Chula Vista Genealogical Society Meeting on Wednesday, 24 September Features Brian Rhinehart

 Wednesday, 24 September 2025, 12 noon PDT 

Chula Vista Genealogical Society 

General Meeting (in a Zoom Video Conference) 

"So You Have a Civil War Ancestor, Now What?"

by Brian Rhinehart

Civil War soldiers often left a rich genealogical paper trail. Many of these records are tucked away at the National Archives in Washington DC. Learn what records are available for your ancestors only at the National Archives, what records are online already, and how to access all of them. These records may unlock some of the family stories that have been forgotten over time, as well as break down a brick wall or two!

Brian Rhinehart is a professional genealogist and speaker and is the owner of CivilWarRecords.com. He is a graduate of Boston University’s Certificate of Genealogy Research and is a regular researcher for the television show Finding Your Roots. A direct descendant of eight Civil War soldiers, Brian specializes in research and record retrieval for Civil War and War of 1812 soldiers at the National Archives in Washington DC and has retrieved military files for hundreds of clients there.

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PLEASE REGISTER for this event on the CVGS website (https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event-6101374). An event email and reminders will be sent to all CVGS members the week before the event.  A confirmation email will be sent to all those who register with the Zoom link and the last email reminder will be sent on Wednesday morning of the event.

Attendance is free but only 100 Zoom seats are available, so please register soon.

This program will be held online using the Zoom video conferencing platform for Meetings.  It will be hosted by CVGS President Terri Seat. Contact presidentofcvgs@gmail.com if you have problems or register too late for the email.    

Please note that the meeting starts at 12 noon Pacific Time (3 p.m. Eastern time, 2 p.m. Central time, 1 p.m. Mountain time). The Zoom Meeting room will be open by 11:45 a.m. Pacific Time for visiting and helping attendees connect.

NOTE: The Chula Vista Genealogical Society offers an annual membership of $30. Besides the monthly General Meeting with a program speaker on the last Wednesday of each month, there is a monthly Research Group meeting on second Wednesdays on Zoom, an in-person Education meeting on third Tuesdays, and a Family History Roundtable meeting on third Wednesdays on Zoom, all at 12 noon Pacific time.  The speaker handout and the program recording are available to CVGS members for one month after the event.  There is also a monthly 8 page email newsletter chock full of program announcements, research tips, research articles, and program reviews.

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Disclosure:  I am a lifetime member of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society, a former Treasurer (2003-2004), Vice-President Programs (2005-2006), President (2007-8), and am currently the Research and Queries chairman (since 2003) and Newsletter Editor (since 2009).

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Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

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"Sarah's Century" -- 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-grandmother, Sarah (Cutter) Knapp (1785-1878) of  New Jersey, #59 on my Ahnentafel list.

I requested ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity, and Claude (all FREE AI tools) to create poems and song lyrics, and Google NotebookLM to create an Audio Overview (a podcast) and a Video Overview (a presentation), to describe and celebrate the life of Sarah (Cutter)  Knapp (1785-1878).  I uploaded a PDF of my genealogical sketch which has all of the information I have about the life of William Knapp - see 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 52: #59, Sarah (Cutter) Knapp (1785-1878)) to the AI tools.  

(AI ChatGPT5 image of Knapp  family in New Jersey in 1831)

1)  The prompt I used for the poem and song lyrics was: "Please write a poem and song lyrics to describe and celebrate the life and legacy of Sarah (Cutter) Knapp (1785-1878) using the attached document."

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

                SARAH'S CENTURY 

Born when autumn leaves were falling,
November sixth, seventeen eighty-five,
In Woodbridge town, young Sarah's calling
Was to make a family thrive. 

Among ten siblings, she grew strong,
A Cutter child of sturdy stock,
Through childhood days both short and long,
She learned life's rhythms by the clock. 

When twenty years had passed her by,
She pledged her heart to William Knapp,
A shoemaker with gentle eye
Who'd heal her world when times would snap. 

Eleven children blessed their home,
From Joseph first to Elsie last,
Through years when some would choose to roam
While others held the homestead fast. 

In Newton town they made their way,
Where William's hammer sang each morn,
While Sarah tended night and day
The precious lives to them were born. 

She buried children, buried spouse,
Yet carried on with grace unbowed,
Found shelter in her Manning's house,
A matriarch both wise and proud. 

Through presidents from Washington
To Hayes, she watched the nation grow,
Saw canals built and railways run,
Felt freedom's winds begin to blow. 

From Revolutionary dawn
To Reconstruction's healing light,
Her steady heart kept pressing on
Through decades dark and decades bright. 

At ninety-two, her race was run,
March sixth, eighteen seventy-eight,
Her legacy in children spun
Would celebrate her loving fate. 

In Newton's ground she rests in peace
Beside the man she loved so true,
Their stone declares love's sweet release—
"Sarah Cutter" carved in view. 

O woman of a century's span,
Your name lives on in every heart
That knew your touch, your guiding hand,
Your love that sets all lives apart. 

From Woodbridge born to Newton's soil,
Through marriage, motherhood, and loss,
You met each season's joy and toil
And bore each burden, every cross. 

Now rest, dear Sarah, work complete,
Your faithful heart has earned its rest,
While generations at your feet
Rise up to call your memory blessed.

3) Here are the AI song lyrics created by X Grok 3 and the "Sarah's Century" (based on the song lyrics using Suno.com, using a melodic pop style in a moderate tempo). The song can be played below:

                SARAH'S CENTURY 

(Verse 1)
In Woodbridge town, where freedom’s light was new,
Sarah Cutter born in seventeen-eighty-five.
Eighth child of Stephen and Tabitha’s line,
In a bustling home, where love and labor twine.
The Revolution’s echo still hung in the air,
A nation rising, she grew strong and fair.
With siblings plenty, she learned to stand tall,
Her heart a beacon for family, for all.

(Verse 2)
At nineteen, she wed William, a shoemaker true,
In Woodbridge’s heart, their love only grew.
Eleven children, their legacy sown,
From Joseph to Elsie, their names brightly shone.
Through Newton’s lanes, where they built their home,
William’s craft kept the family’s hope sewn.
Each child a story, each life a new thread,
Sarah’s love the loom where their dreams were led.

(Chorus)
Oh, Sarah Knapp, your life’s a song of grace,
Through a century’s trials, you found your place.
From Jersey’s fields to the westward call,
Your love and strength still echo through it all.

(Verse 3)
The years brought loss, as years often do,
William passed on in eighteen-fifty-six.
Yet Sarah stood firm, a widow at seventy years,
Her heart held steady through joy and through tears.
To Manning’s hearth, her lawyer son’s care,
She found her refuge, her family there.
In Hackensack’s glow, her final days spent,
Surrounded by love, her spirit unbent.

(Chorus)
Oh, Sarah Knapp, your life’s a song of grace,
Through a century’s trials, you found your place.
From Jersey’s fields to the westward call,
Your love and strength still echo through it all.

(Bridge)
From Washington’s time to the Civil War’s end,
She saw a nation break and mend.
Through canals and dreams, her children did roam,
To Indiana, Illinois, they found a new home.
Her gravestone whispers in Newton’s old ground,
A life well-lived, where love was found.

(Verse 4)
Ninety-two years, her story complete,
In eighteen-seventy-eight, her heart ceased to beat.
Beside her William, in earth’s gentle keep,
Sarah’s legacy lives, in memories deep.
Her children, her grandchildren, carried her name,
Across the wide frontier, her light still a flame.
A woman of courage, of family, of might,
Sarah’s song shines through history’s night.

(Chorus)
Oh, Sarah Knapp, your life’s a song of grace,
Through a century’s trials, you found your place.
From Jersey’s fields to the westward call,
Your love and strength still echo through it all.

(Outro)
Oh, Sarah, your heart still sings in the wind,
A mother, a guide, where love has no end.
In the fields of New Jersey, your story’s retold,
Sarah Cutter Knapp, forever bold.

4) Here is the Audio Overview "podcast" file for Sarah (Cutter) Knapp from Google NotebookLM (based on the referenced genealogical sketch).

The Google NotebookLM Video discussing Sarah (Cutter) Knapp's life 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.

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

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