"Samuel's Journey" -- -- A Family History Poem, Song , Audio Overview and Video Overview Created by Artificial Intelligence

 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-grandfather, Samuel Vaux (1816-1880) of Somerset, New York, Wisconsin, Missouri and Kansas, #54 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 to create an Audio Overview (a podcast) and a Video Overview (a research story), about Samuel Vaux (1816-1880).

I uploaded a PDF of my genealogical sketch which has all of the information I have about the life of Samuel Vaux -  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 47: #54, Samuel Vaux (1816-1880).

(AI ChatGPT5 image of Vaux family in Wisconsin in 1860)

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 Samuel Vaux (1816-1880) using the attached document."

2)  I chose the poem created by Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 today:

               SAMUEL'S JOURNEY 

From Somerset's green and gentle hills,

Where ancient stones and church bells chime,

A boy was born when winter chills

Still held the land in January's time.

Samuel Vaux, with courage bright,

Left England's shore for unknown lands,

Crossed ocean vast toward western light,

With dreams and hope held in young hands.

In Erie's fields he made his stand,

A farmer strong with will of steel,

He worked and tilled the fertile land,

Made earth and sky his dwelling real.

With Mary Ann, his faithful wife,

He built a home where love could grow,

Six children blessed their married life,

Through seasons of both joy and woe.

From New York's plains to Wisconsin's prairie,

To Missouri's soil, then Kansas plains,

He moved his family, never weary,

Through sunshine, loss, and prairie rains.

He bought and sold with wisdom keen,

Turned acres into golden grain,

Built wealth from what the earth had seen,

Made prosperity from honest pain.

Young Amos fell to fever's call,

Too soon beneath Missouri's sky,

Yet Samuel bore grief's heavy pall,

And taught his children how to try.

The land records tell his story true—

From Sprague farm to Kansas ground,

Each deed and dollar speaks of you,

A life in honest labor found.

Sixty-four years upon this earth,

From English birth to Kansas rest,

You proved an immigrant's true worth,

In every trial, every test.

Your children spread from coast to coast,

From California's golden shore

To where the Atlantic waters boast

Of lands you'd known in days before.

In Pleasant Hill your body sleeps,

Beneath the Kansas prairie wide,

But memory of your courage keeps

Your spirit ever by our side.

O Samuel Vaux, immigrant son,

Who crossed the sea for freedom's call,

Your American dream was truly won—

In family, farm, and hope for all.

The gravestone marks your earthly days,

January birth to October's end,

But greater than stone's lasting praise:

The legacy of patriarch and friend.

 3) Here are the AI song lyrics created by X Grok 3 and the "Samuel's Journey" song (based on the song lyrics using Suno.com, using a traditional American folk ballad style in an upbeat tempo). The link to the  song is here, and can be played below:  

                        SAMUEL'S JOURNEY 

(Verse 1)  

In Somerset’s green hills, where dreams took flight,  

Young Samuel Vaux was born to morning’s light.  

From South Petherton’s fields, in eighteen-sixteen,  

A farm boy’s heart held hopes yet unseen.  

(Verse 2)

Across the sea, on Cosmo’s daring sail,  

To Erie’s shores, where new winds would prevail.  

With Mary Ann, he built a life so grand,  

Six children grew upon that promised land.  

(Chorus)

Oh, Samuel Vaux, with courage bold and true,  

From England’s clay to skies of boundless blue.  

Through fields and frontiers, your legacy stands,  

A pioneer’s life, carved by your hands.  

(Verse 3)

To Wisconsin’s plains, where prairies called his name,  

He sowed his dreams in soil that felt no shame.  

In Missouri’s earth, his heart would face the cost,  

Young Amos gone, a son forever lost.  

(Verse 4)  

In Kansas’ rest, with Abigail by his side,  

He laid his plow, let time and toil subside.  

In Concordia’s peace, his journey found its end,  

A life well-lived, a soul the heavens tend.  

(Chorus)  

Oh, Samuel Vaux, with courage bold and true,  

From England’s clay to skies of boundless blue.  

Through fields and frontiers, your legacy stands,  

A pioneer’s life, carved by your hands.  

(Bridge)

From Bristol’s docks to Erie’s open gate,  

Through love and loss, you met each twist of fate.  

Your children’s children spread across the land,  

Your spirit lives in every grain of sand.  

(Chorus)

Oh, Samuel Vaux, with courage bold and true,  

From England’s clay to skies of boundless blue.  

Through fields and frontiers, your legacy stands,  

A pioneer’s life, carved by your hands.  

(Outro)

In Pleasant Hill, where quiet stones now lie,  

Your story whispers ‘neath the Kansas sky.  

Samuel, your name, through ages, softly calls,  

A life that built a nation’s endless halls.

4)  Here is the Audio Overview "podcast" file for Samuel Vaux 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, voice and video 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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