Outside activities included phenology, History Center, and a memorial service.
Genealogy
Genealogy Volunteer/Work:
None this week.
Genealogy Meetings: This week I met with Jacqueline and we discussed the trip we made to GRIP and her trip to California in September. I met with the Kinseekers program committee to discuss the upcoming year’s programs. I attended the NARA SIG where we learned all about Jacqueline’s document she found at the Pitt Library about one of her ancestors.
With no hike this week, I was able to attend the Certification Discussion Group meeting and the discussion was about AI. I later attended the RootsMagic SIG but my computer kept kicking me out.
Genealogy Writing/Research: I continued writing and researching the Gorrell families in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, tackling the 40 years of tax records, trying to sort out the people. I listed out the tax and census records in chronological order. I then asked AI (in incognito mode) to reorganize the records by people. I attended two sessions of Level Up Accountability to do the above writing and research.
Blog Posts Published:
Something I Learned from Chatting with AI
For the theme of “Free Space,” I wrote about the
experience I had with Claude AI when asking it to reorganize my data. I shall
be more careful about the tasks I ask it to do. Highlighted by Randy Seaver in
Best of Genea-Blogs.
Amos Gorrell’s Land Platted on a Map (12 for ’26)
I added a topo map to the
previously platted land in DeedMapper and placed the plat where the land was
located. Highlighted by Linda Stufflebean on Friday’s Family History Finds.
SNGF: Are Your Ancestors Missing in the Census?
I wrote that I can’t find
William Carlton Lancaster in the Erath County, Texas, census, even after
looking again.
12
for '26: James Gorrell, Father of Amos Gorrell, Sr?
I posted my results of organizing the
census and tax records in chronological order, with my analysis. I have not yet
correlated the material. I did not answer the question yet.
Courses Attended:
I started reading the
pre-work for the upcoming Mastering Genealogical Proof session with Jill
Morelli as our mentor. I have read the first edition many times and even led a
group in the past, but I knew I would not read this newer edition without some
accountability. It is all new, so I’m excited to dig in.
Webinars Viewed:
- DNA Helps Identify Parents for James Dolan by Jennifer Zinck (BCG/LFTWebinars)
- Beyond the Obvious: Uncovering Stories in Probate Records by Jill Nock (APG Writers SIG)
- Before You Begin by Barbara Vines Little (APG Writers SIG)
- Finding Martha Brown Chandler: A pre-1850 Case Study by Marian Pierre-Louis (Legacy Family Tree Webinars)
- Only a Date? Five Things You May be Missing in Kentucky and Virginia Marriages by Gail Jackson Miller (Legacy Family Tree Webinars)
Other:
Although
we didn’t hike this week, I did walk around the neighborhood and listened to
Research Like a Pro podcasts. I also attended a celebration of life for a model
railroad friend, Brian. He was a very nice man and so many people echoed that
in their stories.
I am reading:
- Ancestoring: Understanding
Records, Family, and Ourselves by
Darci Hind Posz
- The Knowledge by Martha Grimes
- This Land is Your Land by Beverly Gage—FINISHED!
- The Greatest Sentence Ever
Written by Walter Isaacson—FINISHED!
- Dear Sister by Alison McGhee—FINISHED!
- The Last Train by Gordon M. Titcomb—FINISHED!
Photos for this week. Some yellow blooms from my walk.
Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives, but not so great at documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week. This idea came from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing, who started this meme.
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