 Ancestry's New Shared Matches DNA Pro Tool Enhances Genetic Genealogy Research Ancestry Updates June 2024: Introducing the New Shared Matches DNA Pro ToolAncestry has recently unveiled a highly anticipated addition to their Pro Tools suite: the Shared Matches DNA Pro Tool. This new feature enables users to explore the connections between their shared matches, offering a more detailed view of how individuals are interrelated within their genetic network. Designed to enhance genealogical research, Pro Tools is a premium set of tools available for an additional fee, as first introduced in Ancestry Updates December 2023: Ancestry's New Pro Tools. Getting Started with Ancestry’s New DNA Pro ToolTo access the Shared Matches Pro Tool, after the purchase of Pro Tools in addition to an already Ancestry membership, follow these simple steps:
 Getting to Ancestry's Shared Match DNA Pro Tool- Step 2  Getting to Ancestry's Shared Match DNA Pro Tool- Step 3  Getting to Ancestry's Shared Match DNA Pro Tool- Step 4 Current Limitations and Considerations While this new tool brings exciting possibilities, it is important to note that it is still in its early stages. As with any new technology, there are some limitations and areas for improvement. Here are some of the issues users may encounter:
Important Notes
Insights and Reflections The new Shared Matches DNA Pro Tool holds significant potential for genealogists, especially those new to DNA research. It simplifies the process of understanding how shared matches may be related, which is invaluable for the majority of Ancestry subscribers. However, for seasoned professionals, the tool might serve more as a supplementary aid rather than a primary resource. In my professional experience, while the tool did not help confirm the one case I specifically purchased it for—due to the complexities of endogamy and pedigree collapse—it did prove valuable in validating previous research. Within just a few hours, I was able to confirm findings from my own family tree and work done for clients, from the past decade. Although it offers a novel way to explore relationships, it may feel more like an experimental feature than a game-changing tool at this stage. Overall, the new Shared Matches DNA Pro Tool represents an exciting step forward for AncestryDNA and their Pro Tools, and with continued development, it has the potential to become an indispensable resource for genealogists of all levels. More Ancestry and Genealogy ResourcesLearn 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.
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 5 Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth 5 Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, marks the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas learned of their freedom, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. As a genealogist, understanding and honoring this significant event can deepen your appreciation for African American heritage and history. Here are five meaningful ways to celebrate Juneteenth. 1. Educate Yourself and Others Understanding the history and significance of Juneteenth is the first step in honoring this day. Read books, watch documentaries, and explore online resources that detail the stories of enslaved people, the Civil War, and the fight for freedom. Share this knowledge with friends, family, and your community to spread awareness. Consider hosting a virtual or in-person reading group to discuss influential works like "Juneteenth" (one of the most powerful classics since WWII) by Ralph Ellison or "The Warmth of Other Suns" (one of New York Time's best sellers and named TIME's 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade, as well as The New York Times Magazine's Best Nonfiction of All Time) by Isabel Wilkerson. 2. Trace African American Genealogy For genealogists, like us, Juneteenth is an opportunity to delve into African American ancestry. Utilize resources like the Freedmen’s Bureau records, African American newspapers, and oral histories to uncover the stories of African American ancestors. This not only honors their legacy but also brings their histories to light for future generations. Encourage others to start their genealogical journey by offering workshops or online tutorials. 3. Support Black-Owned Businesses Economic empowerment is a significant aspect of celebrating Juneteenth. By supporting Black-owned businesses, you contribute to the economic strength and sustainability of African American communities. Research and share lists of local and online Black-owned businesses, and make a concerted effort to patronize them, whether it’s for everyday needs or special purchases. We have a fantastic black-owned shop, "The Gourmet Cobbler Factory" that makes amazing sweet potato pies, among others, in our community. I'm definitely stopping by tomorrow! 4. Participate in Local Juneteenth Events Many communities host events to commemorate Juneteenth, including parades, festivals, and educational programs. Attend these events to connect with others and participate in collective celebrations. Check out some of the top 10 Juneteenth events here. If your community doesn’t have Juneteenth events, consider organizing one. This could be a virtual gathering, a neighborhood barbecue, or an educational workshop that highlights the history and significance of Juneteenth. 5. Reflect and Engage in Acts of Service Juneteenth is not just a celebration of freedom but also a reminder of the ongoing struggles for equality and justice. Take this time to reflect on the progress that has been made and the work that still needs to be done. Engage in acts of service that support racial justice and equality. Volunteer with organizations that focus on civil rights, social justice, and community development. Consider making donations to causes that promote equality and support African American communities. By taking part in these activities, you not only celebrate Juneteenth but also honor the resilience, strength, and contributions of African Americans throughout history. As genealogists, we have a unique role in preserving and sharing these vital stories, making sure they are remembered and respected for generations to come. Happy Celebrating! More African Amercian GenealogyMore Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page. More Top Genealogy#AfricanAmericanGenealogy,#AfricanAmericanAncestry,#Genealogy,#BlackHistory,#Juneteenth
 Top 5 German Genealogy Websites Top 5 German Genealogy Websites Do you have German ancestors and looking for records, tools, and resources that can help in your German genealogy research? Here are my top 5 German genealogy websites to help you climb your family tree! Besides the big four genealogy websites (Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and Findmypast), these are German research musts! 1. FamilySearch Germany Genealogy Wiki (FREE)  FamilySearch Germany Genealogy Wiki for German Genealogy Research
2. Meyers Gazetteer (FREE)  Meyers Gazetteer for German Genealogy Research
3. Archion ($)  Archion for German Genealogy Research
4. Matricula (FREE)  Matricula for German Genealogy Research
5. CompGen (FREE)  CompGen for German Genealogy Research
More German Genealogy ResourcesFind more German genealogy resources, tips, and other info under the German Genealogy category. More Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page. More Top Genealogy Genealogy Education: Top 10 Legacy Family Tree Webinars for May 2024 I am honored to have made the Top 10 Legacy Family Tree Webinars for May 2024, with my presentation “A Closer Look at the 1850-1950 U.S. Census Records, with a Little Extra Help”! Legacy Family Tree Webinars is the world’s most popular webinar website for genealogy and DNA testing, in which you can purchase a subscription to access thousands of genealogical education webinars and syllabi, for a nominal fee, from top speakers in the field. They also have plenty that you can access for free as well, such as the one mentioned above. Top 10 Legacy Family Tree Webinars for May 2024 See other top 10 Legacy Family Tree Webinars, along with the runners-up, the 2nd runners-up, and the #1 rated webinar in May 2024 here. FREE Genealogy Webinar  A Closer Look at the 1850-1950 U.S. Census Records, with a Little Extra Help Watch “A Closer Look at the 1850-1950 U.S. Census Records, with a Little Extra Help” for FREE! This presentation takes a closer look at the 1850 to 1950 U.S. Census records as vital genealogy resources, while looking into details you may have missed, along with benefits to and tips in using these records and a little extra help from MyHeritage! Join Legacy Family Tree Webinars here.
 Transcribe and analyze your ancestors' obituaries easily and flawlessly, even creating biographies from them, to enhance your family history! I am still in the process of testing out and using various AI platforms for different tasks, as some work out for certain tasks better than others, in my genealogical world. I recently tested out obituary transcriptions in the new FREE version of ChatGPT-4o to see the difference between the ones I had done in Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini a few months ago, in which you can check out those results in “AI in Genealogy: Copilot and Gemini OCR for Obituary Transcriptions and Analysis!”. Copilot was not that great with the task, and Gemini totally failed the task. Until ChatGPT-4o came out just a couple of weeks ago, you could not upload images with the free version at that time, ChatGPT 3.5. Keep in mind that as of this post, there is a significant limit in uploads in the free version of ChatGPT-4o, depending on peak times, etc., and will vary. When I tested this feature within the first few days it became available, I was only able to upload 3 photos for descriptions, then my limit was reached. I was in “limit jail” for 3 days until I could use the upload feature again. Check out the results below for transcribing obituaries with the free version of ChatGPT-4o, giving you yet another way to use AI in genealogy! Results of ChatGPT-4o Ancestor Obituary Transcriptions and AnalysisIn the following examples below, I had used one of the obituaries (he had a few) for my 2nd great grandfather, Samuel Steinman. I prompted it for a description, transcription, and analysis, without including the type of document to see if it could describe what kind of document it was. *Note: Click on images to zoom in ChatGPT-4o AI-Powered Obituary Transcriptions and analysis in Genealogy- ExampleThe only prompt I had used for this was “Describe, transcribe, and analyze this genealogical document for my 2nd great grandfather, Samuel Steinman completely”, in which it churned out fantastic results! There was only one very minor error in the transcription- it left out the word two, and 1 small error in the analysis- stating his daughter and brothers were by his side in his final hours, but it was his daughter, sons, and one brother. Other than that, I’d say this transcription was close to perfect, even down to all the grammar errors in the obituary!
ChatGPT-4o AI-Powered Ancestor Death Date Calculator in Genealogy- ExampleSince it did not provide a date of death in the analysis, which I’m surprised it didn’t automatically calculate it, because there was no date of death in the obituary, I decided to ask it to calculate that with the prompt “Determine the date of death from the information that was provided in the document that include his birth date and how old he was when he died”. It was able to calculate it, and give it’s reasoning, and it was spot on!
ChatGPT-4o AI-Generated Ancestor Biography from Obituaries in Genealogy- ExampleI then decided to test if it could write a decent ancestor biography just from an obituary, with the prompt “Can you generate a biography from the information in this document”, in which again it churned out fantastic results!
Compare the Results to the Free Versions of Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini Try FREE ChatGPT More AI and Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the AI in Genealogy and Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 AI in Genealogy: ChatGPT-4o for Historical Photo Descriptions! Describe and analyze your historical photos, easily, to enhance your family history! I am still in the process of testing out and using various AI platforms for different tasks, as some work out for certain tasks better than others, in my genealogical world. I recently tested out photo descriptions in the new FREE version of ChatGPT-4o to see the difference between the ones I had done in Microsoft Copilot a few months ago, in which you can check out those results in “AI in Genealogy: Microsoft Copilot for Historical Photos!”. Until ChatGPT-4o came out just a couple of weeks ago, you could not upload images with the free version at that time, ChatGPT 3.5. Keep in mind that as of this post, there is a significant limit in uploads in the free version of ChatGPT-4o, depending on peak times, etc., and will vary. When I tested this feature within the first few days it became available, I was only able to upload 3 photos for descriptions, then my limit was reached. I was in “limit jail” for 3 days until I could use the upload feature again. Check out the fantastic results below for describing photos with the free version of ChatGPT-4o, giving you yet another way to use AI in genealogy! Results of ChatGPT-4o Historical Photo Descriptions In the following examples below, I had used photos concerning my 2nd great grandfather to test this free feature. *Note: Click on images to zoom in ChatGPT-4o AI Historical Photo Descriptions in Genealogy- Example 1The only prompt I had used for this was “Describe this photo in detail”, in which it churned out fantastic results!
ChatGPT-4o AI Historical Photo Descriptions in Genealogy- Example 2Once again, the only prompt I had used for this was “Describe this photo in detail”, in which it again churned out fantastic results!
ChatGPT-4o AI Historical Photo Descriptions in Genealogy- Example 3 Yet again, the only prompt I had used for this was “Describe this photo in detail”, in which again it churned out fantastic results, with nothing other than a simple prompt!
ChatGPT-4o AI Historical Photo Descriptions in Genealogy- Example 4 For this example, I decided to create a second prompt to help ChatGPT out with the family member description and time period it had churned out for the last example. I provided names, along with the time it was taken and where, thus making it more personal and adding context to enhance my ancestor’s family photo and family history. The prompt I used for this was: This photo was taken in Albany, Missouri 1894 and includes my 2nd great grandparents: Samuel and Mary Harriet Steinman and their children from eldest to youngest: Ralph Waldo, Lillie Ethel, Edmond Cole (my great grandfather), and Arthur Olander.
Compare the Results to the Free Version of Microsoft Copilot Try ChatGPT for Free More AI and Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the AI in Genealogy and Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 Yes, there is a way to copy and save your DNA match list, easily! I am still in the process of testing out and using various AI platforms for different tasks, as some work out for certain tasks better than others, in my genealogical world. I recently tested out copying and pasting my DNA match list into the FREE version of ChatGPT to see if it would be an easy way to retain and save my matches and notes. Check out the results below for using AI to save your match lists, giving you yet another way to use AI in genealogy! Steps to Copy and Save Your DNA Match List with ChatGPT
 Save DNA Match List with ChatGPT Results of ChatGPT Retained DNA Match List and Notes*Note: Click on images to zoom in  Results of ChatGPT Retained DNA Match List and Notes- Example 1
More Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 FamilySearch's FREE Family Tree Keepsake Designs! FamilySearch now has quite a few templates to choose from to design a FREE family tree keepsake. I first came across their family tree templates, as one of their campaigns, back in 2019. Then in another campaign last year, they included a few more. The newest campaign now has 35 templates to choose from, with 2 of the 4 offered last year (1 being the original) as well as 33 more. These are great little keepsakes that pull your info from FamilySearch, up to 4 generations only, and automatically fills it. I found the 2 originals and a few others to be nice little keepsakes. You used to be able to manually edit the text in the templates as well, but you can no longer do that. Check out some of the results below and create a FREE family History keepsake of your own! FamilySearch Family Tree Keepsake Design Examples
You can create your own FamilySearch Family Tree Keepsake here: FamilySearch Tree Designs More Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more FamilySearch and other family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 AI in Genealogy: Using Gemini OCR and HTR Transcriptions for Death Certificates I am still in the process of testing out and using various AI platforms for different tasks, as some work out for certain tasks better than others, in my genealogical world. I recently tested out generating transcriptions, extracts, and abstracts, using OCR and HTR for historical documents, from my family history, in Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. My preferred platform is ChatGPT, but I need to use Copilot and Gemini for images, if I want to go about it the free way. So far, I have tested out historical photos, which you can check out in, "AI in Genealogy: Microsoft Copilot for Historical Photo Descriptions!", transcribing obituaries, which you can read about in, "AI in Genealogy: Copilot and Gemini OCR for Obituary Transcriptions and Anaysis!", and parish records, that you'll find for information about in, "AI & Genealogy: Gemini HTR for Parish Record Transcription and Analysis!". 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. Check out a few of the results below for using AI to transcribe and/or analyze genealogical records, such as death certificates, and see how you can use AI in your genealogy! Death Certificate Transcribed with Google Gemini Below is an example of a Gemini Transcription, using OCR and HTR, of my 2nd great grandfather’s death certificate. I’d say it did pretty darn well, with only a few hiccups, highlighted in yellow. Take a look! *Note: If you click on the images, it zooms in. 😉
I know, not very useful at this point in time, but just think of the OCR and HTR capabilities that will be here in the very near future, making all of our genealogical work a breeze, with endless possibilities! 😉 More Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 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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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! 
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