 Watermark Your Public Family History Photos for Free with Canva When you share your family history, whether it be your public family tree, through a blog, or even a family website or social media page, you undoubtedly share family/ancestor photos as part of the sharing process. This will not be a debate on whether you should share your photos or not but is just simply a way to address the issue of you maybe wanting to share photos to help others out and bring joy but not necessarily having someone reshare them and take the credit. My trees on Ancestry and MyHeritage are private, as that is what I prefer for numerous reasons. When I get a request on Ancestry, through Ancestry messaging, asking to share a photo, I need to do so through email, as Ancestry’s messaging does not let you attach a photo if it’s not in a public tree. I am always happy to share photos, but like many, I don’t like having my photos reshared by someone else as their own. If you are like many, there is a way to share your photos, while protecting them as your own. You can create a watermark for your photos, documents, research, and anything else needed, for free, in Canva. How to Create a Free Watermark in Canva
This version does add a slight filter over your photo Or
Drawbacks to Adding a Watermark to Your Family History Photos
Examples of Free Watermarks Made in Canva
Keep in mind that anyone can easily remove them. 😉 More Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
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 AI & Genealogy: Gemini HTR for Parish Record Transcription and Analysis! The Free Google Gemini AI Platform performs a good attempt at handwritten text recognition and analysis in genealogical documents, such as parish records! I have been testing and using AI for many things in my genealogical world this past year, along with testing out and using various AI platforms for different tasks, as some work out for certain tasks better than others. I recently tested out generating transcriptions, extracts, and abstracts, using HTR for historical documents, from my family history, in Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. Some will not work in Copilot but work in Gemini and Vice Versa, while some just don’t work at all. Some also turn out better than others, while some just make me laugh. It’s a hit and miss. Of course, nothing is perfect, but I’m sure it will get better as time goes by. OCR is much better than HTR, such as in newspaper articles, which you can read more about in "AI in Genealogy: Copilot and Gemini OCR for Obituary Transcriptions and Analysis!". Check out a few of the results below for using AI to transcribe and/or analyze parish records and see how you can use AI in your genealogy! Google Gemini AI-Powered HTR Parish Record Transcription and Analysis Tests Google Gemini AI-Powered HTR Parish Record Transcription and Analysis Test: Try #3
Not very useful, but I just wanted to test out HTR capabilities with free AI platforms. 😉 More Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 Ancestry’s New AI Record Explore Feature Explore Ancestry's Records with AI!Ancestry has just come out with a new AI records feature, a few days ago, that allows you to further explore your ancestor’s records, using AI technology, that further enhances your family history experience! Records Available with This Feature (For Now)
How to Get to Ancestry's AI Record Explorer
Currently in BETA ModeThis feature is new and currently in BETA mode, and they have already changed the results that are churned out quite a few times already. The moment this feature popped up, while working on a client’s case, I quickly checked it out on a possible record I was already in the process of viewing, when it just all of the sudden appeared before my eyes. The first AI record exploration I tried had extremely flowery language and made me laugh. It also seemed to add a lot of context that was not based on facts. I quickly went to my own tree and tried it out on a few of my own ancestor’s records. Within minutes, the tone and mood of the results had changed, along with it sticking more to the facts, with context slightly truer to the facts. As of today, it has now changed to pretty much just straight facts, without much of a tone or mood of any kind. I prefer the second change, with a little context and slight tone and mood. Check out the examples below! Update: Within minutes after I gave the “as of today” above, it has changed again. So, I guess you’ll never know what you will get, until they work out all the kinks. 😉 Ancestry AI Record Explorer with WW II Draft Ancestry AI Record Explorer Example 1: WW II Draft Card Ancestry AI Record Explorer with Census Record Ancestry AI Record Explorer Example 2: Census Record  Ancestry AI Record Explorer Example 2-1: Census Record As you can see, from these 4 different versions generated, each at different times, since release, the output keeps changing, but I'm sure they'll find a perfect balance. This is a fantastic, fun addition, and I hope to eventually be able to explore more records with this AI feature! 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.
 AI in Genealogy: Copilot and Gemini OCR for Obituary Transcriptions and Anaysis! Are you using AI to help generate transcriptions, extracts, or abstracts for and/or understand your genealogical documents? I have been testing and using AI for many things in my genealogical world this past year. I have tested out and used various AI platforms for different tasks, as some work out for certain tasks better than others. I recently tested out generating transcriptions and using OCR for historical documents, from my family history, in Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. Some turned out better than others. It’s a hit and miss. Of course, nothing is perfect, but I’m sure it will get better as time goes by. Check out a few of the results below for using AI to transcribe and/or analyze obituaries and see how you can use AI in your genealogy! Microsoft Copilot AI-Powered OCR Obituary Transcription and Analysis Test- Example (Try #1)Here is an example using AI-Powered OCR for transcription and analysis of an obituary for my 2nd great grandfather, Samuel Steinman. It turned out pretty good, I'd say!
Google Gemini AI-Powered OCR Obituary Transcription and Analysis Test- Example (Multiple Tries)After multiple attempts, with different prompts, Google Gemini was unable to use AI-Powered OCR for transcription and analysis of the same obituary for my 2nd great grandfather, Samuel Steinman. I tried the same prompt as above, just simply "Transcribe", simply "What is this?", and more, to no avail. 
Now, don't think for a moment that Google Gemini is of no use. As I mentioned, I use a combination of different platforms depending on the task, and Google Gemini performs much better in other tasks. More coming soon. More Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 MyHeritage Updates March 2024: Share DNA Results with a Collaborator! You can now share your DNA results with collaborators at MyHeritage! MyHeritage has now added the much-needed option to seek advice and guidance from others, by securely sharing your DNA results with a collaborator. By inviting others to view your DNA results, and become a member of your family site on MyHeritage, collaboration has never been easier! Benefits to DNA Collaboration at MyHeritage
Who Can Collaborate with MyHeritage DNA Results
Learn more: New: Sharing DNA Results with a Collaborator 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.
 FamilySearch Updates March 2024: Historical Records Full-Text Search FamilySearch has just added new, experimental products to the FamilySearch Labs, with many using AI! One of these new features is a historical record full-text search, powered by AI, where you may unearth hidden discoveries in historical records that have never been searchable until now! As of now, there are only 2 collections included in the experimental FamilySearch Labs for this feature, U.S. Land and Probate Records and Mexico Notary Records, with more being added soon! Not only does it generate a full-text search, but it also gives you a full transcript, which is downloadable, with the original record! Check out an example below! FamilySearch Full-Text Record Search FamilySearch Historical Records Full-Text Search- Example 1 FamilySearch Full-Text Record Search & Full Record Transcript FamilySearch Historical Records Full-Text Search- Example 1-2 FamilySearch Full-Text Search Record Transcript Download FamilySearch Historical Records Full-Text Search- Example 1-3 If you’d like to try out this or any other experimental features, you must sign up first at: FamilySearch Labs More FamilySearch and other Genealogy ResourcesLearn about other FamilySearch updates and features, along with more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 MyHeritage: New Ancestor Profile Pages! MyHeritage has just revamped their ancestor profile pages for your family tree, making it way easier to work on each ancestor in your family tree, with everything right at your fingertips! From the new MyHeritage profile pages, you can not only work from an extremely pleasant page with a new, updated modern look with soft, pleasant colors, but you can now access everything that you could possibly need to work on for that particular ancestor, all from the same page! What's Included in the MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page
MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Ancestor Details MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Details- Facts & Immediate Family
MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Ancestor Matches MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Matches
MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Ancestor Biography MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Biography- AI Biographer, Ancestor Life Story, Ancestor Notes
MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Ancestor Photos MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Photos
MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Ancestor Sources MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page: Sources- Source Citations
How to Get to MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page How to Get to MyHeritage Ancestor Profile Page I absolutely love the new MyHeritage profile pages! So easy to work from and so aesthetic! 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.
 RootsTech 2024: World’s Largest Family History Event Wrap-up RootsTech 2024: World’s Largest Family History Event Wrap-up If you don’t know what RootsTech is, it’s the largest family history and genealogy event, around the world, of the year, celebrating family! RootsTech has certainly done it again! That was a fantastic, fun-filled 3 days! They seem to top themselves each year! The RootsTech 2024 event, hosted by FamilySearch, has finally come to an end, but the learning has not. Did you know that you can still access RootsTech? Not only can you access almost everything in your playlist for 3 years, the sessions/classes, keynotes, and Expo Hall, but they are keeping your chats available (to copy down your info), and you can still access RootsTech Relatives for the rest of the month! So, if you want to view any of the more than 1,500+ RootsTech Sessions (most of the 414 in-person and online sessions for 2024 and most of the other sessions from the past 3 years), Keynote Speakers or the Expo Hall, they are all still available, and will continue to be available! RootsTech: The Event of the Year, Once AgainRootsTech began in 2011, in-person, in Salt Lake City, and for their 10th anniversary, had to get creative, due to Covid. RootsTech 2021 was such a hit going virtual and FREE three years ago, due to Covid, that they went from about 30,000 attendees the year before to over 1,000,000! It was so amazing that they decided to do it again for 2022, and once again broke their record to 3,000,000! Then, they really outdid themselves by going hybrid last year, keeping the virtual platform, they designed just to use with the 2021 pandemic event that reached the entire world, and combining it smoothly with an in-person event for those missing the in-person experience, in which they had over 4,000,000 attendees worldwide from 240 countries and territories! This year, hybrid as well, was no exception and was once again the most fantastic global, family discovery event of the year, genealogy or otherwise! My RootsTech 2024 FavesAlthough I joined virtually and missed out on some in-person only sessions and aspects Like MyHeritage's featured session and joing up with groups that I'm a part of), I had a great time! I absolutely loved everything about RootsTech, from ALL of the keynote speakers, the sessions, the new RootsTech theme song, “Out of Time”, the featured videos, the Relatives at RootsTech, the Expo Hall, to the chat and more, all of it was fantastic! All the keynote speakers were amazing, but my absolute faves were Kirbey Heyborne’s “Welcome to RootsTech 2024” opening, the CEO, Steve Rockwood's keynote speech, which is always so powerful and thought provoking; and Sony Ambassador, Nancy Borowick’s powerful and moving documented story through images and speech! My other absolute faves at RootsTech were the powerful theme video, “Your Story Is Worth Remembering” ; the relaxed vibe of “Brick Wall Ancestors Need a Search Party”, even though it was for beginners, it was quite informative and fun; along with featured talks from Microsoft’s, Jared Spataro, Ancestry’s, Crista Cowan and MyHeritage! RootsTech 2024 at a GlanceAttendees:
Main Stage:
Expo Hall:
Relatives at RootsTech 2024: Out of over 300, 000 participants of Relatives at RootsTech...  I had 11,011 relatives at RootsTech this year! I had less than half of what I had last year, but that is most likely because I disconnected a lot of branches that others carelessly connected to the wrong people.😉 New 2024 Innovations and Tech I Got to Learn About
I saw as much of the main stage as possible and joined quite a few classes, and I’m so glad that I can save the rest to my playlist for later, in which you can now create playlist groups, as there is no way to get in everything in just 3 short days! 😉 It was such a big hit once again, that they’ll being going hybrid again next year! See you on March 6th of 2024! Don't forget to remember your past and those that came before, by including family, friends, strangers, communities, and the world! Remember to reflect on your life and those that have made the biggest impact on you, your stories, memories, traditions, and more, and preserve those memories for future generations so they can learn from our experiences! Remember to share your family history discoveries, knowledge, and resources to help others remember those that came before and who had the greatest impact on their lives! Remember, EVERYONE has a story worth remembering! If you missed the RootsTech 2024 event, you can still sign up for FREE online and view all the classes for FREE, at RootsTech! Don’t have an account? You can create your FREE FamilySearch account at FamilySearch! QuestionsI'd love to hear your experience at RootsTech 2024 below in the comments! How many RootsTech Relatives did you have attend? Have you saved your sessions for later yet? Did you take the time to chat and do any of the activities? Did you get to visit the exhibit hall? What were your faves? More on RootsTech and other Genealogy Events and ResourcesFollow more on the RootsTech Genealogy Conference in the Genealogy Events category, along with the Genealogy Resources category and my dedicated Genealogy Resources page! You can also find other fantastic events and resources there!
2/18/2024 Celebrating My African American Genealogy Connections with the BYU Relative FinderRead Now Celebrating My African American Genealogy Connections with the BYU Relative Finder In honor of Black History Month, I thought I’d check out my African American genealogy connections in the BYU Relative Finder. I have a list of 47 connections, which you can see below. Take in mind that BYU uses your FamilySearch World/Collaborative Tree to generate the connections, in which most of us know that the results would then be only as accurate as what others have connected to the World Tree. 😉
I quickly reviewed a lot of the connections, in which the majority connect us by distant ancestors that I have yet to confirm. There were many, where dates just didn’t add up, like women having children in their 50s back in the 16th and 17th centuries. 😉 I have included a closer look at 2 of my connections, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. My Genealogical Connection to Martin Luther King Jr.According to the BYU Relative Finder and the FamilySearch World Tree, I am connected to Martin Luther King Jr. I have not confirmed anything past James West, born 1745.  My Genealogical Connection to Martin Luther King Jr. My Genealogical Connection to Rosa ParksAccording to the BYU Relative Finder and the FamilySearch World Tree, I am connected to Rosa Parks. I have not confirmed anything past John Robinson, born 1790 on the chart, in which I have 1788.  My Genealogical Connection to Rosa Parks These are still quite fun to look at, and when I have time, one day, in the far future, I may work on these connections to see how valid they really are, but with the collaborative tree, I won't hold my breath. If I find that I am connected to them in my family tree, then I am quite honored, indeed! 😊 You can check out your own African American connections, along with others, at the BYU Relative Finder on the BYU Family History Technology Lab Website. More African American Genealogy and Genealogy Resources Learn about more African American genealogy tips and resources, along with other family history and genealogy resources under the African American Genealogy and Genealogy Resources categories and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 Identifying Family History Photos: A Case of Mistaken Identity 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!  My 4th Great Grandfather, Samuel Taylor and Wife, Frankie Gholson, ca. 1864-1869 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)
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Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family: Family History and Genealogy 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! Categories
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