AI and Genealogy

Why AI and is it scary?

You have used AI and probably didn't know it.

Have you ever done a Google search? 

How about in Facebook: Have you seen other people suggested as new people to become friends to ask to be your friend? This is similar with Netflix and Amazon Prime when they show movies you would like based on what you have previously watched. 

Have you ever asked Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa a question? Do you use a NEST thermostat, or similar company in your home that regulates your heat? That learns from what you have one in the past.

All of these and much more use AI to perform their tasks. 

FAQ webpages
Do you remember the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) webpages? A page designated to a list of questions that were frequently asked by others consumers, to help navigate the website or complete tasks on the website. Many of these webpages have been replaced by a bot on the main webpage of a website ready to answer your questions. FAQ are still around. We are using it for our East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference (ecggc,org) but they are not used as much. 

To create a way for users to ask a question and receive an answer, before AI, the programming would have had been a lot of what are called IF.. THEN statements. 
A IF THEN statement would ask a question with a Yes or No / True or False answer. 

A user would ask a question. The programmer would have to have a question such as
IF the word Genealogy is in the question THEN say this... 
IF the word DNA is in the question THEN say this...

If the question mentions the word "genealogy" then say this. (Directing them to a spot on the website for genealogy) 
If the question mentions the word "certification" then say this. 
For each of the important word(s) the site is expecting users to ask about there would have been a IF..THEN statement type of programming. This would take too many lines of code taking many of hours of coding with cost. This much code would also slow down the answer appearing. Way to long and this would be very slow, that is why there were pages called FAQs.

Have you noticed that bots have gotten better at answering your questions and understanding you? That is because of the improvement in the AI programming.

What AI is used for has also increased. Here are some examples in the Genealogy world. 

MyHeritage

MyHeritage has utilized AI in some fun family history ways.

The first was adding movement to an ancestor from their photo. Their head, eyes, and mouth moved. Not everyone was happy about that. Some thought it was a little creepy but either way it was pretty cool technology. It is called Animate your family photos.
For an example, check out their website at: https://www.myheritage.com/deep-nostalgia 

MyHeritage also has the AI Time Machine. 
Upload 10 - 25 photos of one person and then tell the AI Time Machine what time in history you want the person to be by selecting from one of the many themes representing different time in history. 
https://www.myheritage.com/ai-time-machine

For Genealogists
Besides what MyHeritage has, what else can AI do you the genealogists? There are a few AI website that will create graphics for you to use for free. As a presenter for PowerPoint presentations or images to add when writing your family history. 

Using AI to analyze DNA data is being worked on but nothing specific yet.

Marketing for a Genealogy Company
For a genealogist who has a company or a genealogical society you might want a good tagline to get people's attention. At Grammarly Slogan generator webpage you can answer three questions and it generated 5 slogans for you. 

Slogan Generator
Enter in information about your company and the Grammarly Slogan Generator will come up with some great tag lines for your company - all for free. 

https://www.grammarly.com/slogan-generator
There are other websites that can do the same thing. 

Step 1:  Enter Target Audience
My target audience is genealogists who need help with using technology, software, DNA, and Canadian records.

Step 2:  Add business, product, or campaign details
I present webinars about genealogical research, DNA, Canadian genealogical records,
Name is ifamilyhistory

Step 3:  Add Tone of voice
Describe the tone(s) you want your slogan to have.
My tone should be professional and upbeat.

Taglines the AI produced for me based on above information

• "Unlock Your Ancestral Story with iFamilyHistory: Embrace Technology, Discover Your Roots"
• "Connect the Past with the Future: iFamilyHistory, Your Gateway to Canadian Genealogical Records"
• "Tech-Savvy Solutions for the Modern Genealogist: iFamilyHistory, Where DNA Meets Technology"
• "Unleash the Power of DNA: iFamilyHistory, Your Expert Guide to Canadian Genealogy"
• "Discover Your Canadian Heritage: iFamilyHistory, Empowering Genealogists with Technology"

The instructions said to put the company name in step 2. 
I changed one answers slightly. I said the tone should be "upbeat" instead of "Positive". I received similar results.

1:  My target audience is genealogists who need help with using technology, software, DNA, and Canadian records  
2: I present webinars about genealogical research, DNA, Canadian genealogical records. Company name is ifamilyhistory
3: My tone should be professional and positive. 

• "Unlock Your Ancestral Legacy with iFamilyHistory"
• "Leading the Way in Genealogical Technology and DNA Research"
• "Discover Your Canadian Roots with iFamilyHistory"
• "Empowering Genealogists with Cutting-Edge Technology and Expertise"
• "Navigate the Digital Era of Genealogy with iFamilyHistory"

Sessions on AI
RootsTech website has AI sessions.

Upcoming
There will be more sessions on AI at different conferences. Maybe, AI will be able to analyze our DNA results quicker. Exciting but not everyone is ready or want someone else to do their work for them. Doing the work helps us connect with our cousins and ancestors.

Watch for more ways AI will be able to help you with your genealogy and DNA and enjoy the possibilities.

One Place Study: Ogdensburg, PQ Table of Records

To go along with the Surname study, I am conducting a One Place Study on Ogdensburg, Quebec. 

For my One Place Study I created a Table of Records for the area.
The first records I added to the table was census records which included the area before and after my family arrived in the area. 

I want to know why they picked this remote area in a French Catholic province when they were neither. How did they know about this area? They might have learned about the area from other family who came before them to this area, therefore I am looking at the census records before they arrived. It is part of the FAN research. Family/Friends, Associates, and neighbours. I am looking for family who arrived before my direct line. 

This is a screen shot of part of the census section of the Table of Records. 

I searched each census for Dowd/O'Dowd and Donoughy/Donoughoo (mother's maiden name).

Below is a screen shot of the Civil Registration of the Table of Records.

This shows the purpose for the first column. 

As I find more records I will add it to this table. 

As I search each of these records I will put the result in my Research Log. 

If family is found, I will save a copy of the record, along with the source, the URL, of the record

FNMI in the 1901 Canada Census

Canada Census, 1901 includes two columns which are unique to other Canadian censuses. They are colour (column 5) which only appears in this census and for Ethnicity (column 11) which contains unique answer options.

Colour
Library and Archives Canada defines the colour column as follows.

“…the letter "w" or “b” for white, "r" for red (Indigenous peoples), "b" or “n” for black (Black Canadians), "y" or “j” for yellow (individuals of Asian descent). Individuals of mixed heritage were designated by their relevant non-white race.”[1]

Ethnicity
The ethnicity listed in column 11 is the same for other censuses if the ancestry is from Europe or Asia but unique for the FNMI Peoples, and is different for each of the Peoples. 

First Nation
The First Nation people have an "r" in the colour column, and an r in the Ethnicity field as well. It does not say Cree,  Iroquois, Chipewyan, Algonquin or any other nation, just the letter "r".

Metis
Metis are those who have an ancestry couple where one spouse was First Nation and the other is European. French was the most Metis ancestry. Metis people are designated as R in the colour field. In the ethnicity column, they are designated as follows. The first table is English. The second table is French. [2]

Fb	French Breed
Eb	English Breed
Sb	Scottish Breed
Ib	Irish Breed
Ob	Other breed

m.f.	métis français, French breed
m.a.	métis anglais, English breed
m.e.	métis écossais, Scottish breed
m.i.	métis irlandais, Irish breed
a.r.	autre race/métissage, other breed

Inuit
The Inuit are designated as R in the colour field. In the ethnicity column they are identified as Eskimo. That term is no longer used. For more information, read my blog post FNMI The Indigenous Peoples of Canada at https://ifamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2023/11/fnmi-indigenous-peoples-of-canada.html.

These are Racial or Tribal Origin. Inuit are found in the Unorganized Territories, District 206. These are records are found only at:  http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/District.jsp?id=206

• Sub-district c, Keewatin
• Sub-district d, Mackenzie
• Sub-district e, Ungava

The following page is results from the Keewatin sub-district.

Source: http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/ViewFrame.jsp?id=112674

Territories Search page by area
Yukon results do not appear on Ancestry, FamilySearch, or Library and Archives Canada. 

http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/District.jsp?id=206

Library and Archives Canada website has a Inuit genealogy page which includes Census Records at https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/indigenous-heritage/Pages/inuit-genealogy.aspx.

The search page for this census is found at the following websites

• Library and Archives Canada https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Census/Index
• Ancestry  https://www.ancestry.ca/search/collections/8826/
• FamilySearch  https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1584557

---

[1] Library and Archives Canada, Dominion of Canada, 1871 to 1931, Census of Canada, 1901, https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/genealogy-family-history/censuses/Pages/dominion-canada.aspx#1901, accessed Nov 2023.

[2] Library and Archives Canada, General census guide, Other abbreviations, https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/genealogy-family-history/censuses/Pages/census-records.aspx, accessed Nov 2023.

Red River Ancestry website

If you are Métis you need to check out this site for your ancestors. If you are not Métis, you might want to check out this website because it is well organized with amazing information. If you are thinking of, or trying to, create a family website, I suggest you check this out. This site is also what every genealogists wants to find. 

A friend told me about an ancestor of hers who stood out, who she wanted to get to know more. She asked me if I had anyone that has stood out over the years. I do. She is a several great Aunt of mine. Not my direct line but someone I always remember. 

My friend, Tracey, has given me permission to share what found about her family. 

After telling me what she knew about this lady, Tracey asked me if I could find out more about her. Tracey is Métis so I went to the Red River Ancestry website to see if her (a few greats) grandmother was on the site. This is what I found. I have given explanations of each part of the website along the way. 

The link to the website is: https://www.redriverancestry.ca/ 

Red River Ancestry website Home page
The main page begins by welcoming everyone and stating the purpose of the website. The site “is devoted to descendants of early explorers, fur traders and settlers who first inhabited the great Northwest Territory or Rupert’s Land, and more particularly the region of the Red River of the North.”

Below is the top menu, which appears on every page for easy access. 

Ancestor Index
To find an ancestor, click on Ancestor Index. This is an alphabetical list of the husbands of the couples. Their name is the hyperlink to go to their individual couples page.  

I scrolled down to the Flett listing. Only 4 of them. 

Catherine Flett is not one of them. Our hope was that she is a child of one of these men. Her father is John Flett, but not John Alfred Flett, as far as she knew. 

There are two ways I could look for her. 

1. I could look at each family. Since there are only 4 that doesn't take too long. But if there were more I wouldn't want to look at each one individually. 

2. Instead, I could use the SITE command in Google to search for Catherine Flett just in this website. This is good as it will list any page that Catherine Flett appears. This is a good idea to search for anyone in a website. 

In the address bar of a web browser type 

site:redriverancestry.ca catherine flett

There are no results for Catherine Flett because she is not on the website. So I searched for Catherine's father John Flett. He doesn't have his own page, so I used the Google search.

site:redriverancestry.ca william flett

The following are the results from this search.  

From the results I found that he appears on his father's page William Flett (1786-1852). Below is the beginning of William's page. Husband and wife listed at the top. Their parents' and birth information is listed. If their father has a page on this website there will be a link to their page. 

A summary of their life with world and country history during their lifetime. At the bottom of William Flett's page is the list of their children, shown below.  

I then searched for Catherine's mother Eleanor Ellen Atkinson. 

site:redriverancestry.ca eleanor atkinson

Eleanor Ellen Atkinson is listed as a child on her father's page George Atkinson (1815-1846).
I clicked on George in the list. George Atkinson's page. 

History 

If you click History from the top menu the following screen appears. 
Each is a hyperlink to another page with history, photos, maps, names, families, and links to other forums. 

Forum Pages
Below is the forum page for George Atkinson and family. This is a place to ask questions with others who have the information. Just before the list of children is a link to their forum page.

Below is the top of the forum page for George. 

To be able to make comments or start a new discussion, you must create a username with a password. 

Register and Log in 
To get the webpage to log in or to register, try to reply to a post in a forum or create a new post. 

The following page will appear.

Log in

1. If you have already created an account, then enter your username and password. 
2. Click the box to Remember me if you are on your own computer then you won't have to log in each time. 
3. Hide my online status this session 
4. The second box is asking if you want your name showing in the forum when you are on, to anyone else on the site. 
5. Click Login.

If you do not have a username yet then create a username by:

1. Click Register (bottom left corner).
   The following screen appears.
   
2. Read, and click I agree to these terms
   The following screen appears
   
   

3. Fill in the form with a username, password and email address.

4. Click Submit. 

    Enjoy the site. 

Métis Scrip

A friend of mine asked me if I had an ancestor that really stood out for me? One that I wanted to get to know better. I said yes. For me, it is a several great aunt. For my friend Tracey, it is her twice great grandmother. She wanted to learn more about her. She gave me her name and mentioned she was Metis. I then went to the Red River Ancestry webpage where we found her ancestors. This search process is found on another blog post.

On George Atkinson’s page on the Red River Ancestry page, it states the following.

                In 1875 Nancy claimed her Half-breed Scrip as the widow of George Atkinson.

We, of course, then had to go find the scrips of Tracey’s family. This post will illustrate the search steps to find her families scrip and the information on these documents .

Before searching it is good to understand what these documents are. Library and Archives Canada states, “Metis scrip was administered in Western Canada from 1870 until 1924 as a means of extinguishing the Aboriginal title of mixed-ancestry Aboriginal peoples. This policy was implemented in three basic phases: in Manitoba from 1870 to 1886; in the North West from 1885 to 1887; and in conjunction with First Nation treaties from 1887 to 1924.” [1]

The Canadian Encyclopedia states "Scrip is any document used in place of legal tender, for example a certificate or voucher, where the bearer is entitled to certain rights. In 1870, the Canadian government devised a system of scrip -referred to as Metis scrip - that issued documents redeemable for land or money." They continue explaining it was give to Metis people living in the West in exchange for their land rights.[2]

To search for scrip records, we went to the Library and Archives Canada website.

1.       Go to Collection Search webpage at 
https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Search

2.      Click on Advanced search , located on the right side, above the search boxes. 
The following screen appears.

3.       In the All these words search field, enter "RG15, scrip", plus the name of the Metis applicant. 
Hit the Tab key. For example: "RG15 scrip Nancy Atkinson"

4.      In the next section of options, click All for the Database option.
The following menu appears.

5.      Select Collections and Fonds.  More options appear below.

6.       Click the All box for Hierarchical level. (Indicated by arrow). 
The following menu appears.

7.       Select File.

8.       Leave the other fields blank.

Click the green button at the bottom Search.
A new screen appears with the search results.

Not all the results were Nancy’s. Two were not the right family.
Three were scrips for George and Nancy’s daughters: Mary, Sarah, and Jane.
Two documents were Nancy Atkinson’s script, widow of George Atkinson.

 9.     To view a scrip, click on the title (blue underlined text) to view the document. 
       The following appeared.

Full title of above
Scrip affidavit for Atkinson, Nancy; widow of George Atkinson; born: 1815; father: George Kippling (Métis); mother: (Indian); claim no: 8; date of issue: May 1, 1876; amount: $160 = Demande de certificat pour Atkinson, Nancy; veuve de George Atkinson; né(e): en 1815; père: George Kippling (Métis(se)); mère: (Indien(ne)); no de réclamation: 8; date d'émission: le 1er mai, 1876; au montant de: 160$

The following information was given on the scrip.

1.       “I, Nancy Atkinson (born Kippling) of the Parish of St. Andrews in the County of Lisgar in said Province, widow of George Atkinson make oath and say as follows:

I am a Half-breed head of a family resident in the Parish of St. Andrew in the said Province, on the 15^th day of July, A.D. 1870, and consisting of myself and children – and I claim to be entitled as such head of family to receive a grant of one hundred and sixty acres of land, or to receive Scrip for one hundred and sixty dollars pursuant to the Statue in that behalf.

2.       I was born on or about the –– day of –– A.D. 1815 in the North West Territory

3.       George Kippling a Half Breed was my father;
and  ––– an Indian was my mother.

4.       I have not made or caused to be made any claim of land or Scrip other than the above in this or any other Priah in said Province, nor have I claimed or received, as an Indian, any annuity moneys, from the Government of said Dominion.

10.   The other item was a digitized copy of the actual scrip. There are 8 pages showing each of the $20 scrips amounting to $160.00.

There was another scrip, of Tracey’s direct line, daughter of George and Nancy was Eleanor Fleet, wife of John Flett.

Full title of above

“Scrip affidavit for Flett, Eleanor, wife of John Flett; born: 1837; father: George Atkinson (Métis); mother: Nancy (Métis); claim no.: 93; date of issue: May 1, 1876 = Demande de certificat pour Flett, Eleanor, épouse de John Flett; né(e): en 1837; père: George Atkinson (Métis(se)); mère: Nancy (Métis(se)); no de réclamation: 93; date d'émission: le 1er mai, 1876”

This is a 2-page document which be downloaded by individual pages or both at the same time. The following information is given.

“I, Eleanor Flett (born Atkinson) of the Parish of St. Andrew in the County of Lisgar, wife of John Flett, in said Province, farmer make oath and say as follows:

1.       I am a Half-breed head of a family resident in the Parish of St. Andrew in the Province on the 15^th day of July, A.D. 1870, and consisting of myself and husband and children and I claim to be entitled as such head of family to receive a grant of one hundred and sixty acres of land, or to receive Scrip for one hundred and sixty dollars pursuant to the Statue in that behalf.

2.       I was born on or about the   day of   A.D. 1837.

3.       Eleanor indicates that George Atkinson, a half breed, is her father.

Eleanor indicates that his wife Nancy, a half breed, is her mother. “

·         Eleanor gives her mark of an x for her signature.

 

Print, Download, and Fullscreen

Immediately below the document screen, on the left side, are three icons.

Print
The first is to print the document directly from the web browser.

Download
The middle icon is to download the document to your computer. 
When you click on the download icon, the following little window appears.

11.   Click in the check box so the check mark appears.

12.   Click Download file or Download all images (PDF).

13.   The file(s) will download to your Downloads folder on your computer.

14.   The document will open in Adobe Reader, or your default PDF program.
The first page is a terms of use and Copyright page in French and English.

Fullscreen Mode
The last is to Enter Fullscreen mode. This removes the web browser from the top and the document is bigger and easier to read.

To get out of Fullscreen mode, Click on the same icon in the bottom left corner.

Information on other records
The above was good information and proof for her family, but other records have more information such as the following.

 

__________

EndNotes

[1] Library and Archives Canada, Aurora, The scrip solution: the North West Metis scrip policy, 1885-1887, https://bac-lac.on.worldcat.org/oclc/77378472?lang=en

[2] The Canadian Encyclopedia, Métis Scrip in Canada,  https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/metis-scrip-in-canada, accessed Oct 2023.