SNGF

January Genealogy Fun

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I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: January 31, 2026: January Genealogy Fun

Prompt:

“What genealogy fun have you had this past month?  What is your genealogy research highlight of the past month?  It could be attending or watching a webinar or local genealogy society meeting, it could be finding a new ancestor, or it could be reading a new genealogy book, or anything else that you have enjoyed.”

Introduction

As New Year’s resolutions are in full swing, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much genealogy fun I’ve packed into January.

Looking back, a lot of this month’s fun centered on continuity—building, revisiting, and sharing. My runners-up include:

  • I received the printed 2025 edition of my Ancestors book – I have written up all the ancestors of my children. The first edition was basically a report from my genealogy software, and each year I clean up and enhance another generation. 2025 was the year I focused on the sixth generation back from my children.
  • I decided to participate for a second year in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks but with a twist – the week number corresponds to the ancestor number in the book above, so I have an assigned person every week, and hit everyone until the sixth generation.
  • I started participating in Saturday Night Genealogy Fun #SNGF – as evidenced by this post. The idea was to have a little more fun and cut loose a little more than I do in the 52 ancestors posts.
  • I got going on my new blog website – I moved from janetbgenealogy.wordpress.com to theancestorwhisperer.com – with thanks to Megan Smolenyak for the domain.
  • My uncle sent me an autograph book filled out for an aunt in the 1880s – it contains my ancestor’s autograph under her maiden name. He found it cleaning out his father’s, my grandfather’s, things after the latter’s death.

January Highlight

 But the genealogy task I got the biggest kick out of in January was – I started leading an Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group (AI SIG) at the Northwest Suburban Genealogy Society! We meet on the first Wednesday of the month and the first meeting went very well! I learned only yesterday that the handout was downloaded scores of times. How gratifying is that! I’m preparing for February’s meeting and am excited to see the direction this goes.

NWSGS AI SIG logo

Challenge

What genealogy thing did you do that you’re most pleased with? What might be a next step in furthering your success? It doesn’t need to be a big project; sometimes the most satisfying progress comes from taking just one small next step.

AI Disclosure

This post was created by me with the help of AI tools. While AI helps organize research, the storytelling and discoveries are my own (and the prompt was Randy Seaver’s).

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: January 17, 2026

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I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: January 17, 2026

Prompt:

“1)  FamilySearch Full-Text Search continues to add databases and searchable images to their collections.  This is a gold mine, especially of land, probate and court records.

2)  Pick one or two of your ancestors or research targets and see what you can find on FamilySearch Full-Text Search about them.

3)  Share your Full-Text Search find(s) in your own blog post or in a Facebook, SubStack, BlueSky or other social media post.  Leave a link to your post on this blog post to help us find your post.”

Introduction

I’ve heard a lot of excitement around FamilySearch’s full-text search, especially when it comes to unexpected finds. I’ve dabbled here and there, but this prompt felt like a great opportunity to really dig in, and maybe finally understand what all the buzz is about.

What I Found

I started with my ancestor Michael Dobbins, searching for him in Kansas. Michael was a traveler: a famine immigrant who journeyed from Ireland to New Jersey, possibly to Pennsylvania, and eventually to Kansas. He purchased property along the way, and as far as I can tell, it wasn’t bounty land, so I still don’t know where the funds came from.

The first hit came from a classic “mug book.” It mentioned Michael and his wife Mary and proudly noted their longevity (defined there as living past 70): Michael Dobbins of Shawnee Township, Wyandotte County, Kansas, at age 84, and Mary Dobbins, same place, at 80.

There was also a separate mug book entry for his son (also named Michael) but that one belongs to the next generation.

The most exciting find, though, was something I didn’t expect at all. Full-text search surfaced a handwritten ledger entry recording the confirmation of a daughter of Michael Jr., the kind of record I would never have thought to search for directly. I was genuinely impressed that a handwritten religious record surfaced so cleanly in the results.

That was the moment I really understood why people are so excited about this tool.

A ledger with Michael Dobbins (in handwriting) highlighted.

And Then… Another Rabbit Hole

Next, I modified my search to look for Patrick Dobbins, Michael’s son (not my direct ancestor), who moved to Brazil, of all places, and that’s when things really took off.

And yes, I hit pay dirt again.

This time there were multiple handwritten records, including a Roman Catholic record written in Latin that identified him as Patricio Dobbins. That discovery alone opens up an entirely new line of inquiry.

At that point, I realized this was one rabbit hole I had not planned for.

Go to bed without me, honey.

Challenge

Pick an interesting (or puzzling) person from your tree and see what Family Search Full-Text Search can uncover. You might be surprised where it leads.

AI Disclosure

This post was created by me with the help of AI tools. While AI helps organize research, the storytelling and discoveries are my own (and the prompt was Randy Seaver’s).

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: January 10, 2026

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I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: January 10, 2026

Prompt:

“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.”

2) Tell us about your experiment in condensing your notes and creating a biography of an ancestor”

Introduction

Not too long ago, a cousin asked me to document her relationship to a second cousin of hers, Grace, so my cousin could visit Grace in a nursing home. I happily did the research and the writeup and provided a report to her. This report was the basis for this week’s prompt.

Discussion

I first took a course in Empowering Genealogists with Artificial Intelligence back in October 2023, and we have come a very long way in the two years since. Using this week’s prompt and my existing research report, ChatGPT 5.2 produced a surprisingly strong and coherent write-up.

Early large language models were notorious for hallucinating – and still will if left without guardrails – but this one was explicitly instructed to rely only on the facts provided. It followed that instruction carefully. In addition to the requested biography, the LLM also produced:

  • Organized research notes
  • Identity and name variations
  • Core facts such as birth, residences, and marriage
  • Family relationships
  • A list of key sources referenced

What impressed me most, though, was that it went a step further and suggested possible next steps for refining the work, without being prompted to do so. Those suggestions included (and the first clearly reflects prior conversations I’ve had with it):

  • Refining the biography to match a sixth-generation narrative style (as used in my Ancestors Book)
  • Adding Evidence Explained–style source citations inline
  • Creating a one-page family sketch or relationship explanation suitable for an appendix or proof summary

Seeing this level of structured analysis and forward-looking support makes me seriously consider whether running our work through an AI, carefully and thoughtfully, could become a regular way to identify gaps or next research opportunities.

Challenge

So rather than just talking about the possibilities, this week’s challenge invites you to try the experiment yourself.

Try it and see what you think!

Want to Learn More?

Old documents being entered into a computer

AI Disclosure

This post was created by me with the help of AI tools. While AI helps organize research, the storytelling and discoveries are my own.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: January 3, 2026

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I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: January 3, 2026

Prompt: “What are your genealogy goals for 2026?  Consider genealogy research, education, organizing, service, writing, and whatever else you care to share.”

Introduction

How do my passions (genealogy, helping others, learning, and traveling) fit into a meaningful life? To that end, I’ve got very broad and ambitious New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve grouped them into three categories:

  1. Adventure: make a positive difference
  2. Connection: actively participate in life
  3. Rest and reset: care for the whole self

A desk where genealogy goals for 2026 are being drafted, with research cards, photos, and a cup of coffee sit.

Discussion

Genealogy is encompassed in both Adventure and Connection, and it might be enveloped within your “other” resolutions as well.

I plan to have several genealogy adventures this year. I did opt out of a Research Day in Buffalo, New York in March (I have already been snowed into Rochester and don’t plan to do it again), but I’d like to do it in milder weather. I plan to do several in-person research trips to:

  • New York City (which I’m close to)
  • Trenton, New Jersey (ditto)

I am considering places like:

  • Albany NY (NYG&BS research trip)
  • Charleston SC (ancestral stop)
  • Fort Wayne IN (NGS Conference)
  • Ontario TOR CAN (ancestral stop)
  • The Netherlands (NYG&BS Heritage Tour)

Connection includes helping others: I plan to revamp the Richmond County NY GenWeb site I administer, I have started leading an Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group for the Northwest Suburban Genealogy Society, and I continue to work on the next edition of my published Ancestors book.

With the help of AI, I did break my genealogy goals down into quarterly and monthly ones as well, which I have put into tickler files to make plans and assess progress. These monthly goals include education I’m getting (IGHR) which will help me to achieve the objectives above.

My goals – research, education, helping others – are spaced out in order to achieve my third resolution, rest and reset.

Challenge

What do you want to do? Does genealogy fit into your life goals? For example, one of mine is travel, and I can definitely tie the two together and have some fun.

Summary

Goals like adventure, connection, and intentionality are core ingredients to my meaningful life. But concepts without specifics quickly fall flat, and that’s where resolutions come in. Use your resolutions to create meaning for you.

AI Disclosure

This post was created by me with the help of AI tools. While AI helps organize research, the storytelling and discoveries are my own.