Added and Updated MyHeritage Record Collections - 4 to 10 July 2025

  The following Record Collections were ADDED to or updated in the MyHeritage Collections Catalog during the week of 4 to 10 July 2025:

• Geni World Family Tree (Family Trees), Updated July 9 2025, 365,051,557 entries
• FamilySearch Family Tree (Family Trees), Updated July 9 2025, 1,192,661,583 entries
• Filae Family Trees (Family Trees), Updated July 9 2025, 299,566,178 entries
• MyHeritage Family Trees (Family Trees), Updated July 9 2025, 6,434,192,517 entries
• MyHeritage Family Sites (Family Trees), Updated July 9 2025,  96,876,120 entries
• MyHeritage members (Family Trees), Updated July 9 2025, 76,579,346 entries
• Search Connect™ - Searches by MyHeritage Members (Family Trees), Updated July 9 2025,  490,472,660 entries
• MyHeritage photos & docs (Images), Updated July 9 2025, 457.001,576 entries
• Switzerland, Vaud, Civil Registration Births (Birth Records), ADDED July 7 2025, 510,017 records

                                       =========================== 

There is 1 ADDED record collection above this past week, and MyHeritage now has a total of  7,489 record collections (an increase of 1 collection from last week), with 335,767,699,862 (an increase of about 84 million entries from last week).    

The number of entries in the family tree collections were updated this week.

                          =========================================

Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/07/added-and-updated-myheritage-record_0565093633.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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Ask AI: "What Was Life Like for Elizabeth Dill, Age 15, in 1806 in Eastham, Massachusetts?"

The Artificial Intelligence tools (like ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot, Gemini, Grok, Meta, Grok, and Perplexity) can provide much useful and nearly instant information about subjects in a concise format, especially when they have been pre-trained on a large volume of information about the subjects.

I wondered if the FREE AI tools could provide me with information about a teenage girl's life in 1806 in Eastham, Massachusetts.  My 3rd great-grandmother, Elizabeth Horton Dill (1791-1869), was 15 years old in 1806 living with her fatherm Thomas Dill and his second wife, Ruth Linkhornew, and her siblings in Eastham.  What was Elizabeth's life like in 1806?  What was the family life like?  Did she have work to do and fun to enjoy?  

1)  I chose to use the responses from free Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 as of 9 July 2025) today.  

My Prompt was:  Elizabeth Horton Dill was born 9 May 1791 in Eastham in Barnstable County on Cape Cod.  The birth entry in the Eastham, Massachusetts town records provide a list of children of Thomas and Hannah (Horton) Dill, who married in 1782.  Elizabeth’s siblings were Ezekiel Dill (1784-1872), Obediah Dill (1786-young), Seth Dill (1787-young), Isaiah Dill (1788-young), Jabez H. Dill (1789-1872), James Horton Dill (1792-1862), Daniel Dill (1793-1850), and Asa Dill (1795-young). Her mother, Hannah (Horton) Dill died in 1797, and her father, Thomas Dill married two more times, secondly to Ruth Linkhornew in June 1797, they had a daughter Nancy Dill (1799-1891), and Ruth died in 1810, and thirdly to Susanna Hatch in 1813.  Thomas Dill dying in about 1839.  Elizabeth became a schoolteacher.  What was her life like in about 1806 in Eastham, Massachusetts with three brothers still at home, what household duties would she have, and what fun might she have?

(AI-created image from OpenAI ChatGPT4o)

2)  The free Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 AI tool responded with:

Elizabeth Horton Dill's Life in 1806 Eastham, Massachusetts

Family Situation and Household Composition

In 1806, Elizabeth Horton Dill would have been fifteen years old and living in a Cape Cod community still deeply shaped by its agricultural and maritime heritage. Elizabeth had been without her mother Hannah for nine years, following her death in 1797. Her father Thomas had married to Ruth Linkhornew in June 1797, but Ruth would die in 1810, so Elizabeth was living in a household with her four brothers, her stepmother Ruth and her half-sister Nancy (born 1799). The family dynamics would have been complex, with Elizabeth as one of the older surviving children helping to care for younger siblings and the household.

Life with Her Brothers

Elizabeth would have been living with her four surviving brothers who were still at home: Ezekiel (22), Jabez (17), James (14) and Daniel (12). This would have created a lively household dynamic with Elizabeth as the only daughter of her age group, positioned between her older brothers and her younger brothers.

Ezekiel, at 22, would have been a full working man, likely helping with the family's farming operations, fishing, and possibly learning a trade. As the eldest son, he would have had significant responsibilities but also authority in the household. Jabez, only two years older than Elizabeth, would have been her closest companion among the siblings, and they likely shared many tasks and experiences. James and Daniel, at 14 and 12, would have been old enough to help with serious farm work but still young enough to need guidance from their older siblings.

The brothers would have been involved in typical Cape Cod male activities - fishing, farming, boat building, and various crafts. They would have helped with seasonal activities like the herring runs that were so important to Cape Cod communities, and Elizabeth would have assisted with processing and preserving the catch.

The Eastham Community

Eastham in 1806 was a small, close-knit farming and fishing community. Fish were a critical part of the web of life on the Cape before 1830, providing not only food but also fertilizer for farming, and the herring catch was so important that it was carefully regulated by town meetings. The Dill family, like most Cape Cod families of the time, would have combined farming with fishing activities.

The Cape Cod homes of this period were modest structures, typically the simple Cape Cod style houses we associate with the region today. Winters were harsh, and families gathered around central fireplaces for warmth while working on indoor tasks like mending clothes, preparing food, and various handicrafts.

Elizabeth's community would have been deeply religious, with the Congregational church serving as the center of social life. Sunday services, town meetings, and seasonal celebrations would have provided the main social interactions beyond family and immediate neighbors.

Elizabeth's Education and Future Plans

As a fifteen-year-old preparing for her future role as a schoolteacher, Elizabeth would have been receiving more education than many young women of her era. She would have been learning to read, write, and cipher (basic arithmetic), skills that were essential for teaching but not always common among rural women.

Household Duties and Daily Responsibilities

Beyond general household tasks, Elizabeth would have had specific responsibilities as the primary daughter in the home. She would have been deeply involved in food preparation and preservation - smoking fish, making salt pork, churning butter, baking bread in the hearth oven, and preserving vegetables for winter. She would have been skilled in spinning flax and wool into thread, weaving cloth, and sewing clothes for the family.

Elizabeth would have helped care for her young half-sister Nancy (7 years old) and likely assisted her stepmother Ruth with the more demanding household tasks. She would have been responsible for maintaining the herb garden, collecting eggs, milking cows, and managing the household's supplies and stores.

Her days would have been filled with cooking, cleaning, spinning, weaving, and helping with the younger children. The isolation of Cape Cod meant that families were largely self-sufficient, growing their own food, making their own clothes, and relying on extended family networks for support.

Fun Times and Recreation

Despite the demanding work schedule, Elizabeth would have found joy in several activities. Colonial families made hard tasks lighter and more enjoyable by working together, holding flaxing bees, quilting bees and corn husking bees where everyone would work together and tell stories or sing songs. These social work gatherings would have been among Elizabeth's most anticipated events.

She would have enjoyed seasonal celebrations - harvest festivals, Christmas gatherings, and Easter celebrations. Summer evenings might have brought opportunities for young people to gather for games, storytelling, and singing. Dancing was popular in many New England communities, and Elizabeth might have participated in country dances at community gatherings.

The beach would have provided recreation - collecting shells, berries, and beach peas, and perhaps swimming during warm weather (though this would have been done modestly and separately from the boys). Winter evenings would have been spent around the fire with family activities like riddles, storytelling, and simple games.

Elizabeth and her brothers would have had close relationships born of shared work and limited outside entertainment. They would have created their own amusements - races, simple ball games, and the kinds of imaginative play that rural children have always enjoyed. The older boys would have taught Elizabeth practical skills, and she would have helped them with tasks requiring finer motor skills like mending nets or sewing.

Conclusion

For Elizabeth, who would later become a schoolteacher, these formative years in Eastham would have instilled the practical skills and strong work ethic that would serve her well in her future profession. These experiences - the responsibility, the close family bonds, the community connections, and the self-reliance - would have shaped Elizabeth into exactly the kind of capable, well-rounded person who could succeed as a schoolteacher in early 19th century New England.

 3)  I asked the free OpenAI ChatGPT4, X Grok 3, and Google Gemini 2.5 Flash the same query and received similar responses.  

4)   I have no easy way to double check on these responses from the Chatbots.  I don't have book resources for the subjects and the locality.  The families mentioned are my ancestors and I have significant information about their lives from the available records, but know nothing about their daily lives.  

5)  After I read these types of social history summaries, I wish that I could be a time traveler for one day to visit this Dill families in Eastham and witness their daily lives.  I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and witness accounts.

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See all of my Artificial Intelligence-related posts at https://www.geneamusings.com/p/artificial-intelligence-posts.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/07/ask-ai-what-was-life-like-for-elizabeth.html

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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52 Relatives: 2nd Great-GrandAunt Mary Eliza (Oatley) Pray (1831-1907) of New England

Mary Eliza Oatley was born on 30 April 1831 in South Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island, the 11th child (of 14) and 4th daughter of Jonathan and Amy (Champlin) Oatley.[1-2]

Mary Eliza Oatley and Earl Wright Pray were married on 3 April 1849 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticu.[1.3]  Earl Wright Pray was born on 4 May 1827 in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island.

 Earl Wright Pray and Mary Eliza Oatley had the following children:[1]

• Albert Eugene Pray, born 21 January 1851, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut; married Ellen A. Martin, 25 April 1870, Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island; died 12 August 1938, Pawtucket, Providence, Rhode Island.
• Thomas Everett Pray, born 8 August 1852, Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island; married Emma Frances Place, 4 October 1878, Foster, Providence, Rhode Island; died 7 August 1926, Chester, Rockingham, New Hampshire.
• Mary Emma Pray, born 1854, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut; married Edward Alanson Seaver, 2 June 1906, Pawtucket, Providence, Rhode Island; died 16 April 1907, Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts.
• Elizabeth Pray was born in 1856 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut.
• Henrietta Pray, born 16 March 1857, East Killingly, Windham, Connecticut; died 1 August 1905, East Killingly, Windham, Connecticut.
• Earl Jonathan Pray, born 10 October 1860, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut; married Idella Ernestine Smith, 4 July 1879, Foster, Providence, Rhode Island; died 26 October 1945, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut.
• Verina Leonore Pray, born 22 October 1862, Foster, Providence, Rhode Island; married Ira Jay Martin, 1 June 1879, Foster, Providence, Rhode Island.; died 17 November 1936, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut.

The Earl Pray family resided in Glocester, Providence County, Rhode Island in the 1850 census.[4] The household included:

• Earl Pray - age 24, male, a Farmer, $800 in real property, born R.I.
• Mary E. Pray - age 20, female, born Conn.

The Earl Pray family resided in Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut in the 1860 census.[5] The household included:

• Earl W. Pray - age 34, male, born R.I.
• Mary E. Pray - age 30, female, born R.I.
• Albert Pray - age 9, male, born R.I.
• Thos E. Pray - age 8, male, born R.I.
• Mary Pray - age 6, female, born R.I.
• Elizabeth Pray - age 4, female, born R.I.
• Henrietta Pray - age 3, female, born Conn.

The Earl Pray family resided in Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut in the 1870 census.[6] The household included:

• Earl W. Pray - age 44, male, white, a Farmer, $3000 in real property, $1000 personal property, born Rhode Island
• Mary E. Pray - age 40, female, white, Keeping House, born Rhode Island
• Albert E. Pray - age 19, male, white, Works in Cotton Mill, born Conn.
• Ellen E. Pray - age 23, female, white, Works in Cotton Mill, born Conn.
• Emma Pray - age 16, female, white, Works in Cotton Mill, born Conn.
• Elizabeth Pray - age 14, female, white, Works in Cotton Mill, born Conn.
• Henrietta Pray - age 13, female, white, Works in Cotton Mill, born Conn.
• Earl J. Pray - age 9, male, white, At School, born Conn.
• Verena L. Pray - age 7, female, white, At School, born Conn.
• Thos E. Pray - age 18, male, white, Works in Cotton Mill, born Conn.

The Earl Pray family resided in Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut, United States in the 1880 census.[7] The household included:

• Earl W. Pray - white, male, age 53, married, a Farmer, born Rhode Island, father born R.I., mother born R.I.
• Mary E. Pray - white, female, age 49, Wife, married, Keeping house, born Rhode Island, father born R.I., mother born R.I.
• Henrietta L. Pray - white, female, age 23, Daughter, single, Works in Cotton Mill, born Connecticut, father born R.I., mother born R.I.
• John Pray - white, male, age 19, Son, married, Works in Cotton Mill, born Connecticut, father born R.I., mother born R.I.
• Idella Pray - white, female, age 17, Daughter-in-law, married, Works in Cotton Mill, born Rhode Island, father born R.I., mother born R.I.

The Earl Pray family resided in Killingly township (excl. Danielson borough), WindhamCounty, Connecticut, United States in the 1900 census.[8] The household included:

• Earl W. Pray - Head, white, male, born May 1827, age 73, married, for 51 years, born Rhode Island, father born Rhode Island, mother born Rhode Island, a Day laborer, unemployed 4 months, can read, write and speak English, Rents a Home
• Mary E. Pray - Wife, white, female, born Apr 1831, age 69, married, for 51 ytears, 7 children born, 7 children living, born Rhode Island, mother born Rhode Island, can read, write and speak English
• Earl P. Franklin - Grandson, white, male, born Apr 1875, age 25, single, born Connecticut, father born Connecticut, mother born Connecticut, a Farmer, can read, write and speak English

Earl Wright Pray died on 13 October 1901 at the age of 74 in East Killingly, Windham, Connecticut, United States.

Mary Elizabeth (Oatley) Pray died on 23 October 1907 at the age of 76 in Danielson, Windham, Connecticut, United States. She was buried after 23 October 1907 at Westfield Cemetery in Danielson, Windham, Connecticut, United States. 

(courtesy of Find A Grave)

SOURCES:

1. Harry J. Oatley, The Oatley Family in America and Their Descendants (Providence, R.I. : The Oatley Family Association, 1970), page 40, Jonathan Oatley family sketch.

2. Find A Grave, imaged,  (https://www.findagrave.com), Westfield Cemetery, Danielson, Conn., Mary Elizabeth Oatley Pray (1831-1907) memorial # 37513926.

3. Killingly, Connecticut, "Killingly Births, Marriages and Deaths" (Register at Killingly Town Hall, Danielson, Connecticut), Volume 2, 1849-1881; Page 52, Earl W. Pray and Mary E. Oatley marriage entry, 3 April 1849.

4. "United States, Census, 1850", Providence County, Rhode Island, population schedule, Glocester, page 155 Entry for Earl W. Pray and Mary E. Pray;  imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDJX-ML7 : Mon Jan 20 17:30:27 UTC 2025), 

5. "United States, Census, 1860", Windham County, Connecticut, population schedule, Killingly, page 86, Entry for Earl W. Pray and Mary E. Pray; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHR9-M3S : Mon Jul 08 04:23:37 UTC 2024), 

6. "United States, Census, 1870", Windham County, Connecticut, population schedule, Killingly, page 445 (penned), Entry for Earl W. Pray and Mary E. Pray; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN75-SPD : Wed Jan 22 06:25:04 UTC 2025), 

7. "United States, Census, 1880", Windham County, Connecticut, population schedule, Killingly, ED129, Sheet 411D, Entry for Earl W. Pray and Mary E. Pray; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFZQ-7Z6 : Fri Jan 17 07:04:58 UTC 2025) 

8. "United States, Census, 1900", Windham County, Connecticut, population schedule, Killingly, ED516, Sheet 14B, Entry for Earl W. Pray and Mary E. Pray; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M97J-LY7 : Sun Mar 30 04:40:13 UTC 2025).

                         ===========================================

Mary Eliza Oatley (1831-1907) is my 2nd great-grandaunte and sister of my 2nd great-grandmother, Amy Frances Oatley (1826-1864).  

I have posted over 500 genealogical sketches of  my ancestors back through the 7th great-.grandparents and a number of close relatives.  Information about her father, Jonathan Oatley (1790-1872) in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 39: #46 Jonathan Oatley (1790-1872).

The "52 Relatives" theme is a weekly series to document the lives of siblings of my ancestors with relatively short genealogical sketches, including important events, and with source citations.  These relatives lived and died within a family structure, and deserve a genealogical sketch - they were integral parts and important persons in the lives of my ancestral families.  

I add links to the 52 Ancestors and 52 Relatives sketches on the 52 Ancestors/Relatives Biographies page, in my Ancestry Member Tree, in WikiTree, and in the FamilySearch Family Tree. 

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/07/52-relatives-2nd-great-grandaunt-mary.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.   Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Genealogy Education Bytes - Week of 3 to 9 July 2025

 Welcome to Genealogy Education Bytes, posted on Wednesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight some of the most important genealogy and family history education items that came across my desktop since the last issue.

1) Upcoming Conferences and  Institutes 

* Conference Keeper Calendar - has many links to register for  and/or view conferences and institutes.

*  2025 Midwest African-American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI) ($$) -- 8 to 10 July 2025 -- Virtual.

*  2025 Foundation for East European Family History Studies (FEEFHS) ($$) -- 6 to 8 July 2025 -- Virtual.

*  2025 Kentucky History and Genealogy Conference (KYGS) ($$) -- 8-9 August 2025 -- In-Person (Kenton County, Kentucky)

*  2025 New York State Family History Conference (NYG&B) ($$) -- 19-20 September 2025 -- In-Person (Kingston, N.Y.) and Virtual.

2 ) Upcoming Seminars, Webinars and Online Classes (times are US Pacific):

* Conference Keeper Calendar - has many links to register for and/or view seminars, webinars and classes.

*  FamilySearch Library Classes and Webinars (Free)

* RootsTech 2019-2025 On-Demand Sessions (Free)

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Wednesday, 9 July, 5 p.m.:  Forgotten Records: Pension Ledgers and the Payments they Represent by Craig R. Scott.

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Friday, 11 July, 11 a.m.:   Researching your Ancestors in Surrey by Sarah Pettyfer.

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Tuesday, 15 July, 5 p.m.:   Civil War Records: What is a Reasonably Exhaustive Search? by Craig R. Scott.

 

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Wednesday, 16 July, 11 a.m.:  Tracing Scots Ancestors Before 1855 by Alison Spring.

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Friday, 18 July, 11 a.m.:  Strategies for Sorting Out and Documenting Mexican Names and Families by Colleen Robledo Greene.

3) Recent Podcasts:

*  Ancestral Findings Podcast:  AF-1118: The Founders Still Speak: Lessons in Liberty, Courage, and Conscience

*  Ancestral Findings Podcast:  AF-1119: The Tanner’s Trade — Skin, Stink, and Skill | Ancestral FIndings Podcast

*  Ancestral Findings Podcast:  

*  Family Tree Talk:  Railway Lives: Discovering Our Ancestors' Work on the Tracks

*  The AI FamilyHistory Show:  EP26: Gemini and Claude Updates, RootsTech Panel on Responsible AI, Interview with Jessica Taylor of Legacy Tree Genealogists, ChatGPT 5 Announcement

*  Research Like a Pro:  RLP 365: Thomas B Royston's Land and Headstone in Chambers County, Alabama

4) Recent YouTube Videos

*  Aimee Cross - Genealogy Hints:  LATEST Changes at Find Your Past

*  Allen County Public Library:  Settling Ohio First Peoples and Beyond

*  Allen County Public Library:  Metes & Bounds, Township & Range Land Platting and Graphing

*  Allen County Public Library: Proving a Maternal Third Great Grandmother with DNA

*  Allen County Public Library:  Ask the Experts

*  Ancestry:  When to Hire a Professional Genealogist | Tips & Tricks Virtual Event | Ancestry®

*  Ancestry:  Can You Guess Shaun Ryder's Relative? | Fame In The Family | Ancestry®

*  BYU Library Family History Center: Scottish Family History Research:  In Your Own Backyard - Maureen Brady (2 July 2025)

*  BYU Library Family History Center:  

*  Cheri Hudson Passey:  GenFriends Genealogy Chat Show: Back to the Frontier with Bernice Alexander Bennett

*  Crista Cowan | The Barefoot Genealogist:  Gathering and Connections (with Betheny Tomseth) | Stories That Live in Us | Episode 66

*  Data Mining DNA:  Organize Your ChatGPT Genealogy Research (7 Pro Tips)

*  Data Mining DNA:  How to Use ChatGPT to Create a Family Tree Template in Excel (Free Tutorial)

*  DearMYRTLE's Archive:  Mondays with Myrt - 7 July 2025

*  Denyse Alloen ~ Chronicle Makers:  Before you write that Revolutionary War story, do this

*  Ellen Thompson-Jennings - Family History Hound:  Unlocking the Power of City Directories | Genealogy Research Tips

*  Family History Fanatics:  Why Aren't You Preserving Your Family Stories? A Genealogist's Perspective

*  Family Locket:  Downloading Images at a FamilySearch Center

*  Family Tree Support: Master Genealogist Reveals BEST Techniques for Ancestry's Smart Search

*  Family Tree Support:  How to Master Ancestry's Profile Search: Unlock Better Genealogy Results!

*  Family Tree Support:  How to Import and Explore a Family Tree in Gramps | Genealogy Software Tutorial

*  Family Tree Support: How to Transfer Family Tree Maker 2024 to a New Computer (Step-by-Step Guide)

*  Family Tree Support: How to Create a Descendants Report or Chart in Family Tree Maker 2024

*  FamilySearch:  Getting Started with U.S. Genealogy: Finding your American Roots

*  Genealogy Assistant:  Genealogy Assistant v2.2.1 - DNA Paths for Ancestry and More!

*  Genealogy TV:  Genealogy Lingo (GTV Podcast)

*  Genealogy With Dana Leeds:  AncestryDNA’s New Clustering Tool Explained (with Examples)

*  GeneaVlogger:  Exploring Newspapers in July 1776

*  How We Got Here Genealogy: One Stone Revealed the Heart of My Family's Story

*  Italian Roots and Genealogy:  Step by Step: Discover Your Hidden Italian Royal Roots!

*  Italian Roots and Genealogy:  Tracing My Italian Heritage (Family Stories & Journey)

*  Legacy Carvers:  Your Stories Matter More Than Your Family Tree

*  Lisa Lisson:  5 Red Flags That Your Ancestor Research Has Gone Off Track

*  Marcia Philbrick:  Ballad of Captain Moses Dooley

*  Marcia Philbrick:  Esther's Song 🎶

*  Marcia Philbrick:  Esther Crawford Overview

*  Projectkin:  Sneak Preview with Diane Burley, new memory event, July 29th!

*  Projectkin:  Live Preview: Potlucks & Family Storytelling with Cynthia Nims

*  PSG Photo Solutions:  Digitizing a WWI Veteran’s Legacy | Angelina McGlashan on Preserving Photos & Family History

*  Virtual Genealogical Association:  "A mtDNA and YDNA Check-up" by Connie Davis

*  Virtual Genealogical Association:  "Navigating the Mayflower Silver Books: A Guide for Genealogists" by Bonnie Wade Mucia

*  Virtual Genealogical Association:  "In Black and White - Newspaper Research" by Christine Cohen

*  WikiTree:  New Member Q & A via Zoom 1 of 2 (June 2025)

*  WikiTree:  New Member Q & A via Zoom 2 of 2 (June 2025)

*  WikiTree:  WikiTree #SaturdayRoundup (5 Jul 2025)

*  WikiTree:  2025 WikiTree Challenge 6 Kick-off feat ‪@KatherineR.Willson‬

5) Did you miss the last post in this series - Genealogy Education Bytes -  Week of 26 June to 2 July 2025?  

Read past Genealogy Education Bytes here.

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NOTE:  If  I missed an upcoming conference or webinar, or a useful podcast or video, in this time period, please let me know in a comment or an email. 

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/07/genealogy-education-bytes-week-of-3-to.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share your comment on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at   randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. 

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ABC Biography of #35 Elizabeth Horton (Dill) Smith (1791-1869) of Massachusetts

 The Claude (now Sonnet 4) artificial intelligence tool can be used to write family-friendly biographies of my ancestors that might interest and engage my relatives and descendants to help them learn about and understand their ancestry. Using the ABC method described in Using Artificial Intelligence In the Ancestor Biography Creation (ABC) Process, here is one ancestor biography.

1) I have written genealogical sketches for almost every known ancestor back 9 generations in blog posts based on 38 years of genealogical research in my 52 Ancestors/Relatives Biographies series. The genealogical sketch for my 3rd great-grandmother, Elizabeth Horton (Dill) Smith, #35 on my Ahnentafel List), including record abstracts and sources, is 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 28: #35, Elizabeth Horton (Dill) Smith (1791-1869).

(AI ChatGPT4o image of a Medfield family  in 1840)

2) For the Claude AI biography, I attached the PDF of the genealogical sketch for the specific ancestor using the plus (+) icon, and then prompted the AI tool with: You are an expert genealogist. Please create a biography based on information in the attached file, including parents, siblings, spouses and children (with birth and death dates and places), summarize life events, and add historical facts as appropriate, but do not add or embellish any extra genealogical details. Use section headings. Expand the information in each section to add more details. The tone should be engaging and suitable for family members.

3)  Here is the Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 biography:

Elizabeth Horton Dill Smith (1791-1869): 

A Life Well Lived 

Early Life and Family Origins

Elizabeth Horton Dill was born on May 9, 1791, in the picturesque town of Eastham on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She entered the world during a time of great change in America, just two years after George Washington became the first president of the newly formed United States. Her birthplace of Eastham, located in Barnstable County, was a thriving maritime community where families like the Dills had deep roots in the region's fishing and farming traditions.

Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas Dill and Hannah Horton, who had married in 1782. Her mother Hannah came from the Horton family of Wellfleet, another Cape Cod community, connecting Elizabeth to the broader network of families that populated the outer cape during the colonial and early federal periods.

A Large and Close-Knit Family

Elizabeth grew up in a bustling household as one of nine children. Her siblings were a remarkable group who would scatter across New England as they came of age. Her brothers included Ezekiel Dill (1784-1872), who lived to the impressive age of 88, Obediah Dill (born 1786), Seth Dill (born 1787), Isaiah Dill (born 1788), Jabez H. Dill (1789-1872), and Daniel Dill (1793-1850). She also had a younger brother, Asa Dill (born 1795), and was particularly close to her brother James Horton Dill (1792-1862), who would later play an important role in her life.

Tragedy struck the family when Elizabeth was just six years old. Her mother Hannah died in 1797, leaving Thomas to raise nine children. Like many widowed men of his era, Thomas remarried twice more as he sought to provide stability for his large family. He lived until 1839, seeing most of his children reach adulthood and establish their own families.

Education and Teaching Career

In an era when formal education for women was limited, Elizabeth distinguished herself by becoming a schoolteacher—a profession that was increasingly opening to educated women in early 19th-century New England. Teaching was considered one of the few respectable careers available to unmarried women of her social class, and Elizabeth embraced this opportunity with dedication.

By 1821, Elizabeth had received a call to teach in Dedham, Massachusetts, a thriving town about 20 miles southwest of Boston. This move represented a significant step in her life, taking her away from her Cape Cod roots to a more urban environment where she could pursue her calling as an educator. Dedham was known for its progressive attitudes toward education and its strong sense of community, making it an ideal place for a young teacher to establish herself.

Spiritual Journey and Religious Commitment

Elizabeth's move to Dedham marked not only a professional transition but also a spiritual awakening. On March 22, 1822, at the age of 30, she was baptized as an adult at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Dedham. This decision to undergo adult baptism suggests a deep personal commitment to her faith, as she chose to publicly affirm her religious beliefs.

The baptism ceremony was shared with two other women: Mary Godfrey Fisher and Mary Fales Mason, creating a bond of faith that would have been meaningful in the close-knit religious community of the time. Just one day after her baptism, on March 23, 1822, Elizabeth was confirmed as a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church by the Right Reverend Abner N. Griswold. She was confirmed alongside Lucretia Townsend, and this shared experience may have created a lasting friendship between the two women.

Marriage and Family Life

Elizabeth's life took a romantic turn when she met Alpheus B. Smith of Medfield, Massachusetts. Their courtship led to the publication of marriage intentions on November 5, 1826, in both Dedham and Medfield—a common practice that ensured the community had proper notice of the upcoming union. On November 30, 1826, Elizabeth Dill married Alpheus B. Smith, beginning a new chapter as a wife and future mother.

The couple settled in Medfield, where Alpheus purchased property on High Street near the South School-house. This location suggests the family valued education and community involvement, as they chose to live near one of the town's important educational institutions.

Elizabeth and Alpheus were blessed with two children who would carry on their family legacy:

• Lucretia Townsend Smith was born first and baptized on September 6, 1828, in Medfield. She was likely named after Lucretia Townsend, who had been confirmed alongside Elizabeth at St. Paul's Church. Lucretia grew up to marry Isaac Seaver on September 9, 1851, in Walpole, Massachusetts, have four children, and lived until March 24, 1884, dying in Leominster, Massachusetts.

• James Alpheus Smith was born later and baptized on June 6, 1833, in Medfield. Named after his father, James would eventually marry Annie Eliza Stewart on 14 March 1864 in Boston, have two children, and pursue opportunities in the growing industrial city of Detroit, Michigan, where he died on April 5, 1902.

Widowhood and Resilience

Elizabeth's happiness was cut short when Alpheus died intestate in February 1840, leaving her a widow at the age of 48 with two young children to raise. In a testament to her independence and strength, Elizabeth declined to administer her late husband's estate, a decision that was administered instead to Hinsdale Fisher. The estate was declared insolvent and the court ordered the assets to be sold. During this difficult period, Elizabeth's brother James H. Dill, Esquire, demonstrated remarkable family loyalty by purchasing 16 acres of land and giving it to Elizabeth, ensuring she had a home and some financial security. It was subsequently sold to Elizabeth Butterfield. Elizabeth retained a small plot of land with a home that was her widow’s thirds of her husband’s estate.

The 1840 U.S. Census captured Elizabeth as the head of household in Medfield, living with her son James (age 5-10) and daughter Lucretia (age 10-15). This period required tremendous strength and resourcefulness as she navigated the challenges of single parenthood in the mid-19th century.

Financial Independence and Community Life

Elizabeth proved herself to be a capable manager of her affairs. On August 18, 1841, she sold land in Medfield to Lucy Butterfield for $100—a significant sum at the time. The property included a house and barn with about three-quarters of an acre of land, representing her entire dower interest in her late husband's estate. This transaction demonstrates her practical approach to financial management and her ability to make difficult decisions for her family's welfare.

By the 1850s, Elizabeth had established a stable household. The 1850 U.S. Census shows her living in Medfield with her daughter Lucretia, who was then 22 years old. The 1855 Massachusetts State Census reveals that Elizabeth, then 58, shared her home with Lucy Butterfield, age 65—certainly the same woman who had purchased her land, suggesting a mutually beneficial living arrangement between two women of similar circumstances.

Later Years and Community Connections

As Elizabeth aged, she continued to maintain her connections to the Medfield community. The 1860 U.S. Census shows her, at age 60, as a widow heading a household that included the Hammet family: Daniel D. Hammet (age 40), Cynthia Hammet (age 45), and George D. Hammet (age 18). This arrangement suggests Elizabeth may have taken in boarders or shared her home with another family, a common practice that provided both companionship and financial support.

Final Years and Legacy

Elizabeth Horton Dill Smith lived to see significant changes in American society, from the young republic of her birth to the industrial nation emerging after the Civil War. She died on November 28, 1869, in Leominster, Massachusetts, at the age of 78 (though records show some variation in her exact age). The cause of death was apoplexy, known today as a stroke.

Her death was recorded in both Medfield and Leominster town records, reflecting her connections to both communities. The 1870 U.S. Census Mortality Schedule also documented her passing, noting she was a 75-year-old widow who died in November 1869 of apoplexy.

Elizabeth was laid to rest in Vine Lake Cemetery in Medfield, Massachusetts, where her gravestone bears the inscription:

"Erected in Memory

of

ELIZABETH H. DILL,

Wife of

ALPHEUS B. SMITH,

Died

Nov. 17, 1869.

Aged 77 years."

The gravestone, which shows a slight discrepancy in the death date from the official records, stands as a lasting tribute to a woman who navigated the challenges of 19th-century life with grace, independence, and resilience.

Historical Context

Elizabeth's life spanned a remarkable period in American history. Born just after the Constitution was ratified, she witnessed the presidencies of every leader from George Washington through Andrew Johnson. She lived through the War of 1812, the Industrial Revolution's impact on New England, the great waves of immigration, and the Civil War. Her choice to become a teacher placed her among the pioneering women who helped establish public education in Massachusetts, and her life as a widow managing property and finances reflected the gradually expanding opportunities for women in 19th-century America.

Elizabeth Horton Dill Smith's story is one of quiet strength, family devotion, and community service—a life well lived in service to others and an inspiration to the generations that followed.

4) A poem and song lyrics to commemorate the life of Elizabeth Horton (Dill) Smith (1791-1869) can be found in "Elizabeth's Light" -- A Family History Poem, Song and Podcast Created by Artificial Intelligence. The song created from the song lyrics can be played in that blog post, and heard in: https://suno.com/song/c9c3a466-9df0-46b4-9c76-07fd7b493499.  

5) An audio overview (essentially a podcast created by the Google NotebookLM AI tool) discussing the life of Elizabeth Horton (Dill) Smith (1791-1869) can be heard in: 

https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/94366436-61ef-4174-b236-8c66cc2eeba9/audio. 

6)  I edited the Claude biography text to add more family detail and correct minor errors.  Every large language model (LLM) AI tool writes descriptive text much better than I can write.  I was an aerospace engineer in my former life, and my research reports and genealogical sketches reflect "just the facts gleaned from my research."  The AI tools are very perceptive, insightful and create readable text in seconds, including local and national historical events and social history detail.   

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Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/07/abc-biography-of-35-elizabeth-horton.html

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Please note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Betty In the Woods in About 1935 -- (Not So) Wordless Wednesday #877

 I found another priceless (to me) photograph in my computer file folders:

This photograph is of my mother, Betty Virginia Carringer at about age 16 (so about 1935) in the woods along a stone ledge or fence, perhaps near a stream.  I don't know where this is; it may be in Descanso or Dehesa or Cuyamaca or Julian in San Diego County.  It may be in Washington state since I know the family took a vacation there in them id-1930s (but I doubt that because it is not too green in the photograph). 

This photograph is a part of my family history.  I enhanced and colorized it using the MyHeritage photo tools.  

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/07/betty-in-woods-in-about-1935-not-so.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.    I moderate all comments and they may not appear immediately - please write only one comment.

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Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 2 to 8 July 2025

Welcome to Genealogy News Bytes, posted on Tuesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight the most important genealogy and family history news  items that came across our desktop since the last issue.    

1)  Genealogy and Family History News Articles:

*  AI Handwritten Text Recognition Tool

*  Symposium on Healthy Aging and Family History Delves into Super-Agers and the Aging Brain

*  How I Rewrote My Family’s Forgotten History Thanks to MyHeritage

*  Being Irish: Tradition and Genealogy

*  Personal History Records: Bringing Your Family History to Life

*  A Runestone That May Be North America’s Oldest Turns Up in a Canada Forest

2)  DNA/IGG-Related News Articles

*  Court Approves Sale of 23andMe

*  My Dad Searched for His Lost Japanese Child His Whole Life. I Found Him Thanks to MyHeritage

*  Scientists celebrate ‘historic milestone’ as remains of man identified 12 years after death

*   Colorado Woman Charged in 2009 Cold Case of Murdered Newborn Found in Dumpster

3)  Genealogy Book/Magazine Notices and Reviews:

*  AMAZON PRIME DAY: Free Genealogy Ebooks!

*  'Our Brown Roots' on the Shelves!

*  Documenting Your Lineage Society Application

4)  New or Updated Genealogy Digital Record Collections:

*  Added and Updated Ancestry.com Record Collections - Week of 28 June to 4 July 2025

*  Added and Updated FamilySearch Record Collections - Week of 28 June to 4 July 2025

*  Added and Updated MyHeritage Record Collections - 27 June to 3 July 2025

*  MyHeritage Adds 1.25 billion Historical Records in June 2025

*  Findmypast Friday: New U.S. Birth and Baptism Records, Plus More Newspapers

*  10,330 Free Online United States Death Records and Indexes

*  175,000 New Historical Records Released by Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland

*  Almost 4,000 birth records added to Provincial Archives of New Brunswick’s website

*  July Addition: GenealogyBank Just Added New Content from 57 Titles!

*  Veridian Adds/Updates 265 Titles – July 2025

5)  Did you miss the last post in this series?  See Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 18 to 24 25 June to 1 July 2025.   Read all recent Genealogy News Bytes posts here.  

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/07/genealogy-news-bytes-week-of-2-to-8.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com.