Are you an avid user of AI to assist with your genealogy research? If so, do you have a collection of carefully crafted prompts—or do you, like me, tend to approach AI as a conversational partner? While I do rely on a consistent prompt when creating narrative reports, most of my interactions with ChatGPT feel more like ongoing conversations than scripted instructions.

Scores of genealogy and family history bloggers write hundreds of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interes...

This week’s Monday’s Diggings takes me back once again to Randolph County, North Carolina, and to another land record involving Adam Broils. This deed documents the sale of 100 acres on Coatley’s Creek to Benjamin Rush, a transaction that is notable not just for the land itself, but for the family relationship behind it. Benjamin Rush was the son of…

As the United States prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of Independence on July 4, 2026, it is a fitting moment to look even further back, to the

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It’s Saturday Night again— Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision. This Week’s Mission What are your genealogy goals for 2026?Consider genealogy research, education, organizing, service, writing, or anything else you’d like to share. Thinking that Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun…

One of my favorite uses of the Perplexity Comet Browser Assistant is to create biographies from my Ancestry Member Tree profiles and add th...

Some of the bijoux I discovered this week. Blog postsNewly available online: County of Peel minutes, by-laws, and reports, 1853-1973 by Kyle Neill on Peeling the Past. 2025 Alfred Gilpin Jones Volunte...

Judson Foster Crawford (1866–1949) lived a life that quietly mirrored the growth and stability of Dodge City as it transitioned from frontier town to established community. Born in Indiana and drawn west as a young man, Judson built his adult life in Kansas through steady railroad work, civic involvement, and deep family roots. Over nearly six decades in Dodge City, he worked for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, served his community in local offices, raised a large family with his wife Josie Winifred Hammond, and became a familiar and respected presence in town.

It’s that time of year again—time not only to think about goals for 2026, but also to look back and honestly assess how well I met the goals I set for 2025. Rather than creating a formal set of SMART goals last year, I opted for broader, more flexible objectives that reflected how my genealogy work actually unfolds. Those 2025 goals were:

Genealogy Research Insights Have you ever used SMART goals? If so, you know the “M” stands for measurable. In genealogy, progress is often measured in simple terms—Was the record found or not? Over the years, I’ve relied on a variety of statistics to help answer that question and to track the direction of my research. As I noted in my…

I asked five LLMs to provide information about the technology innovations that might be available over the next five years for genealogy res...

For me, 2025 was a year of learning how to work alongside Artificial Intelligence. While I haven’t explored AI as deeply as some of the leaders in the Genealogy and Artificial Intelligence community, I’ve benefited greatly from watching others—especially Randy Seaver—experiment, test boundaries, and share their results. What began as occasional use for tasks like transcribing newspaper articles gradually evolved into something much more integrated in my research and storytelling.

Today’s post brings together two very different—yet beautifully complementary—ways of sharing the story of my grandfather, Edward Osmund Briles. His life stretched from the wheat fields of Coffey and Woodson Counties to the bright lights of small-town movie theaters, and thanks to a combination of AI tools, I’m able to present his story in new and engaging ways. The first video features an…

Scores of genealogy and family history bloggers write hundreds of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests...

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States in July 2026, it’s a great time to explore how our families’ stories connect to

Adam Broils Deed – Randolph County, North Carolina (1787) While digging through my BRILES folder, I uncovered a photocopy and handwritten notes for a 1787 Randolph County, North Carolina deed in which Adam Broils sold land to Benjamin Rush. According to my notes, this land had been willed to Adam by Conrad Broiles, making the deed an important link between two generations of the Broiles family.

Author’s Note: I want to be transparent that this article – New Year New Research Skills: Start 2026 by Mastering FamilySearch with Ultimate Guide to

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans! It’s Saturday Night again —time for some more Genealogy Fun! Come on, everybody — join in, accept the mission, and execute it with precision. This week’s challenge is your chance to share the genealogy and family history gear you received over the holidays. 1) Was Genea-Santa good to you? What genealogy-related gifts did you receive for Christmas this year?

Some of the bijoux I discovered this week. Blog postsTownlands and Irish Land Divisions – How to Use the Townland Atlas of Ulster presentation by Andrew Kane by Chris Paton on Scottish GENES. New Fami...

This past year has seen a lot of changes and growth in The Family History Guide. As always, we are especially grateful to those who do family history work and those who support our website. We also no...

Family stories often unfold in the quiet details—births, marriages, losses, and the small moments that tie one generation to the next. The following narrative draws together those pieces from the life of Pauline Edith Mentzer Briles, focusing on a brief but deeply meaningful chapter in her early adulthood. Using records, newspaper clippings, and family memories, this “time in her life” story offers a glimpse into Pauline’s joys, heartbreak, and the strength she carried forward.

The above video is based on an audio overview and graphic created by Google Notebook LM.

Merry Christmas