SNGF -- Condense Your Research Notes into a Genealogical Sketch Using AI

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

It's Saturday Night again - 

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Our mission from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to: 

1)  Do you have Research Notes for some of your ancestors in a number of sources and papers, or perhaps in a Person Note or Research Note in your desktop family tree program, and dread trying to put them into a coherent genealogical sketch or research note?  

2)  This week, take all of the Research Notes you have for one person in your tree and put them all in one word processor document. Organize them if you want - you don't have to.  Make a PDF file of your new word processor document and name it.  

3)  Go to your favorite LLM (you know, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, or any other LLM), load the document, and ask the LLM to "Please organize the research notes in the attached document for [your ancestor's name, birth and death year] and create an engaging biography about him and his family. Do not use any information other than what is provided."

Here’s mine:
I am not inclined to have AI write my stories, but thought I would give this a try. I selected my husband’s paternal 2x-great-grandmother, Mary Ann Bishop, who married Daniel Shotts. I knew it would be a simple story, as there are not many documents. I have not added deeds, tax, or court records to Daniel or Mary Ann.

I gave Randy’s prompt to ChatGPT: "Please organize the research notes in the attached document for [your ancestor's name, birth and death year] and create an engaging biography about him and his family. Do not use any information other than what is provided."

I created an “Individual Summary” for Mary Ann Bishop from RootsMagic, which gave me 3 pages that included individual facts, marriages & children, any notes, and source citations. I uploaded the PDF and prompt.

Before the AI did anything, it clarified what I wanted. When I said yes to the following:

• Organize the research notes in Individual Summary – Mary Ann Bishop, and
• Create an engaging biography of Mary Ann Bishop (1806–1896) and her family,
• Using only the information contained in that document—no outside facts, context, or inference.

Once you confirm, I will produce a clean, well-structured narrative biography grounded strictly in the provided material.

This is what I got:

Below is a reorganized synthesis of the research notes followed by a narrative biography based solely on the contents of the attached document.

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Organized Research Notes

Mary Ann Bishop (1806–1896)

Identity

• Name: Mary Ann Bishop
• Alternate Name: Mary Ann Shotts
• Born: 19 January 1806, Ross County, Ohio
• Died: 23 June 1896, Ross County, Ohio
• Burial: After 23 June 1896, Ross County, Ohio
• Tombstone inscription: “MaryAnn w/o Daniel d. June 23 1896 ag 90y5m13das”

Parents

• Father: Frederick Bishop (1778–1819)
• Mother: Susannah Cress (1776–1852)

Marriage

• Husband: Daniel Shotts (1804–1875)
• Married: 28 March 1831, Ross County, Ohio

Children

1. Martha Shotts (1832–1907)
2. Catherine Elizabeth “Liby” Shotts (1835–1918)
3. David Christofer Shotts (1835–1924)
4. Eliza Alice Shotts (1838–1915)
5. George Washington Shotts (1840–1927)
6. Sarah Anne Shotts (1846–1922)

Census Appearances

• 1850: Huntington, Ross County, Ohio, household of Daniel Shotts
• 1860: Huntington, Ross County, Ohio, household of Daniel Shotts
• 1870: Ross County, Ohio, household of Daniel Shotts
• 1880: Living with David Christofer Shotts and Elizabeth Anna Brown in Huntington Township, Ross County, Ohio

Research Notes

• Newspapers from Ross County (Daily Gazette, Feb–Sep 1896) were searched for an obituary or death notice, without success.
• Family history sources confirm her birth, death, marriage, and children.
• A 1918 death certificate for daughter Catherine Shotts Gorrell names her parents as Daniel Shotts and Mary Bishop.

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Biography of Mary Ann Bishop (1806–1896)

Mary Ann Bishop was born on 19 January 1806 in Ross County, Ohio, the daughter of Frederick Bishop and Susannah Cress. Her early years were shaped by family loss as well as continuity—her father died in 1819, when Mary Ann was only thirteen. Her mother, Susannah, lived until 1852, remaining a presence in Mary Ann’s adult life.

On 28 March 1831, at the age of twenty-five, Mary Ann married Daniel Shotts in Ross County. From that point forward, she became known as Mary Ann Shotts, building a life centered on home and family in the same Ohio county where she had been born.

Mary Ann and Daniel raised six children: Martha, Catherine Elizabeth (“Liby”), David Christofer, Eliza Alice, George Washington, and Sarah Anne. Their growing family appears together in federal census records in 1850 and 1860 in Huntington, Ross County, and again in 1870. These records trace Mary Ann’s adult life across decades, always rooted in the same region, reflecting stability and long-standing community ties.

By 1880, Mary Ann was living in the household of her son David Christofer Shotts and his wife, Elizabeth Anna Brown, in Huntington Township. At about seventy-four years old, she had outlived her husband Daniel, who died in 1875, and was now part of the next generation’s household—a familiar pattern in families of the era.

Mary Ann lived a long life, reaching the age of ninety. She died on 23 June 1896 in Ross County, Ohio. Her gravestone records her identity with quiet clarity: “MaryAnn w/o Daniel,” affirming both her individuality and her place within her family. Despite careful searches, no obituary has been found, leaving her story preserved primarily through records, family compilations, and the lives of her children.

Through those children—and through the documentation left behind—Mary Ann Bishop Shotts endures as a woman whose life unfolded entirely within one Ohio county, spanning nearly the whole nineteenth century. Her story is one of continuity: daughter, wife, mother, and matriarch, rooted in place and remembered through family.

Results
While it is engaging, there are no sources for any of the statements. I asked then to redo the narrative exactly with source citations included. It just used the individual summary as its source throughout and not specific sources like the various census records. I give this a C- for just regurgitating what I already had. Of course, if I were to do this again, I would make sure that all the information needed were included in the notes field and not buried in the source citation notes. This is the fault of how I use RootsMagic: not as a source to put out a family history, but rather as a database where I store all my findings and conclusions.

Mary Ann Bishop (1806–1896): A Genealogical Narrative

Mary Ann Bishop was born on 19 January 1806 in Ross County, Ohio, the daughter of Frederick Bishop (1778–1819) and Susannah Cress (1776–1852).¹ She spent her entire life in the county of her birth, a continuity reflected throughout the surviving records. The early loss of her father in 1819 occurred when Mary Ann was only thirteen years old.² Her mother lived until 1852, remaining part of Mary Ann’s adult life.³

On 28 March 1831, Mary Ann married Daniel Shotts (1804–1875) in Ross County, Ohio.⁴ Following her marriage, she appears in records under the name Mary Ann Shotts. The couple established their household in Ross County and raised six children: Martha (1832–1907), Catherine Elizabeth “Liby” (1835–1918), David Christofer (1835–1924), Eliza Alice (1838–1915), George Washington (1840–1927), and Sarah Anne (1846–1922).⁵

Mary Ann and her family appear in the federal census in 1850 and 1860 in Huntington, Ross County, and again in 1870 in Ross County.⁶ These enumerations document her role as wife and mother over a span of decades, consistently anchored in the same locality. After the death of her husband in 1875, Mary Ann continued within the family network she had built.

In 1880, Mary Ann was residing in Huntington Township in the household of her son David Christofer Shotts and his wife, Elizabeth Anna Brown.⁷ At approximately seventy-four years of age, she was part of the next generation’s home, a living link between parents and grandchildren.

Mary Ann Bishop Shotts died on 23 June 1896 in Ross County, Ohio, at the age of ninety.⁸ Her burial followed shortly thereafter in the same county.⁹ Her gravestone records her as “MaryAnn w/o Daniel,” succinctly preserving both her identity and her marital connection.¹⁰ Contemporary newspapers were searched for a death notice or obituary without success.¹¹

Although no obituary survives, Mary Ann’s life is documented through vital records, census entries, family compilations, and the lives of her children.¹² Her ninety years span nearly the entire nineteenth century, a life lived wholly within one Ohio county. Through continuity of place, enduring family ties, and the records that preserve her, Mary Ann Bishop Shotts remains a clearly defined figure in the history of her family.

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Endnotes

1. Individual Summary – Mary Ann Bishop-21, “Birth 19 Jan 1806 Ross Co, Ohio; Father: Frederick Bishop; Mother: Susannah Cress.”
2. Ibid., “Father: Frederick Bishop 1778–1819.”
3. Ibid., “Mother: Susannah Cress 1776–1852.”
4. Ibid., “Marriage 28 Mar 1831 … Daniel Shotts & Mary Ann Bishop.”
5. Ibid., “Children: Martha; Catherine Elizabeth ‘Liby’; David Christofer; Eliza Alice; George Washington; Sarah Anne.”
6. Ibid., “Census (fam) 1850 … 1860 … 1870.”
7. Ibid., “Jun 1880 … David Christofer Shotts and Elizabeth Anna Brown; Huntington, Ross Co, Ohio.”
8. Ibid., “Death 23 Jun 1896 (age 90) Ross Co, Ohio.”
9. Ibid., “Burial aft 23 Jun 1896 … Ross Co, Ohio.”
10. Ibid., Tombstone inscription: “MaryAnn w/o Daniel d. June 23 1896 ag 90y5m13das.”
11. Ibid., “searched newspapers for her obituary … Daily Gazette … with no results.”
12. Ibid., “General: BIRTH-DEATH-MARRIAGE-CHILDREN: Gorrell Family Reunion History, May 1988; Ross County Ohio Families Volume II.”

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