While working on my own genealogy for a bit, I came across an exciting find! While adding photos to my family tree, I realized that my 3rd great grandfather looked different than in his other photos, which I guess I never paid much attention to before. This particular photo came to me from my father, who had received it, along with many others, from my great grandmother and her 2nd husband, who also was her cousin. He had told me who everyone was in all the images he had sent me, and he had said this particular photo was that of my 3rd great grandparents, George W. Taylor and Rachel Ann Robinson. I was not so certain this was them, and my father had been wrong on a few others, so I had decided to take a deep dive into dating old photos so that I could learn more. In doing so, I had deduced that this photo was actually of my 4th great grandfather, Samuel Taylor and his 2nd wife, Frankie Gholson, in which we thought there was no known picture of, but we had one all along! A Short Description of the Ancestral Couples My 3rd great grandfather, George W. Taylor was born 7 Jun 1834 and died 13 Feb 1917. My 3rd great grandmother, Rachel Ann Robinson was born 23 Mar 1843 and died 15 Apr 1919. As you can see, according to the dates, he was 8 years older than she. My 4th great grandfather, Samuel Taylor (George’s father) was born 21 Aug 1804 and died 4 Oct 1893. His wife, Frankie Gholson was born 9 Mar 1819 and died 9 Aug 1894. On the other hand, there was a significant age gap of almost 15 years between the two. As you can see in the photo, the man appears to be much older than the woman. Also, the photo seems to be older than other photos taken during the time period of my 3rd great grandfather being the age of the man in the photo. Dating CDV Photos (Carte de Visite Photos) After deep diving into research on dating old photos, I was able to compile all the info together, and had deduced that this photo was that of my 4th great grandfather, Samuel Taylor and his wife, Frankie, taken most likely between 1864-1869.
CDV: 1854 (1859 Europe-1860 U.S.) -~beginning 1900s, but most popular during Civil War)
2 Comments
The Combined Power of AI and Timelines in Ancestor WritingJust a few days before MyHeritage announced their newest feature, AI Biographer, which you can read about in my post, “New MyHeritage Feature: AI Biographer, Creates Instant Biographies for Your Ancestors!”, I was literally working on a couple of projects that was doing just that, using AI for my biography, as well as for my ancestors’ biographies! I was taking all my own historical facts from my timeline and copying and pasting them in an AI paraphraser tool to create something just like this! At the same time, I was telling myself that it would be cool if either Ancestry or MyHeritage came out with a feature that did exactly what I was doing manually, take everything from your timeline/ancestor’s timeline and create a story or biographical sketch using AI. Who knew that MyHeritage was working on just that behind the curtains, right at the time I was envisioning it! I quickly found that if I create one myself from ancestors in my family tree, using their timeline events, I can create a fairly descent ancestor story/biography. Of course, it wasn’t that quick, and I had to manually tweak the paragraphs then run them through a paraphraser again. Then today, I decided to add some historical context throughout to make it a bit more interesting, taking cues from Ancestry’s new AncestryAI and My Heritage’s new AI Biographer, by using some of the events in my timelines and running them through an AI chat program. I also tweaked those as well. Altogether, I used quite a few different programs to accomplish my final test product. Check out the result below! 😊 My Ancestor Biography, with the Help of AI*This example is all based on my OWN research and taken from my own ancestor timeline, which is filled with facts and events based on my research. I then used AI to help me paraphrase my facts and events.
12/30/2023 New MyHeritage Feature, AI Biographer, Creates Instant Biographies for Your Ancestors!Read NowMyHeritage, the leader in innovative family history tools, has just surprised us with 2 new, groundbreaking features! The first day after Christmas MyHeritage gave to me…AI Record Finder and AI Biographer to enhance my genealogy! MyHeritage AI BiographerMyHeritage is constantly churning out the best state-of-the-art tools and features to enhance, preserve, and share your family history! The all new MyHeritage AI Biographer, a genealogists and/or family historian dream come true, automatically creates a “Wikipedia-style” biography of your ancestor’s life, utilizing details from matching historical records and family tree profiles, using AI technology! Enhance your family history and genealogy experience by Instantly creating beautiful biographies with historical context to pass down through the generations! This came at the perfect time for me! What had I literally been doing the few days before this was announced to me? I was taking all my own historical facts from my timeline and copying and pasting them in an AI rephraser tool to create something just like this! At the same time, I was telling myself that it would be cool if either Ancestry or MyHeritage came out with a feature that did exactly what I was doing manually, take everything from your timeline/ancestor’s timeline and create a story or biographical sketch using AI. Who knew that MyHeritage was working on just that behind the curtains, right at the time I was envisioning it! What’s Included in the AI Biography
AI Biographer Uses
How to Get to AI Biographer
Current Limitations
As you can see from the images below, it also pulled info from another family tree (the FamilySearch Collaborative World Tree of all things 😉), showing some incorrect info. My 2nd great grandfather did not have a child named Everett Waldo; my great grandfather, Edmond Cole (already listed) had changed his name, in his later years, to this. Right after I saw this, I went in and removed the Everett Waldo from the FamilySearch Collaboative World Tree, but who knows when someone else will add it again.😉 I HOPE MyHeritage creates an option to just pull from your own tree, while also pulling info from the web for historical context, then it would be a true dream come true. 😉 Try It for FREEThere is currently an unspecified number of free biographies for anyone who wants to try out this new groundbreaking feature! So, give it a try at: MyHeritage (currently they do not have a try button as with other new features in the past, so not sure how you try for free). More MyHeritage and Other Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more MyHeritage and other family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
Ancestry has just come out with some new features to enhance your genealogy research and family history experience, Ancestry Pro Tools. These are an assortment of tools that are intended to work with your family tree that you have on Ancestry. Ancestry Pro Tools
Tree Checker Find duplicates or errors in your tree, such as dates, locations, and relationships. Charts and Reports Create, print, download, and share detailed family histories, where you can choose anywhere from 2 to 7 generations, a birch or pine layout, and your focus person. Advanced Filters Search, group, and sort people in your tree with advanced filters by family line (direct line, paternal line, maternal line, and end of line), events and places (birth, marriage, death, lived in, and any event you choose the time or place for), Possible Errors (possible duplicates, other possible issues), and Hints. Map Views See where everyone in your family tree lived in respect to one another. The Catch
How to Order Ancestry Pro Tools
Is It worth it?Is it worth it? Up to you. As of now, these features don’t seem very useful to me; although, if there were a way to include sources and citations, along with who created the report, I would consider this. Some have said they love it, and some have said it is definitely not worth it. It’s ultimately up to you to try it out for yourself. You do have the option to just purchase it 1 month at a time and cancel it whenever you’d like (at least 2 days before), so it may be worth it to try it out for at least a month. To be honest, I DO NOT AGREE WITH SOME OF THESE BEING behind a pay wall/EXTRA, like the Fact Checker or Advanced Filters. These are a necessity for any tree and should already be included in the already high price of Ancestry. Let me know what you think, in the comments below. More Ancestry and Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more Ancestry updates, tips, tools, and features and other family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
MyHeritage has just come out with their new MyHeritage Wiki, an all-in-one learning hub! With this new, FREE, fantastic genealogy and DNA resource, you’ll find tons of topics to help in your family history research! It’s like an online genealogy and DNA encyclopedia right at your fingertips! This is just the beginning, as it is a new and ongoing resource, so more and more will be added as time goes by. MyHeritage Wiki Categories
The best part is that it is a community-led resource that will be offered in dozens of languages and aims to be the ultimate online genealogy and DNA encyclopedia out there, so if you have an area of expertise, you could apply to become a MyHeritage Wiki contributor! Start learning, for FREE, and head on over to the MyHeritage Wiki now! More MyHeritage and Other Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more MyHeritage and other family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Family History and GenealogyIf you are looking for a meaningful and memorable present for your loved ones this holiday season, consider giving them a family history gift. A family history gift is one of the most personalized and thoughtful gifts you can give that keeps on giving! Spread the joy of genealogy, while helping others discover who they are and where they came from! Whether it is a book, a photo album, a DNA test, or a family tree, a family history gift is the perfect gift to help others connect with their past and inspire their future! The Best Family History and Genealogy Gifts
More Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
Explore Your Ancestors through Media!As mentioned, a few weeks ago, in “New at Ancestry: The Explore Feature in Storymaker Studio!”, Ancestry had come out with a new BETA feature they were testing out, Explore, where you can explore the times your ancestor lived in, through media, giving you yet another way to enhance your family history and genealogy! Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it had disappeared, only a few days later. They had then revamped their whole Storymaker Studio and changed the name to Memories, which is the same name under FamilySearch, and the short lived Explore feature vanished. All of these changes, along with the new Memories page was mentioned in, “Ancestry’s New Dedicated Media Hub, Memories!”. Well, the Explore feature is back! This feature lets you explore images that other members have in their public trees, that may have to do with either a particular ancestor of yours or a certain place and time period that you may be researching. How to get to Ancestry's New Explore FeatureThere are 5 ways to get to Ancestry's new Explore feature , in which you will get slightly different results.
They seem to be making it super easy to get to, by giving you many ways to get to it. 😉 Ways to Explore from the Memories Tab or Gallery Icons
Ways to Explore from an Ancestor Profile
As mentioned in “New at Ancestry: The Explore Feature in Storymaker Studio!”, I find that “exploring” an ancestor is the same as the image hints you get for that ancestor, under the hints on an ancestor’s profile page, but you cannot currently search for places and times under the hints, so this adds to that capability. Keep in mind that exploring places and times does not necessarily mean it actually has to do with that place and time, it may just be more public ancestor Images of a person who also lived in that place. More Ancestry and Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more Ancestry updates, tips, tools, and features and other family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
Out with the Old and in with the NewHelp future generations remember or discover people in your family tree through photos and stories with Ancestry’s new one-stop media hub to view all your media in your tree! As mentioned last week in New at Ancestry: The Explore Feature in Storymaker Studio!, Ancestry came out with a new BETA feature, Explore, in their Storymaker Studio. Well, it seems to have been short lived, as after only a few days, they revamped their whole Storymaker Studio and have now changed the name to Memories, along with adding some some new features. Memories Media Hub Categories
What Can You Do in Memories?
Create MediaCreate stories, create slideshows, upload audio recordings, create albums, make photoline collages, create tree collages, and enhance your photos by colorizing, sharpening, filtering, or adding stickers from photos in your family tree. Organize Your MediaArrange all your media into albums and add details to your media, such as tags, dates, locations, and descriptions. As you can see, I haven't created any albums yet. Preserve Family MemoriesHelp future generations remember or discover people in your tree through photos and stories by preserving your family history. Scan or upload media, then edit your family photos by adjusting, colorizing, sharpening, cropping, rotating, or filtering them. From there, you add tags, dates, locations, and descriptions to your photos. Scan or Upload MemoriesScan or upload old photos and add details to them. SearchSearch for your photos, stories, audio, and videos quickly in your media Gallery by filtering what you are looking for. ExploreExplore historical photos through the eyes of your ancestors. Many of these features go hand in hand; therefore, you can do some of the same tasks under each category. 😉 How to get to Memories
*Note: They don’t seem to have all the kinks worked out yet, but I’m sure it’s another work in progress. Currently there is no smooth way to get back to the main page from each feature or category. The feature that I mentioned in my last post, Explore, is advertised in the pop up for the new Memories media page, but I haven’t seen it yet. Some of these features/tools just take you to your ancestor’s profile page gallery allowing you to be able to do the same things you have already been able to do. Some of the go back button or arrows take you back to places that have nothing to do with what you were doing or where you were. 😉 More Ancestry and Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more Ancestry updates, tips, tools, and features and other family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
Ancestry's New Explore FeatureExplore the times your ancestor lived in, through media! Ancestry has a new Beta feature they’re testing out to help enhance your family history and genealogy, Explore, in the Storymaker Studio. This feature lets you explore images that other members have in their public trees, that may have to do with either a particular ancestor of yours or a certain place and time period that you may be researching. How to get to the Explore Feature
Ways to Explore
Exploring a Particular Ancestor in Ancestry Storymaker StudioExploring a Particular Place and Time in Ancestry Storymaker StudioI find that “exploring” an ancestor is the same as the image hints you get for that ancestor, under the hints on an ancestor’s profile page, but you cannot currently search for places and times under the hints, so this adds to that capability. Keep in mind that exploring places and times does not necessarily mean it actually has to do with that place and time, it may just be more public ancestor Images of a person who also lived in that place. More Ancestry and Genealogy Resources: Learn about more Ancestry updates, tips, tools, and features and other family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
Ancestry's New AI Features for Your Family Tree and DNA Ancestry seems to be on a major roll right now, consistently churning out new features one on top of the other! They have just released 2 new AI features to enhance your family history and genealogy, 1 for your family tree, and one for your DNA! These new features are in BETA mode, which means not all may have it; they could tweak it, add to it, delete some of the questions or features; or they may decide to delete it all together. AI to Enhance Your Ancestor’s StoryLearn about your ancestor in a fun, engaging, and educational way with the new AI feature for your family tree! With the new feature, you can learn about birth, marriage, death, and residence events during your ancestors’ lives. Categories and Questions:
AI Ancestor Birth Questions SamplesAI Ancestor Marriage Questions SamplesAI Ancestor Death Questions SamplesAI Ancestor Residence Questions ExamplesHow to get to AncestryAI for Your Ancestor
*Note: Be careful using this info in a story, as some of the information is general for the area and not the specific period or vice versa. 😉 AI to Enhance Your DNA Story You can also learn about your estimated ethnic regions in a fun, engaging, and educational way with the new AI feature for your AncestryDNA! With this new feature, you can learn about daily life, common foods, notable historical figures, climate and geography, population movements, population, the people, and family life in each of your estimated ethnic regions! Categories and Questions:
How to Get to AncestryAI in AncestryDNA
Go in and see if you have these 2 new AI features; if you do, then have fun with it! More Ancestry and Genealogy Resources Learn about more Ancestry updates, tips, tools, and features and other family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
|
Details
Categories
All
FeaturedTop PostsBlogrollEvalogue.Life, Heart of the Family, Molly's Canopy, Climbing My Family Tree, Cami Mayer, Field Genealogist, Ancestor Detective, DNA Breakthroughs, Your DNA Guide, Ancestral Findings, Genealogy Tip of the Day, Family History Daily, Genea-Musings
BlogI hope my family history and genealogy blog on genealogy research tips, resources, events, and more, along with my own genealogy journeys, will help you in your research and in building your family tree to learn more about your ancestors and family history to preserve for future generations to come! Come visit me at Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family if you're interested in starting your family history journey, booking me for your next speaking event, or family history and genealogy heirloom products!
Archives
April 2024
|