Sunday, July 20, 2025

Best of the Genea-Blogs - Week of 13 to 19 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: 

*  First Look at Ancestry’s New “Matches by Cluster” Feature by Diane Henriks on Know Who Wears the Genes In Your Family.

*  Solid Citations Start with Better Analysis by Lisa Stokes on Lisa Stokes Heritage Research.

*  FamilySearch Full-Text Search ... and other AI processes for reading old handwritten documents by Wayne Shepheard on Discover Genealogy.

*  Finding Bounty Land Records to Research Your Ancestors by Katie Merkley on Family Tree Magazine.

*  Bringing Ancestors to Life: for younger readers by Carole McCulloch on NextGen Genealogy.

*  My 256: An Impossible Quest by Ted Callin on Mightier Acorns.

*  Explore Our New Page Categories Options by Jennie Ashcraft on Fishwrap.

*  Genealogical Crossover Events by Jeff Record on The Last Aha.

*  The Impossible Dream by Anne Young on Anne's Family History.

*  The Great Diamond Hoax of 1872 by Aryn Youngless on Genealogy By Aryn.

*  Ancestry Club 1890: Is It Creating a Class Divide in Genealogy Research? by Thomas MacEntee on Genealogy Bargains.

*  Why I Prefer Color Images of Vital Records by Marian B. Wood on Climbing My Family Tree.

*  The Summer of My Genealogical Discontent, Lesson 3, To Save or Not to Save! by Lori Samuelson on Genealogy At Heart.

*  Creating a Digital Filing System for Records by Ellen Thompson-Jennings on Hound On the Hunt.

Here are pick posts by other geneabloggers this week:

*  Friday’s Family History Finds [18 July 2025] by Linda Stufflebean on Empty Branches on the Family Tree.

*  This week’s crème de la crème — July 19, 2025 by Gail Dever on Genealogy a la Carte.

*  GenStack [19 July 2025] by Robin Stewart on Genealogy Matters.

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


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WikiTree "Tree Apps" For Your Ancestral Lines

I was checking out WikiTree Tree Apps (select "Tree Apps" from the list under your name, and then click in the "Tree App" box to see the list of apps)  and ran across several of interest.

1)  The "Ancestral Lines Explorer" app connects the key person (in my example below, myself) to their ancestors in a pedigree chart.  Here is my 5-generation chart:


The user can choose any number of generations up to 10.  I had to try 10!  Here is the chart out to my 7th great-grandparents.  


Blogger won't let me make that any bigger (it's 2 megabytes in size) except as "Original size" and then it's readable but is too big for the reader's browser.  I can view it full size in my Photo Viewer.  Here is a closeup of some of my paternal grandmother's ancestry:


The red names are the end-of-line ancestors on WikiTree. 

2)  Another WikiTree "Tree App" is the "Ahnentafel Ancestor List".  Here is the top of my list (my list goes out to the 7th great-grandparents):


I saw no button or link to download the Ahnentafel List.  I can save the page with the list as an HTML file (by right-clicking the web page) or use my "Print Friendly" Chrome browser extension to save it as a PDF.

3)  Another WikiTree App is the "Ancestor Explorer" ("Find" menu item > select "Apps" > select "Ancestor Explorer"):


This app creates a table that can be downloaded as a CSV file for a spreadsheet program with the generation number, ahnentafel number, name of the ancestor, birth date, birth place, death date and death place.  The user can choose up to 25 generations.  

4)  The "Fan Chart" in the "Tree Apps" link can show your ancestors in a fan chart.  The user can color the cells with a number of criteria - I chose Region and Country for this chart:

The white cells have an "Unknown" birth location that WikiTree does not recognize, like "Massachusetts Bay" or "West Jersey."

5)  There are quite a few more "Tree Apps" on WikiTree.  Try them all out!

6)  Note that all of the data comes from WikiTree, which is a collaborative family tree.  While I have contributed 7,500 profiles to WikiTree, other persons may have modified the profiles I contributed.  Some of the profiles on that tree may be different than what I have in my RootsMagic family tree, and I need to critically review those.  Some profiles on the chart may be for ancestors that I have not yet found, and I need to critically review those.  

7)  Of course, this doesn't work if you don't have a profile of yourself on WikiTree, or if your grandparents or great-grandparents have profiles in WikiTree.  While WikiTree has over 40 million profiles, not every historical person is in WikiTree.  It is a useful resource, and it is FREE to use.  

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Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

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.comNote that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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"Henry Carringer's Journey" -- 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-grandfather, Henry Carringer (1800-1879) of Pennsylvania and Iowa..

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 Henry Carringer (1800-1879).

I uploaded a PDF of my genealogical sketch which has all of the information I have about the life of Henry Carringer (1800-1879)  -- 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 41: #48 Henry Carringer (1800-1879)  --  to the AI tools.


(AI ChatGPT4 image of Carringer family in Pennsylvania in 1848)

1)  The prompt I used for the poem and song lyrics was: "Please write a poem and song lyrics to celebrate the life of Henry Carringer (1800-1879) using the attached document."

2)  I chose the poem created by Claude Sonnet 4 today:
HENRY CARRINGER'S JOURNEY

Born when the century was young and new,
In Pennsylvania's rolling hills so green,
Heinrich Carringer came into view—
A life of purpose, yet unforeseen.

The sixth of eight in Martin's house,
Where German voices filled the air,
Young Henry learned what life allows:
Hard work, devotion, and tender care.

At twenty-five he took a bride,
Sweet Sarah Feather, young and true,
Together they would walk beside
The fields where Pennsylvania's wildflowers grew.

Ten children blessed their humble home,
From Eliza first to Harvey last,
Through seasons when they'd freely roam
The acres where their roots held fast.

He tilled the soil his father gave,
One hundred fifty acres grand,
And honored well the trust to save
His mother's place upon the land.

When Sarah died in forty-eight,
At forty-four, too young to go,
Henry bore grief's crushing weight
But raised his children through the woe.

The wanderlust came calling then,
As children ventured to the west,
To Iowa's prairies, far from when
Their cradles in Pennsylvania rest.

At sixty-four, he packed his dreams
And followed love across the plain,
To Columbus City's fertile streams
Where corn and hope would grow again.

For fifteen years in Iowa's embrace,
He watched his grandchildren at play,
Content to slow his hurried pace
And greet each peaceful prairie day.

When April's moon shone full and bright
In eighteen seventy-nine's sweet spring,
Henry passed into the light—
His earthly journey's final ring.

Seventy-eight years, nine months, and more,
He'd walked this earth with steady stride,
From Revolution's fading roar
To railroad's whistle, far and wide.

Now in Columbus City's ground,
His stone marks where his body lies,
But in the hearts where love is found,
His spirit soars beyond the skies.

The children scattered east and west,
From Colorado's mountain peaks
To California's golden crest,
Each one his legacy still speaks.

O Henry Carringer, farmer true,
Your furrows straight, your harvest full,
In every dawn of morning's dew,
We feel your spirit's gentle pull.

From Pennsylvania's ancient loam
To Iowa's endless prairie sea,
You showed us how to make a home
And live with love and dignity.
3) Here are the AI song lyrics created by X.ai 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: "Henry Carringer's Journey."

“HENRY CARRINGER'S JOURNEY" 
*Verse 1*
Born in eighteen hundred, in Mercer’s rolling land,
Henry Carringer grew with a farmer’s steady hand.
With Molly and Martin, seven siblings by his side,
He learned to love the earth where his dreams would reside.

*Verse 2*
Sarah Feather caught his heart, in twenty-five they wed,
Ten children filled their home, where love and life were led.
Through Sandy Creek’s green fields, they toiled from dawn to dusk,
Building a family strong, in faith and honest trust.

*Chorus*
Oh, Henry, you carved a path so wide,
Through fields of green and a nation’s rising tide.
From Pennsylvania’s heart to Iowa’s open plain,
Your legacy lives on, in sun and wind and rain.

*Verse 3*
Loss came calling early, with Sarah’s light gone dim,
Yet Henry raised his children, his spirit never slim.
The land his father left him, he worked with tender care,
For mother Molly’s comfort, he always would be there.

*Chorus*
Oh, Henry, you carved a path so wide,
Through fields of green and a nation’s rising tide.
From Pennsylvania’s heart to Iowa’s open plain,
Your legacy lives on, in sun and wind and rain.

*Verse 4*
Westward dreams were stirring, the Iowa call was strong,
With Eliza and Jackson, he moved his kin along.
At sixty-nine, still steadfast, with acres newly sown,
He built a life of courage, in a land he’d call his own.

*Bridge*
Through war and westward trails, you saw a nation grow,
From Jefferson’s young dream to railroads’ iron glow.
Your children spread like seeds, to Colorado’s distant shore,
Your name lives in their hearts, forever to endure.

*Chorus*
Oh, Henry, you carved a path so wide,
Through fields of green and a nation’s rising tide.
From Pennsylvania’s heart to Iowa’s open plain,
Your legacy lives on, in sun and wind and rain.

*Outro*
Now in Columbus City, your gravestone stands so tall,
A life of love and labor, you answered every call.
Henry Carringer, your story still remains,
In the fields you tilled, in the endless open plains.
4)  Here is the Audio Overview "podcast" file for Henry Carringer from Google NotebookLM (based on the referenced genealogical sketch):   
 
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.

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver


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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