Ask AI: "Please Transcribe and Summarize The 1900 U.S. Census Record for the Thomas Richmond Family in Leominster, Mass."

 I like to check occasionally to see if the current Artificial Intelligence Large Language Models (LLM) have improved over time. 

One of the genealogy records that every researcher uses in Census records. How will an LLM (in this case, OpenAI ChatGPT5 - the latest FREE model) do in transcription and summarization of a fairly simple task that almost every genelaogist can and has performed hundreds of times.

Here is the 1900 United States Federal Census record with the Thomas Richmond family (Thomas and his wife are my great-grandparents and their daughter Alma Bessie Richmond is my paternal grandmother): 

I made a larger image of the left-hand portion of the Thomas Richmond family below:

My prompt for OpenAI ChatGPT5 was:  "Please transcribe and summarize the information about the Thomas Richmond family from this 1900 US census record. Consider each family member and include every notation for each person. Write a short paragraph for each person including all of the information from this record."

Here is the ChatGPT5 transcription and summarization (with known errors crossed out, and my own transcription corrections in [green brackets].

The Thomas Richmond family appears on the 1900 U.S. Census, Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, enumerated 1 June 1900 by Charles T. Dodge. They are recorded as [House] Dwelling 42, [Dwelling Number 53], Family [Number] 88. The household consists of Thomas H. Richmond, his wife Juliet E., and their six children.

Below is a complete transcription and summary for each family member.

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1. Thomas H. Richmond (Head)

Transcription

• Name: Thomas H. Richmond [Note: Thomas had no middle name or initial. There is a handwritten number over his name]

• Relationship: Head

• Color/Race: White

• Sex: Male

• Birth: January 1849 [June 1848]

• Age: 51

• Marital Status: Married

• Years Married: 31

• Place of Birth: England

• Father's Birthplace: England

• Mother's Birthplace: England

• Year of Immigration: 1874 ]1856]

• Years in the United States: 26 [44]

• Naturalization: Naturalized

• Occupation: Overseer of Weavers [Woolen Mill]

• Months Unemployed: 0

• Attended School: No

• Can Read: Yes

• Can Write: Yes

• Can Speak English: Yes

• Home Ownership: Renting (R)

• Farm or House: House

Summary

Thomas H. Richmond was born in January 1849 [June 1848] in England and was 51 years old at the time of the census. He had been married to Juliette for 31 years, indicating a marriage about 1868–1869. Both of his parents were also born in England. He immigrated to the United States in 1874 [1856], had lived in the country for 26 [44] years, and had become a naturalized U.S. citizen. Thomas worked as an overseer of weavers [woolen mill], a supervisory position in the textile industry, and had experienced no unemployment during the preceding year. He was literate, able to read, write, and speak English. The family rented their home in Leominster.

---

2. Juliet [Juliaette] E. Richmond (Wife)

Transcription

• Name: Juliet [Juliaette] E. Richmond

• Relationship: Wife

• Color/Race: White

• Sex: Female

• Birth: September 1854 [1848]

• Age: 45 [51]

• Marital Status: Married

• Years Married: 31

• Children Born: 9

• Children Living: 9 [1] [-- it looks like a "1" to me, it should be 8]

• Place of Birth: England [Connecticut]

• Father's Birthplace: England [Rhode Island]

• Mother's Birthplace: England [Rhode Island]

• Year of Immigration: 1874 [blank]

• Years in the United States: 26 [blank]

• Naturalization: Alien [blank]

• Occupation: Overseer of Weavers (appears to read "Overseer of Weavers") [blank]

• Months Unemployed: 0 [blank]

• Attended School: No

• Can Read: Yes

• Can Write: Yes

• Can Speak English: Yes

Summary

Juliet [Juliaette] E. Richmond was born in September 1854 [1848] in England [Connecticut] and was 45 [51] years old. She had been married for 31 years and reported having given birth to nine children, all nine [one] still living, an important genealogical statement. Like her husband, she immigrated in 1874 and had resided in the United States for 26 years, but she was still recorded as an alien, indicating she had not become a naturalized citizen [She was a natural-born United States citizen]. She was literate and spoke English. The occupation entry appears to indicate she also worked as an overseer of weavers, suggesting she participated in the local textile industry. [No occupation was listed.]

---

3. Grace Richmond (Daughter)

Transcription

• Name: Grace

• Relationship: Daughter

• Color/Race: White

• Sex: Female

• Birth: August 1876

• Age: 23

• Marital Status: Single

• Place of Birth: Connecticut

• Father's Birthplace: England

• Mother's Birthplace: England [Connecticut]

• Occupation: Shirt Maker

• Months Unemployed: 0

• Attended School: No

• Can Read: Yes

• Can Write: Yes

• Can Speak English: Yes

Summary

Grace Richmond, age 23, was born in August 1876 in Connecticut, making her the oldest child in the household. She was unmarried and employed as a shirt maker, another occupation associated with New England manufacturing. She was literate and had not attended school during the previous year.

---

4. Emily W. Richmond (Daughter)

Transcription

• Name: Emily W.

• Relationship: Daughter

• Color/Race: White

• Sex: Female

• Birth: June 1879

• Age: 20

• Marital Status: Single

• Place of Birth: Connecticut

• Father's Birthplace: England

• Mother's Birthplace: Connecticut

• Occupation: None listed

• Months Unemployed: 0 [blank]

• Attended School: No

• Can Read: Yes

• Can Write: Yes

• Can Speak English: Yes

Summary

Emily W. Richmond was born in June 1879 in Connecticut and was 20 years old. She was single and living at home. No occupation is recorded for her. She could read, write, and speak English. (One birthplace entry appears to differ from the others by giving her mother's birthplace as Connecticut; this may be an enumerator error since the mother's own entry clearly states England.)

---

5. Charles E. Richmond (Son)

Transcription

• Name: Charles E.

• Relationship: Son

• Color/Race: White

• Sex: Male

• Birth: August 1880

• Age: 19

• Marital Status: Single

• Place of Birth: Connecticut

• Father's Birthplace: England

• Mother's Birthplace: Connecticut 

• Occupation: Painter

• Months Unemployed: 0

• Attended School: No

• Can Read: Yes

• Can Write: Yes

• Can Speak English: Yes

Summary

Charles E. Richmond was 19 years old, born in August 1880 in Connecticut. He was unmarried and worked as a painter. He was fully literate and spoke English. As with Emily's entry, the mother's birthplace appears to have been written as Connecticut, likely an inconsistency by the enumerator.

---

6. James F. [Alma B.] Richmond (Daughter? actually Son)

Transcription

• Name: James F. [Alma B.]

• Relationship: Son Daughter

• Color/Race: White

• Sex: Male [Female]

• Birth: February 1882

• Age: 18

• Marital Status: Single

• Place of Birth: Connecticut

• Father's Birthplace: England

• Mother's Birthplace: Connecticut (appears written)

• Occupation: House Work

• Months Unemployed: 0

• Attended School: No

• Can Read: Yes

• Can Write: Yes

• Can Speak English: Yes

Summary

James F. [Alma B.] Richmond was born in February 1882 in Connecticut and was 18 years old. He [She]  remained single and lived with his [her] parents. His [Her] occupation is recorded as House Work, indicating he [she] was performing work in or around the household rather than outside employment. He [She] could read, write, and speak English.

---

7. Edwin J. Richmond (Son)

Transcription

• Name: Edwin J.

• Relationship: Son

• Color/Race: White

• Sex: Male

• Birth: December 1883

• Age: 16

• Marital Status: Single

• Place of Birth: Connecticut

• Father's Birthplace: England

• Mother's Birthplace: Connecticut (appears written)

• Occupation: Laundryman

• Months Unemployed: 0

• Attended School: No

• Can Read: Yes

• Can Write: Yes

• Can Speak English: Yes

Summary

Edwin J. Richmond was 16 years old, born in December 1883 in Connecticut. Although still a teenager, he was employed as a laundryman, reflecting the early entry of many young people into the workforce around 1900. He was literate and had not attended school during the census year.

---

8. Marcus [James] H. Richmond (Son)

Transcription

• Name: Marcus [James] H.

• Relationship: Son

• Color/Race: White

• Sex: Male

• Birth: November 1886

• Age: 13

• Marital Status: Single

• Place of Birth: Connecticut

• Father's Birthplace: England

• Mother's Birthplace: Connecticut (appears written)

• Occupation: At School

• Months Unemployed: 10 [blank]

• Attended School: Yes, [10 Months]

• Can Read: Yes

• Can Write: Yes

• Can Speak English: Yes

Summary

Marcus James H. Richmond was born in November 1886 in Connecticut and was 13 years old. Unlike his older siblings, he was still attending school, with his occupation recorded as "At School." He had attended school during the year [for ten months], could read and write, and spoke English. His entry illustrates the transition within the family from older children already working to the youngest still receiving an education.

Household Summary

The 1900 census depicts a hardworking immigrant family headed by Thomas H. Richmond, an English-born textile supervisor who had become a naturalized American. His wife Juliet [Juliaette] reported that all nine [one?] of her children were still living, an especially valuable genealogical detail. The children born in Connecticut reflect the family's early years in New England before moving to Leominster, Massachusetts. Most of the older children were already employed in textile or manufacturing-related occupations, while the youngest son, Marcus [James], remained in school. The family rented their home, was fully literate, and was well established in the community after approximately twenty-six [forty-four] years in the United States.

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There are 124 transcription lines and at least 23 of them have errors.  Most of the errors are on the parents, Thomas and Juliaette. Almost all of the rerrors are "unforced" -- a human eye can read them well.

The errors by ChatGPT5 surprised me -- it misread five names, and got many details wrong. I thought it would do better.   I did not try to tell it to correct everything that I found wrong.

I did this task also on Google Gemini 3, and it made many mistakes also, but different from ChatGPT5.  The MyHeritage Scribe AI Tool did a much better job on the transcription (but it was not perfect). 

This human does a better job in deciphering census returns than at least two AI LLMs do.  It's not worth my time to do this task using AI -- I can do it faster and more accurately myself at this time. The MyHeritage Scribe AI Tool did a much better job on the transcription (but it was not perfect). 

I will try to revisit this exercise in a year or so from now and see if the LLMs have improved. 

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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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