Using AI to improve my genealogical writing
I am writing a book for my children about their ancestors. They are not interested in their history now, but perhaps they or their children will be. This book is to hedge against my inability to assist them whenever that happy day comes.
Every year I focus on a new generation to research and improve it. Every month I set myself subtasks within that generation.
For June, I am focusing more on writing a quality biographical sketch.
I tried several AI tools, including ChatGPT and Claude (another writing assistant), but Claude gave me the most actionable feedback.
- Create a style sheet. You may choose the format of your choice, of course; perhaps it will be The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, The Register, or The American Genealogist. Whichever you choose, there will probably be guidelines for prospective authors. You can point AI to those guidelines. I asked it:
Create a style sheet for a biographical sketch in genealogy. Lean toward the format discussed in https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/writing-nygb-record
2. Run your sketch through that style sheet. I asked it:
Using this style sheet, suggest improvements for: <insert your sketch>
I will warn you, Claude was brutal. It gave suggestions in these areas, for example:
- Major Issues to Address
- Suggested Revision
- Technical Corrections Needed
- Missing Elements to Add
- Critical Changes Needed
- Research suggestions
Here’s a screenshot:
Each item included detailed explanations and suggestions, not just vague critiques.
And finally, take a look at my improved Malvina Hendell sketch.
Before:
After:
The rewrite read tighter, more professional, and far more historically grounded. Even I was impressed. I have been doing AI for a while now, and this really WOWed me. I made a note to go back and redo earlier generations in my book as well, it was that good.
Try it! It’s like having a no-nonsense editor on call—who never sleeps. Try it and let me know how it works for your writing.
The Ancestor Whisperer 
I loved what you did with the style guide. I asked it for the guide used by most Australian genealogists. Once I put my sketch through it came back with some wonderful insights. Especially with my source formatting. I was pretty chuffed with the comments and after tidying up some formatting I’m ready to ask for a narrative:
What You’ve Done Exceptionally Well:
Thorough research coverage – Multiple sources supporting key facts
63 detailed source citations – This is exemplary genealogical documentation
Proper endnote system – Professional numbering and referencing
Comprehensive source types – Death certificates, electoral rolls, newspapers, military records, probate documents
This record would be welcomed by any Australian genealogical society and demonstrates the kind of thorough research methodology that professional genealogists strive for.
The quality of your source documentation is impressive – you’ve clearly invested significant time and effort into proper research.
Thank you for your insight into using AI for this type of work.
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Jenny, thank you so much for your thoughtful comment and kind compliment! I’m thrilled to hear you got great results with the approach, and I’m even more excited that you adapted it to fit your specific needs. The narrative you created sounds really impressive – I’m definitely going to incorporate something similar into my own work. I can see why it called you “exemplary.” I’m curious – did you happen to use Claude, or a different LLM?
That kind of feedback and detailed notes really means a lot to me!
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I used Claude. I’ve now got the narrative in draft, however it needs some refining and human input to clarify a few pieces that don’t come across from my genealogy software. I might try running the report through ChatGPT and see what the difference is.
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