Blog
Army Historical Foundation’s Genealogy Seminar
On 11 May 2024 I attended The Army Historical Foundation’s Genealogy Seminar, hosted at the National Museum of the United States Army. The seminar was entitled “Unlock your military legacy.” There were attendees both in person and online, and I was able to attend in person. The speaker lineup was impressive: Richard G. Sayre, COL (USA-Ret.), Pamela Boyer Sayre, and Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL. Many of you know Rick and Pam from their outstanding presentations. Among her many accomplishments and extensive service...
read moreBook Review: Evidence Explained, Fourth Edition
It is difficult to tackle a review of such a definitive classic tome, but this newest edition does warrant the work involved in such an undertaking. Elizabeth Shown Mills has certainly invested the time to document what can be a daunting process to many, and to eliminate confusion about the topic with clear explanations. New technology means more and different sources to cite, and the book has been expanded to conquer them all. It is difficult to imagine how this magic has been done, given that the page count of the book has been...
read moreThe Postmaster Finder
The Postmaster Finder is a useful database if you are researching U.S. Postmasters or Post Offices. You can look up a Postmaster by city or search the database by Postmaster name. This database has entries from 1971 or in some cases, earlier. Another interesting part of this website is links to other useful resources for researching the postal service at the National Archives. The Postmaster Finder database can be found at: https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/postmaster-finder/ To find the Postmaster in a city,...
read moreFinding Single Irish Women Immigrants to New York City
In our extended family, a group of cousins work together to bring the stories of our shared Irish immigrant family, as well as the families they left behind in Ireland, back to life. In the chain migration of a family unit, the older siblings often come first, with others following. In the family unit from which most of us descend, the oldest siblings traveled to the US first, followed by the widowed mother and all the younger siblings, traveling after the death of their father. A shared goal is to bring the stories of our shared Irish...
read moreWebinar Review: Irish Immigrant Women in the US
As you know, this blog reviews. It is probably time to review webinars! Or at least one webinar that I found incredibly interesting which shared very insightful resources. The webinar was “A Lonely Voyage: Finding Irish Immigrant Women in the United States” given by Elizabeth Hodges, an expert in Irish and Irish American Studies. Elizabeth Hodges is a Senior Genealogy Library at the Allen County Public Library, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which is the home of The Genealogy Center. You can read about her and the other librarians...
read moreLearning About AI
Have you wanted to learn more about Artificial Intelligence? Recently I gave a talk about Using AI for Genealogy, and shared some of my sources for education about AI. You can find out more about the talk and if you want to learn from a genealogist who is a professor with a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering, you might consider having your group book it. There are many resources available to learn how to get started with generative AI, and some ideas for using it in genealogy. Among them are posts on this blog . NOTE: DO...
read moreUsing AI in Genealogy
Thanks for such a warm reception at the Western New York Genealogical Society this past weekend. It was a pleasure to be talking about “Using AI for Genealogy” as part of their year-long fiftieth anniversary celebration, conducted over Zoom. At least fifteen states and two countries were represented in the audience. The lecture was for people who have not already used AI tools but wanted to learn about them and how to start, AND for those who were already using the tools to share ideas about how to be more effective and...
read moreThere’s an AI for That: Transcribing Handwriting
Despite what you might have heard, there is progress being made on anything an AI can help with, including handwriting-to-text. In this blog post, we will cover just a few of the AI tools available for transcribing images of handwritten documents into text. The conversion can be done using digital images created by scanning or photographing handwritten documents. Transcribing documents (or important parts of documents) is a thing that I always recommend. Reading a document is passive. The motion of writing or typing a document forces...
read more“There’s an AI for that”
With the explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) tools available, have you considered how many tasks in genealogy might be made easier with its use? A type of AI is used to make suggestions based on your previous purchases. Search experiences are beginning to incorporate AI. AI tools can be used in the creative process to invent images and content. AI is already incorporated into many tasks already done in genealogy, such as translation and indexing. In upcoming blog posts, we will explore a few ways that genealogical tasks that can...
read moreIn Memoriam: Sharon Gumerove
This past year the frequency of blog posts slowed as I processed the loss of my best friend since 8th grade, Sharon Gumerove. You might have seen her name gracing the dedications in my books, acknowledging her unwavering support of my efforts, especially in website and editing services. Being from different boroughs in New York City, we might not have met had it not been for us attending what could be considered a magnet school, Hunter College High School. Our adventures could easily fill a book. We were part of a team publishing a...
read more
