(Verse 2)
At nineteen, she wed her Daniel true,
In the church where her infant faith once grew.
To Winchester’s valley, they sought new ground,
In Shenandoah’s arms, their dreams were found.
But sorrow came with a babe’s soft cry,
Anna Katrina’s loss brought tears to dry.
Yet nine more children, her love would raise,
Through fleeting years and hard-won days.
(Chorus)
Oh, Elizabeth, you carved your way,
Through joy and loss, through night and day.
From York to Virginia, to fields afar,
Your heart’s a beacon, our guiding star.
(Verse 3)
To Mercer they moved, where the Donation land,
Held hope and home in her steady hand.
A farm of acres, two hundred wide,
Where family grew and dreams didn’t hide.
Her father’s will gave her strength to stand,
A thousand dollars, her freedom planned.
Through a mother’s life, she bore the load,
Elizabeth’s courage on life’s long road.
(Bridge)
Through tears and triumphs, she built a home,
From Pennsylvania to lands she’d roam.
Her children’s laughter, her guiding light,
Carried her love through the endless night.
Oh, Elizabeth, your story sings,
Of strength and roots, and eternal springs.
(Chorus)
Oh, Elizabeth, you carved your way,
Through joy and loss, through night and day.
From York to Virginia, to fields afar,Your heart’s a beacon, our guiding star.
(Verse 4)
When Daniel passed, the farm was gone,
Yet Elizabeth’s spirit still shone.
To Conneautville, with Helen dear,
She found her peace as the end drew near.
In ‘63, with the war’s dark hum,
She left this world, her work was done.
In Crawford’s earth, her stone still stands,
A life well-lived in her family’s hands.
(Outro)
In Conneautville’s quiet ground,
Your legacy, Elizabeth, is found.
Daughter, wife, mother, a soul so bright,
Your love still burns in the stars tonight.
4) Here is the Audio Overview "podcast" file for Elizabeth (King) Spangler from Google NotebookLM (based on the referenced genealogical sketch). The Google NotebookLM Video describing this post is below:
5) The AI tools do this so much better than I could, and weaves the poem and song along a story theme that is true and heartfelt. Each tool provides a different poem and song from the same prompt --I love fishing in all of the AI streams!! Frankly, doing the poems and song are the most genealogy fun I have every week!
6) These stories, told in verse, song, and podcast are part of my genealogy and family research. My hope is that they will be passed down to my grandchildren and their descendants to highlight the importance of sharing stories, memories, admiration, and love of our ancestors. I will add them to my Google Drive and to my YouTube channel and my FOREVER account.
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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.
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