Best of the Genea-Blogs - Week of 6 to 12 July 2025

 Scores of genealogy and family history bloggers write hundreds of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.

My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for most daily blog prompts or meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.

Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week: 

*  Who Do I think I am by Paul Chiddicks on Paul Chiddicks.

*  Halfway Through 2025's Genealogical Journey of Sharing by Marian B. Wood on Climbing Your Family Tree.

*  The new clustering tool at Ancestry by Kitty Cooper on Kitty Cooper's Blog.

*  FamilySearch's Full-Text Search Finds Robert Nelson in Others' Estate Files by Nancy Messier on My Ancestors and Me.

*  From Sunrise to Sunset: A Day in the Life of a Female Ancestor by Brenda Leyndyke on Journey To the Past.

*  Land Records for the Original Landowners of Pennsylvania by Deborah Carol on Mission: Genealogy.

*  How to Use AI to Analyze Family Photos by  DiAnn Iamarino Ohama on Fortify Your Family Tree.

*  From Wales to Australia: Leaving Wales in 1841 by Jennifer Jones on Tracking Down the Family.

*  Our Ancestors Had Social Lives! by Linda Stufflebean on Empty Branches On the Family Tree.

*  Where to Search for German Relatives by Jeannette Holland Austin on Genealogy Tips and Beyond.

*  What are DNA Matches By Cluster on Ancestry by Mercedes Brons on Who Are You Made Of?

*  Finding the Will... and the Means by Jeff Record on The Last Aha...

*  Why Revisiting Sources is a Smart Move in Genealogy Research by N.P. Maling on Sea Genes Family History & Genealogy Research.

*  How to Use Ancestry’s New Match Clusters and What They Mean by Roberta Estes on DNAeXplained - Genetic Genealogy.

*  A Farmer’s Courtship and Preserve Your Authentic Voice in the Age of AI by Carole McCulloch on NextGen Genealogy.

*  Where Social Media Started and Where It’s Going in Genealogy by Jon Marie Pearson on The Simple Living Genealogist.

Here are pick posts by other geneabloggers this week:

*  Friday’s Family History Finds [11 July 2025] by Linda Stufflebean on Empty Branches on the Family Tree.

*  This week’s crème de la crème — July 12, 2025 by Gail Dever on Genealogy a la Carte.

*  GenStack [12 July 2025] by Robin Stewart on Genealogy Matters.

*  The Chiddicks Observer Edition 20 [7 July 2025] by Paul Chiddicks on Paul Chiddicks.

Readers are encouraged to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add the blogs to your Favorites, Feedly, another RSS feed, or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.

Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I currently am reading posts from over 900 genealogy bloggers using Feedly, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

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Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/07/best-of-genea-blogs-week-of-6-to-12.html

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"Amy's Light" -- A Family History Poem, Song and Podcast 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-grandmother, Amy (Champlin) Oatley (1798-1865) of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

I requested ChatGPT4, Grok, Gemini, and Claude (all FREE AI LLM tools) to create a poem and song lyrics, and a podcast, about Amy (Champlin) Oatley (1798-1865).

I uploaded a PDF of my genealogical sketch which has all of the information I have about the life of Amu (Champlin) Oatley (1798-1865)  --  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks -- Week 40: #47 Amy (Champlin) Oatley (1798-1865)-- to the AI tools.

(AI ChatGPT4 image of Oatley family 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 of Amy (Champlin) Oatley using the attached document."

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

AMY'S LIGHT

In South Kingstown's gentle spring of 1798,

A daughter blessed the Champlin home that day,

Amy, seventh child of twelve to celebrate,

Born when the nation, too, was young and free.

Among her siblings, strong and true she grew,

Parents Nancy and Joseph by her side,

Elizabeth, George, and all the Champlin crew—

A household full of love and honest pride.

At Baptist waters, fifteen years of age,

She pledged her faith in Exeter's sacred space,

And there met Jonathan, her life's true sage,

Who'd share her journey, bound by holy grace.

From Rhode Island's shores to Connecticut's hills,

She bore fourteen children, tender and strong,

Through seasons harsh and joy that always fills

A mother's heart with love's eternal song.

Forteen babies blessed their New England home,

John Alfred first, then Joseph, strong and true,

Almira, Nancy, Lorenzo called to roam,

And Stephen, William, Benedict who grew.

Amy Frances bore her mother's name with pride,

Then Jonathan, Mary, Hannah in their turn,

While Olive and sweet George were born to bide—

Though George too soon would heavenward return.

In 1834, with courage in their hearts,

They packed their dreams and moved to Killingly,

Where Jonathan would serve his pastor's arts

Required, and Amy kept their family free.

Through church troubles that would test their faith,

Exclusion's pain, then restoration's joy,

She stood beside her husband, strong and safe,

Her love a fortress none could e'er destroy.

With careful hand she penned her final will,

Dividing land among her children dear,

Each portion measured by her mother’s skill,

Each name inscribed with love sincere and clear.

From Jefferson's time to Lincoln's troubled day,

She witnessed history's great unfolding tale,

While building her own legacy to stay—

A family tree whose roots would never fail.

O Amy, mother, wife, and woman true,

Your fourteen children rose to honor thee,

Your faith and strength shine through the years anew,

A beacon for your vast posterity.

In Bartlett's soil your earthly form may rest,

But in our hearts your spirit lives on strong,

A woman of the frontier, truly blessed,

Whose love and legacy will last lifelong.

3) Here are the AI song lyrics created by Gemini 2.5 Flash (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: "Amy's Light."

AMY’S LIGHT 

(Verse 1)

In South Kingstown, a March morn bright,

Seventeen ninety-eight, a guiding light.

Amy Champlin, born to Joseph and Nancy's hand,

A seventh child, in a growing band.

With siblings twelve, her early days flew by,

Beneath Rhode Island's vast and open sky.

(Verse 2)

In Exeter's church, the waters pure,

Baptized in faith, her soul secure.

There Jonathan Oatley, her love, she met,

A bond of hearts, a course was set.

They married young, in eighteen thirteen's spring,

And soon, fourteen children, joy they'd bring.

(Chorus)

Oh, Amy, Amy, a life so grand,

From Kingstown's shores to Killingly's land.

A mother's love, a spirit true,

In every step, her faith shone through.

Her legacy lives, a story told,

More precious than silver, more lasting than gold.

(Verse 3)

From Kingstown's fields, a journey they made,

To Killingly's promise, unafraid.

A pastor's wife, through trials and grace,

Facing challenges with a steadfast face.

Though fellowship was tested, strong they stood,

Restored to grace, as good souls should.

(Bridge)

Her will she penned, for children dear,

Her love poured out, for all to hear.

A house, a barn, a quarter acre wide,

Her memory cherished, deep inside.

From family records, her story we trace,

A beloved ancestor, time cannot erase.

(Verse 4)

The records show her, strong and kind,

A housekeeper, with a loving mind.

Through eighteen and sixty-five, her journey ran,

In Killingly she rested, part of God's plan.

Though her gravestone whispers, unreadable now,

Her spirit's echo, we somehow endow.

(Chorus)

Oh, Amy, Amy, a life so grand,

From Kingstown's shores to Killingly's land.

A mother's love, a spirit true,

In every step, her faith shone through.

Her legacy lives, a story told,

More precious than silver, more lasting than gold.

(Outro)

Amy, Amy, your memory we keep,

In every heart, your love runs deep.

A life well-lived, a gentle soul,

You made our family history whole.

4)  Here is the Audio Overview "podcast" file for Amy (Champlin) Oatley from Google NotebookLM (based on the referenced genealogical sketch):   

https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/b1ad4a1f-4fb6-40b1-b43e-8d5d394e2b28/audio.

 

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 and song, 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.

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/07/amys-light-family-history-poem-song-and.html

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Please note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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