Blog Archives

4/27/2025

What's Your Biggest Genealogy Frustration? You're Not Alone.

Read Now

Illustration showing common genealogy frustrations including brick walls, missing documents, and time constraints.

Common Genealogy Frustrations: Brick Walls, Missing Records, and More

Genealogy is one of the most rewarding hobbies and professions, but it often comes with its fair share of challenges. Yesterday, I posed a question on Facebook to our genealogy community:
"What’s your biggest genealogy frustration?"
🧱 Brick walls?
❓ Missing records?
📑 Bad handwriting?
⏳ Not enough time?

The answers started pouring in—and the response was immediate and passionate. Clearly, genealogy frustrations are something many of us share, no matter how experienced we are. Here’s a glimpse into what respondents had to say:

Brick walls and missing records
Language barriers causing brick walls
Missing records
Wandering without progress when parental information is missing
Not enough time
Incorrect information being repeatedly added to public trees
Feeling overwhelmed as a beginner
"All of the above!"
Ancestors who "lived their lives without thinking about how I was supposed to find them 200 years later"
Feeling like they’ve gone as far as possible for now

While everyone's situation is unique, the common themes were strikingly familiar. Brick walls, missing documents, bad handwriting, and simply not having enough time to dig deeper were consistent threads running through the responses.

Brick Walls: The Universal Genealogy Challenge

It's no surprise that "brick walls" topped the list. A "brick wall" in genealogy is that point where research comes to a sudden halt. You may have built a strong foundation tracing back several generations—only to hit a mysterious ancestor who seemingly appears out of nowhere or disappears without a trace.
Brick walls can be caused by many factors:

Missing or destroyed records
Name changes or misspellings
Migrations across regions or countries
Language barriers or unfamiliar scripts
Misinterpretations of documents

The emotional impact can be significant. After pouring hours, months, or even years into a project, facing a brick wall can feel like an enormous setback. But as many genealogists know, brick walls are often temporary—they challenge us to develop new skills, look in unexpected places, and rethink our assumptions.

Missing Records: When the Paper Trail Ends

Missing records were another major source of frustration shared by participants. Whether it’s a destroyed courthouse archive, a church register lost in a fire, or simply a document that was never created in the first place, missing records leave maddening gaps in family histories.
Strategies to overcome missing records include:

Seeking alternative records (tax rolls, land deeds, probate files)
Using collateral & cluster research (studying neighbors, siblings, and associates)
Broadening geographic areas of search
Turning to DNA for evidence when the paper trail ends

Missing records test our creativity as researchers. They also remind us that historical record-keeping was never perfect—and that our ancestors' lives were not always neatly documented.

Bad Handwriting: Deciphering the Past

Bad handwriting may not seem like a major obstacle at first glance, but any genealogist who has stared at an old census form or a crumbling parish register knows just how real this frustration can be.
Challenges include:

Difficult penmanship styles from past centuries
Fading ink or damaged paper
Regional spelling variations and shorthand
Clerical errors and transcription mistakes

Learning to recognize common letterforms, studying old handwriting guides, and collaborating with others can make a huge difference. But sometimes, it simply takes a great deal of patience—and multiple re-reads—to make sense of the words left behind.

Not Enough Time: The Modern Genealogist's Dilemma

In today's busy world, "not enough time" was another frustration that resonated strongly with respondents. Many people are passionate about genealogy but struggle to carve out uninterrupted hours for research.
Common time-related challenges include:

Balancing genealogy with work, family, and other obligations
The overwhelming size of "to-do" lists in ongoing projects
Having so many leads to follow that it feels impossible to prioritize

For those struggling with time, small strategies can help:

Setting aside regular “genealogy time” each week, even if it's just 30 minutes
Focusing on one small, achievable goal at a time
Keeping research logs to pick up quickly where you left off
Celebrating small wins along the way

Genealogy is a marathon, not a sprint. It's perfectly okay to pace yourself and enjoy the journey, even if you only move forward one small step at a time.

Conclusion: We're All in This Together

Reading through the poll responses was a powerful reminder: you are not alone in your genealogy frustrations. Whether it’s feeling stuck behind a brick wall, scouring for missing records, deciphering near-illegible handwriting, or simply wishing for more hours in the day, every genealogist faces challenges at some point.

But frustration is often a sign of progress. It means you’ve gotten far enough to encounter the hard parts—and with perseverance, creativity, and sometimes a little help from the genealogy community, you can push through.

If you’re facing your own genealogy frustrations right now, take heart. Every genealogist has been there—and every breakthrough starts with refusing to give up.

Looking for More Genealogy Tips and Resources?

Find more genealogy tips and resources under the Genealogy Quick Tips, Genealogy Research Tips, Genealogy Brick Wall Research, The Best of Genealogy, and Genealogy Resources catgories.

6 Comments

4/19/2025

Genealogy and Wellness: How Researching Family History Can Be Therapeutic

2 Comments

Read Now

Person reflecting while looking at old family photographs and documents, symbolizing the emotional and therapeutic benefits of genealogy research

Exploring your roots can bring peace, connection, and healing through the power of family history

For many, genealogy is more than just a hobby—it’s a heartfelt journey into the past that can offer surprising benefits in the present. While most people begin researching their family tree out of curiosity or a desire to preserve family stories, what they often discover along the way is a deeper sense of connection, purpose, and even healing.

As Easter approaches—a time often centered around family, renewal, and reflection—it’s a perfect opportunity to consider how genealogy can contribute to our mental and emotional wellness. Here are a few powerful ways that exploring our roots can be good for the soul.

1. A Sense of Identity and Belonging

Researching your family history helps answer that age-old question: “Where do I come from?” Knowing your ancestral origins and uncovering the lives of those who came before you can create a strong sense of identity. Whether it's discovering the town your great-grandmother emigrated from or reading a century-old letter written by an ancestor, these connections help us feel grounded and give us a sense of continuity in an ever-changing world.

Especially for individuals who feel disconnected from family, culture, or community, genealogy can fill in the gaps. It provides a narrative—a personal history—that reminds us that we are part of something larger than ourselves.

2. Emotional Healing Through Storytelling

Every family has its triumphs and its trials. Uncovering those stories—both joyful and painful—can be incredibly therapeutic. Many researchers report emotional breakthroughs when they learn about ancestors who endured hardships, loss, or adversity, yet persevered. These stories often mirror our own struggles and can offer perspective, resilience, and comfort.

Even the process of documenting family stories can be healing. Writing down what you know, organizing photos, or compiling a family history can provide a sense of purpose and fulfillment. It turns memories into legacy—and that act alone can be deeply meaningful.

3. Solving Mysteries Can Bring Closure

For those with unknown parentage, adoption in their family tree, or long-standing “brick walls,” genealogy can feel like detective work. But unlike fictional mysteries, these are personal ones—often rooted in unanswered questions, loss, or missing pieces of identity.

Solving these puzzles, whether through DNA analysis or historical records, can bring profound emotional resolution. Even if the outcome is not what was hoped for, the act of seeking truth can offer a sense of agency, clarity, and peace.

4. Building Intergenerational Connections

One of the beautiful aspects of genealogy is that it brings generations together. Interviewing older relatives, sharing stories with younger family members, or collaborating on research projects strengthens bonds between family members. These shared experiences can reduce feelings of isolation and foster a sense of unity, especially around holidays and family gatherings.

Family history projects can also become acts of remembrance and honoring. They remind us of loved ones who are no longer with us and help keep their memory alive.

5. Mindful Reflection and Joyful Discovery

Genealogy invites us to slow down, reflect, and become immersed in meaningful detail. Whether it's reading an old census record, transcribing a will, or gazing at a faded photograph, these quiet moments offer a form of mindful engagement that can be calming and fulfilling.

And of course, there’s the joy. The little victories—a new ancestor found, a long-lost cousin connected, a mystery solved—spark real delight. In a world full of stress and uncertainty, those moments of genuine excitement and curiosity are wellness boosters in their own right.

Final Thoughts: A Family History of the Heart

This Easter weekend, as many of us spend time with loved ones or reflect on those who came before us, consider how genealogy might support your own well-being. Whether it’s diving into an old photo album, making a family tree with your kids, or finally taking that DNA test, remember that every small step you take into your family’s past can bring unexpected peace, healing, and joy in the present.

Genealogy isn’t just about discovering who our ancestors were—it’s about discovering who we are, too.

Wishing you a peaceful and reflective Easter, filled with connection and discovery.

2 Comments

4/13/2025

Testing Handwriting OCR for Genealogy: Transcribing Death Records with AI

6 Comments

Read Now

AI transcription results from Handwriting OCR platform displayed beside a digitized 1920s Missouri death certificate used in genealogy testing

AI Handwriting OCR for Genealogy: Death Record Transcription Test and Review

As genealogists, we know the value—and the challenge—of working with historical documents written in long-forgotten hands. Whether deciphering ornate script or interpreting fading ink, extracting the data we need from original sources takes time, patience, and a good eye. That’s why I was intrigued when I was invited to test Handwriting OCR, an AI-powered handwriting-to-text converter that promises to transform even the toughest handwriting into editable, searchable text with speed and precision.

In this blog—the first in a new series where I’ll test this platform across different historical document types—I’ll be sharing my results and observations from using Handwriting OCR on two death certificates from my own family history collection. My goal? To evaluate how this tool performs when handling one of the most commonly used—and often difficult to read—records in genealogical research.

Why Death Certificates?

Death certificates are critical genealogical records. They typically include a wealth of information: full name, date and place of death, age at death, cause of death, and often key clues like parents' names and birthplaces. But they also present unique transcription challenges. The handwriting is often hurried, medical terminology is complex, and formatting varies by time and location.

Most existing OCR platforms struggle to process these handwritten documents effectively, so testing death records seemed like a fitting place to begin.

Case Study 1: Samuel Steinman, 2nd Great-Grandfather

AI Handwriting OCR- Death Certificate Example 1

*Note: Click to zoom in

AI Handwriting OCR- Death Certificate Example 1-2

AI Handwriting OCR- Death Certificate Example 1-3

AI Handwriting OCR- Death Certificate Example 1-4

Handwriting OCR did a surprisingly competent job transcribing this document, but several subtle errors did appear—mostly understandable given the script and formatting challenges. Here are the most noteworthy findings:

Date of Birth: Transcribed as 1853 instead of the correct 1855. The final digit on the certificate was disconnected, likely making it difficult for the AI to interpret.
Mother’s Maiden Name: Interpreted as Snell instead of Sherban. This was partially obscured by a descending letter “g” from the line above—something even a human might misread without close inspection.
Mother’s Birthplace: Listed as Bern, Germany, but should have been Pennsylvania. The AI likely misread “Penn.” as a foreign place name due to unclear abbreviation.
Cause of Death: “Pyelonephritis (Duplex)” was misread as “Pyelonephritis (Angina)”—again, a nuanced medical term likely outside the AI’s contextual vocabulary.
Undertaker’s Name: The name was difficult even for me to decipher, and the AI’s guess (Hutson & Son) was close to what I initially read (H— & Son), though not definitively correct.
Form Numbering and Formatting: Some inconsistencies in how form elements were grouped, but overall structure was retained.

Final Thoughts on Samuel’s Record:
Despite a few small inaccuracies, this was an impressive result for a handwritten death certificate. These are the kinds of records that most OCR platforms simply can’t handle at all, and here the AI provided a nearly complete transcription with minimal editing needed. A human still needs to verify every detail (as we always should), but this tool significantly reduces the time spent manually transcribing.

Case Study 2: Mary Harriet (Hulet) Steinman, 2nd Great-Grandmother

AI Handwriting OCR- Death Certificate Example 2

*Note: Click to zoom in

AI Handwriting OCR- Death Certificate Example 2-2

AI Handwriting OCR- Death Certificate Example 2-3

AI Handwriting OCR- Death Certificate Example 2-4

Mary Harriet’s certificate introduced different layout and formatting challenges, including more structured government fields and handwritten entries nestled between printed form labels. Here’s how Handwriting OCR handled it:

Location Details: The City was mistakenly placed in the Township line of the transcript, which could confuse localities in more complex regions.
Section Headers: The Medical Certificate of Death title was moved from its intended place in the transcript, but all content beneath was still included.
Demographics Block: The AI jumbled categories like sex, race, and marital status together (“female White Widow”), though it transcribed the handwritten answers accurately.
Date of Birth: The document showed 1852, but the transcription read 1857—a five-year discrepancy due to misreading a faint final digit.
Age at Death: The handwritten form listed 87 years, 4 months, and 11 days, but the OCR compressed this line and read the months as 11, likely due to formatting inconsistencies.
Father’s Name: Interpreted as Jas. Hulitt instead of Ira Hulett. The script was admittedly difficult here, and the misreading was understandable.
Filing Details: Slight errors in the month and clerk’s name, which were extremely faint and partially disconnected.
Physician Information: Misread initials, address, and timeline of medical attendance—small but notable for researchers validating cause of death.
Document Numbering: A few number sequences were clumped together, but data was not lost—just slightly misstructured.

Final Thoughts on Mary Harriet’s Record:
Again, I was impressed. Despite some layout issues and detail-level inaccuracies, Handwriting OCR extracted nearly all the handwritten content with a high degree of readability. For genealogists, these transcripts are immensely helpful starting points, especially when working with challenging handwriting or in bulk.

Takeaways from Testing Death Records on Handwriting OCR

AI-powered transcription tools like Handwriting OCR are opening exciting new doors in genealogical research. While they are not perfect (nor should we expect them to be), what they offer is a huge leap forward in automating some of the more tedious aspects of our work. Here’s what stood out most in this first test:

✅ Strong transcription accuracy, even on cursive and challenging handwriting
✅ Minimal formatting loss, with most sections retained and recognizable
✅ Easy export features, which I’ll explore in more detail in future tests
❗ Minor transcription errors, typically involving faint or disconnected text
❗ Contextual misunderstandings, particularly with abbreviated place names or medical terminology
❗ Structure inconsistencies, in category grouping or field labeling

Yet, in both of my tests—death certificates from the same location in Gentry County, Missouri, but from different decades—Handwriting OCR provided complete, editable versions of complex historical documents that would normally require slow, manual entry.

For any genealogist who’s ever squinted at an old death certificate under poor lighting or spent hours transcribing by hand, this platform offers a welcome solution. It’s not a replacement for human verification, but it’s a powerful companion that can accelerate our workflows and help us focus more on the analysis, stories, and connections that make genealogy so rewarding.

Coming Soon: Testing Handwriting OCR on Other Genealogy Documents

This is just the beginning. In upcoming posts, I’ll be testing Handwriting OCR’s capabilities on:

Census records
Marriage certificates
Old letters and family Bibles
Naturalization and immigration records
Church registers and more

Stay tuned as I continue exploring how this platform holds up across the variety of handwritten documents we work with every day. If you've tried Handwriting OCR on your own records, I’d love to hear about your experience!

Have you tested AI handwriting tools for genealogy? What worked (or didn’t) for you? Let me know in the comments!

If you find that this would be a valuable addition to you genealogy research toolkit, Handwriting OCR will provide an exclusive offer code to all my blog readers! Just let me know!

More AI and Genealogy Resources

Learn about more AI in Genealogy and other family history and genealogy resources under the AI in Genealogy and Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.

6 Comments

4/6/2025

Exploring Ancestry’s New “Networks” Feature: A Powerful Tool for Connections Beyond the Family Tree

10 Comments

Read Now

Screenshot mockup of Ancestry’s Networks feature showing individuals grouped by tags and relationships beyond immediate family

Visualizing connections beyond the family tree with Ancestry’s Networks feature

Ancestry recently unveiled a new tool that has the potential to reshape how we document, visualize, and analyze the relationships surrounding our ancestors. Simply called Networks, this new Pro Tools feature allows researchers to build out dynamic relationship webs that go far beyond traditional family lines. Announced at RootsTech and currently in BETA, Networks is already proving to be a valuable resource for exploring the people who interacted with, lived near, or were otherwise involved in our ancestors’ lives—even if they weren’t blood relatives.

In genealogy, we often say that it takes a village—not only to raise a child but also to build out a meaningful, contextual family history. Networks offers a new way to capture that village.

What Is the Networks Feature?

Networks is designed to:

Document relationships and connections beyond immediate family
Group people by community, shared experiences, places, or times using tags and categories
Fill in the blanks to help break through brick walls
Evolve with your research, allowing you to edit your network as discoveries unfold

In simpler terms, Networks allows you to create a visual and organized “web” of people who were part of an ancestor’s life but may not be related by blood or marriage. These could include boarders, neighbors, work colleagues, military units, traveling companions, or even mystery individuals who appear in records but don’t yet have a clear place in the family tree.

A Real-World Example: Using Networks for Census Boarders

I first encountered the Networks feature while working on a client case, and I decided to give it a try right then and there. In the 1910 census, I found a family living together—husband, wife, children—and several other individuals listed in the household. Among them were three men marked as the husband’s “brothers,” and two boarders. Oddly, I had found no additional records linking the three supposed brothers to the family.

Ancestry Networks Example 1- Boarders and Possible Brothers

That’s where Networks came in.

Ancestry Networks Example 2- Creating a Network

Using the new tool, I added all of these individuals to a network linked to the head of household. I treated it like a research workspace: I tagged each person, added census data as media, and even began building out mini-profiles for the three “brothers” and the boarders. Whether the census taker made an error or the relationships are genuine but obscured, this feature gave me the freedom to explore those possibilities without needing to force these individuals directly into the family tree structure.

Ancestry Networks Example 3- Adding People, Media, Sources, Tags, and Stickies to Your Network

Ancestry Networks Example 4- Creating Stickies (Notes) for Your Network

Key Features That Make Networks Useful

Floating People: Think of Networks as allowing you to create “floaters”—individuals who aren’t directly in your tree’s family line but are still relevant to your research. This provides a sandbox of sorts to explore potential connections without prematurely attaching someone as a parent, sibling, or spouse.
Tags, Categories, and Stickies: Each person in a network can be labeled using custom tags and categories such as “boarder,” “possible relative,” “military connection,” or “same workplace.” You can also attach Stickies—virtual sticky notes—to organize clues, highlight sources, and document theories.
Media, Notes, and Sources: You can add documents, photos, and sources to any individual in the network, just like with people in your regular family tree. This allows you to maintain your same documentation standards while exploring new hypotheses.
Ongoing Flexibility: The network is not static. You can add or remove people as your research evolves, and Ancestry will even suggest possible additions to help expand your network intelligently.

How to Access the Networks Feature

As of now, Networks is available only to those with an active Pro Tools membership on Ancestry and can only be accessed through the Ancestry website—not the mobile app. There are multiple ways to get to it:

From an ancestor’s profile page: Look to the right of their listed family members, just below “Add Family,” and click “Create Network.”
From the Home page: Locate (it in) the “Pro Tools shortcuts” on the right-hand side.
From the “Find in Tree” feature: At the top right of your tree view, click “List of all people” and explore from there.

Why This Matters

Genealogy is as much about social context as it is about names, dates, and places. Networks fills an important gap in our research process by giving us a structured, visual way to explore the people who encircled our ancestors’ lives—those who may have had deep personal, social, or economic significance but don't appear in a traditional family tree structure.

The tool may especially prove useful for:

Urban research, where many people lived in tenements, boarding houses, or multi-family dwellings
Immigrant research, where traveling groups, chain migration, or cultural communities form rich networks of association
Brick wall cases, where the only clues are found in who lived nearby or who appeared together in hard-to-interpret records

Final Thoughts

While still in BETA, Ancestry’s Networks feature is a useful addition for genealogists at every level. It encourages critical thinking, offers flexibility, and considers the complexity of human relationships—something every family historian grapples with at some point.

Whether you’re piecing together a mystery in the census, mapping out an immigrant cluster, or just trying to figure out who that “mystery boarder” might have been, Networks gives you a new lens to view your research through. And sometimes, that fresh perspective is just what we need to break through a long-standing brick wall.

Have you tried the Networks feature yet? Share your experiences—I’d love to hear how others are using it in their research!

More Ancestry and Genealogy Resources

Learn about more Ancestry updates, tips, tools, and features and other family history and genealogy resources under the Ancestry.com and the Genealogy Resources categories of my blog and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.

10 Comments