The Family History AI Show The Family History AI Show recently discussed " the year's top AI breakthroughs for genealogists, " analyzing what we genealogists can do now at year's end which we could not on January one. Steve and Mark presented their list:  #5. Chatbots Learn How to Reason (OpenAI’s o1-preview)   Because it is still in "preview," this does not have widespread use yet, but both hosts agreed that it will be great for multi-step big projects.  #4. Content Creation Within Chatbots (Artifacts, Canvas)  Work entirely inside the chatbot, not hopping over to Word, Excel, Photoshop, or other tools for parts of your project. Changes, additions and corrections can happen real-time, not over in another tab, enabling a sense of flow and ease. #3. Collaborative Research Spaces (NotebookLM, Claude Projects, Perplexity Spaces) Chat with and query your own written work, documents for use in your ongoing project, research plans, and collaborate with workmates ...

Generated with Bing ImageCreator (AI), March 13, 2024 Where is YOUR Needle, Your Missing Record? Genealogical Proof Standard When we use the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) as our guide, we all know that "exhaustive research" can be both tedious and exhausting. Is life long enough to search page by page through all the counties where all the members of a family might have lived, paid taxes, bought, leased or sold property, made a will or died intestate? It is possible that the new Full Text Search at FamilySearch will  eventually  allow us to do just that. It has been estimated that 75% or more of the records at FamilySearch were browsable but not searchable; the only indexes those found in the records themselves. Those records are certainly attainable by using those indexes and browsing to the record of interest, but the process is tedious, often frustrating, and slow. And once found, the record must be read and transcribed to be useful. This new Full Text Search tackles a...

AI: Bing Image Creator Generated Changing realities force many of us to consider the future of our genealogical collections. Whether a change in health, a new location or even just downsizing, it can be useful to evaluate what we have now, with an eye to the future. What we can pass along? Plan Ahead First: if you have online trees, create a plan to grant access to interested fellow researchers, even distant cousins. Depending on the website, you may need to add a codicil to your will, or just tell the site whom your successor will be.  Ancestry.com: there are two considerations: your DNA test and your tree(s). It is wise to share your DNA results with a cousin or other relative; no need to wait. Or you can  Assign a Manager .  For overall accounts and trees, there is  Ancestry® Family Plan Memberships .  FamilySearch help file:  How to Connect to a Family Member’s Tree .  B ecause it is a shared tree, a person cannot pass along their FamilySearch acc...

Citation Needed:March for Science in Washington, DC by Adam Fagen on Flickr Citations! So necessary to our work, and so dreaded. We all know we will thank ourselves later if we write them, but somehow..... don't.  Why do we need them? Of course we want to keep track of what and where we found the source of the information we're using in our research and writing. That is our duty to ourselves.  However, to me, the most important aspect of writing citations is analysis . Analysis What is this record? Who created it, when and where, and who collected and kept it safe? Who was the informant? Did that person have any reason to give less than accurate information?  What am I looking at? Is it a digital copy, digital microfilm, in color, or black and white? Or a paper record from the household or an repository? Is there more to the record? Many cards, for instance, have information on both front and back. Probate files can be many--even hundreds--of pages long. Was that probate ...

  Giving Thanks Those Who Served Ted Cowan 1926-2016 As I write, it is Veteran's Day, and also my mother's birthday. If she were alive, she would be 95. I'm thankful for her time on Earth, and that of my father, who served as a medic in the Pacific, WWII. I recently placed this photo of him at as a young recruit in the Veterans Legacy Memorial . Search for your ancestor, friend or relative here:  vlm.cem.va.gov/search .  Those Who Gave Their All John Franklin Zimmerman Jr 1908-1943 Th e database does not cover those buried overseas, such as my husband's uncle Frank, killed in action in Italy, and buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy. He had worked in the Post Office in California during the war, and when killed was Staff Sergeant of the Combat Organization: 2nd Army Post Office. He was killed the 7th of October 1943 and was awarded the Purple Heart.  https://www.abmc.gov / <- Search for overseas burials. Military Service Members I'...

Review and Improve the Index of the 1950 United States Census https://www.familysearch.org/en/info/1950-census-community-project This is going to be fun, and we want to be part of it. South King County Genealogical Society has applied to be part of the 1950 US Census Community Project. We hope as many of you as possible register to be part of the fun as well.  Not just fun, but also important It is important because states will be released as they are marked 100% complete, and we would love Washington to be one of the first! Which is why we're hoping that all the other Washington state genealogy societies get involved as well. And, we hope to show up as one of the most active, effective and involved societies in the state.  It is important because this is the first census to be completely indexed. Complete , meaning that every field is being indexed! Can you imagine how powerful search will be, when we can narrow the search by field?  It is important because the 1950 is a...

 The Life of Sarah Ann Mitchell Editor's note:  Today's blog is the result of a comment posted to a recent blog about finding context in research. Thanks for your comments! Military bounty check for Sarah Ann’s husband, Fantley H. Naylor. https://dmr.bsu.edu/digital/collection/LSTACivWar/id/11319/rec/1 Civil War Ancestors I had several Civil War ancestors' families near Muncie, Indiana. A few months ago I found an Indiana militia bounty check (like a signing bonus) from the county. It was endorsed by the first husband of my great-great-grandmother, Sarah Ann. I love his name: Fantley Hopkins Naylor. This was in the Archives and Special Collections of the Ball State University Library in Muncie. Digital Media Repository at Ball State University Library’s Archives and Special Collections    https://dmr.bsu.edu/digital/collection/LSTACivWar    My discoveries were in the Delaware County section.  I have yet to peruse the rest!  Location Search on...