TIP OF THE WEEK — LET AI BUILD A TIMELINE

By Susan Aumaier

When records pile up, it can be difficult to see how all the pieces fit together. A timeline can reveal problems that are easy to miss when examining records individually.

AI can organize your evidence chronologically and help you spot conflicts, gaps, and events that need further investigation.

Instead of asking:

“Make a timeline of John Smith’s life.”

Try:

“Using only the evidence I provide, create a chronological timeline for John Smith. For each event, list the date, place, event, and source. Do not add facts or fill gaps with assumptions. Flag conflicting dates or locations, events that appear chronologically impossible, and significant gaps that may need further research.”

Attach your records or paste your research notes into the AI along with the prompt.

Review the completed timeline yourself. Pay particular attention to overlapping residences, children born when a parent was unusually young or old, events occurring in distant places within a short period, and long unexplained gaps.

A timeline does more than organize information. It can show you where the evidence does not fit together and help identify your next research question.

Remember, AI is a research assistant, not a genealogical source. Verify the timeline against the records you provided.

TIP OF THE WEEK — SMALL NEWSPAPER CLIPPING ON ANCESTRY WORKAROUND

Have you seen newspaper clippings on Ancestry posted by another user that are just too small to read? These images are usually seen on a profile’s hint page. If the small image is the thumbnail generated by newspapers.com there is a work around (only if you are viewing the post made by the Ancestry user who originally shared the clipping to Ancestry).

How to tell if the image is from newspapers.com: The thumbnail images are usually perfectly square and have the non-relevant area grayed out. This is a good example:





If it looks like the clipping is from newspapers.com, open the image and look at the information Ancestry displays on the right-hand side of the screen. If the user whose tree you are viewing is the person who uploaded the image you will see a message like this: Such-and-such user “originally shared this article on” such-and-such date “from Newspapers.com.”





The words “this article” are a link. Click on it and it will take you to the full-size clipping on newspapers.com. If you are subscribed to newspapers.com be sure to long in to see the clipping. If you are not subscribed, there may be some restrictions regarding the amount of articles you are allowed to view.





If the “this article” link is unavailable it probably means the user who shared the image you are looking at is not the user who originally shared it from newspapers.com. Try to find the Ancestry user who originally shared the clipping, or use clues from the post to find the original article on a newspaper site.

TIP OF THE WEEK —
AMERICAN HISTORY AT THE MOHAI
By Luz A.This July, America celebrates its 250th anniversary as a country. MOHAI will have many events throughout the month to commemorate it. Throughout America’s history, many people have come together to weave an American identity. The symbol of this blend is the American flag. On July 3rd, MOHAI opens its exhibit on the American flag. It features historic flags and images, and shines a light on the history of the American flag and how it reflects broader American culture. Another representation of America’s history will be put on display during the Freedom Plane National tour from July 30th to August 16. The highlights of this exhibition include the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence, the Secret Printing of the Constitution in Draft Form, the Treaty of Paris, and the Bill of Rights. Finally, there will be a talk on the contradictions of American identity. Is there a singular American story? Clint Smith, a bestselling author, will argue in his talk on July 22nd from 7-9 PM that there isn’t a single American story–there are many. All of these events can be found on MOHAI’s official website. Come celebrate America’s anniversary and learn more about its history! .Join SGS Today* to renew your membership: log in on the Members Home page
and click the green renew membership button.

 DONATE TO SGSYour donations represent a significant part of the SGS budget. Your continued generosity helps us increase our financial security and expand our services for everyone. We make it easy for you to contribute appreciated stock from your portfolio. We have a brokerage account established and ready to receive your donation from any firm. For details, write treasurer@seagensoc.org. For questions about our needs and our vision, write president@seagensoc.org. 

TIP OF THE WEEK — FIND THE WOMEN IN YOUR FAMILY TREE

Find the names of female ancestors in the ledger in their local general store. Purchases by the family are listed by household account numbers in a day book which often mentions the various family members. There is usually a corresponding account book with additional information.

TIP OF THE WEEK – SPRING IS CEMETERY SEASON

By Kate Penney Howard

Spring is cemetery season for genealogists. Here are the field notes I wish someone had given me when I started.

Bring a kit, but keep it reasonable. You don’t need a backpack full of equipment you won’t use. My kit includes a wide-brim hat, water, sunscreen, and a soft natural-bristle brush. I also carry a spray bottle with distilled water, a rigid notebook, two pens, a small mirror, and a phone with a fully charged battery. I’ve stopped carrying chalk, shaving cream, and flour. Preservation professionals have been clear for over a decade: these substances damage stone.

Document the whole plot, not just the one stone. Family burials cluster. A single ancestor might share a plot with a sibling who died in childhood, a first wife you didn’t know existed, or a cousin whose name appears on no other record. Take a wide photograph of the plot before you zoom in. Note the stones on either side. Note the section and row if the cemetery is mapped.

Read light, not stone. A weathered inscription often reads better at dawn or late afternoon, when the sun strikes the surface at a shallow angle. If you can’t wait for the right time of day, bring a mirror. Stand with your back to the sun, hold the mirror at roughly 45 degrees, and bounce the light across the stone. The shadows in the carved letters will deepen. This costs nothing and harms nothing.

Photograph with care. Shoot straight on, not at an angle. Fill the frame with the stone and not much else. Take one shot for the dates and names, then take a wider shot that shows context, material, and condition. If the inscription is hard to read, take the same photo three times at different exposures. Modern phones do this automatically in HDR mode.

Record as you go. Memory is the least reliable field tool. Before you leave the cemetery, open your notebook. Write the cemetery name, the date of your visit, the weather, and the section if known. Sketch a rough map of where each photographed stone sits. Skip this step, and you’ll return to your desk with thirty-seven images of granite and no idea which one is your great-grandmother.

Respect the living, too. Small rural cemeteries often sit on private land or are maintained by township trustees. Check before you visit. FindAGrave and BillionGraves both list cemetery types and sometimes contact information. A phone call ahead is rarely refused and often rewarded; the person with the key frequently knows more about the cemetery’s history than anything written down.

Upload afterwards. If you photograph a stone that isn’t yet on FindAGrave or BillionGraves, consider adding it. Your picture becomes a permanent record accessible to researchers who may never visit the site. Stones weather. Cemeteries are lost to neglect, development, and flooding. Your image today may be the only image in fifty years.

One last thought. Cemeteries are not laboratories. The people buried there had names and faces and people who loved them. Walk gently. Leave nothing except footprints, and take nothing except photographs and field notes.  Join SGS Today

* to renew your membership: log in on the Members Home page
and click the green renew membership button.

 

DONATE TO SGS

Your donations represent a significant part of the SGS budget. Your continued generosity helps us increase our financial security and expand our services for everyone. We make it easy for you to contribute appreciated stock from your portfolio. We have a brokerage account established and ready to receive your donation from any firm. For details, write treasurer@seagensoc.org. For questions about our needs and our vision, write president@seagensoc.org.