What did I learn from Missouri presentation? For the most part it was general information for me. I don’t have many from that part of the country. The family that I have from Missouri was there for a short time and were farmers mostly. From what I could find they probably moved from Iowa where the area was a farming community raising corn, hogs, and cattle. Sometimes people moved across the county or state lines for more fertile land or cheaper land. Sometimes they would relocate for seasonal work that wasn’t far from their homes and then return. Sometimes they moved in either direction for better established communities as the population expanded. All of this makes logical sense.

I do know that there were draught issues and flooding cycles which moved families. One family ended up in the poor house when crops failed and the father got sick and then mom ended up crushed by a house after a tornado. I actually have the newspaper articles on that one. Couldn’t make that up. It wasn’t Missouri but it was the general area.

We next need to prepare for our next class on Artificial Intelligence (AI). What are your thoughts on using AI? Is it a good thing or a not so good thing?

For grins, I asked google how AI could help me with my genealogy. The answer: “Artificial intelligence can act as a powerful virtual research assistant. It accelerates tedious tasks and helps overcome roadblocks by transcribing handwritten records, translating foreign documents, and identifying faces in old photographs. AI is also great for generating historical context and transforming dry dates into engaging family biographies.” The information came from YouTube – LisaLisson and there was more from FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and other connections that you could investigate for further information on just why you should use it.

It is just those resources that I like about using AI. I can ask my focus question and then AI comes up with an answer that I can dig deeper into and verify. I haven’t used it to directly find an ancestor other than trying out the tools on Family Search. But it has helped give me suggestions that indicated whether it might be worth looking into various facts such as by asking, were there German settlements in a certain area at a general time and then AI says yes or no I  can look at what German immigration was like in the area when my family might have arrived and even begin to narrow down when they might have come and from where. I have even purchased books based on this info to learn more that could help with my family history understanding. I think it encourages me to think generally and then research more specifically. When I taught health, we talked about “thinking globally and acting locally” and that is what it reminds me of.

I don’t know if any of this rings a bell for you in your research but I hope that you find it at least a little helpful. We will be moving into researching Norwegians in America and get a different perspective from a different speaker in researching those German roots after AI so get ready!
 
Heidi Geise education@hqrl.com