Added and Updated Ancestry.com Record Collections - Week of 14 to 20 February 2026

    The following genealogy record collections were added to the Ancestry.com Card Catalog page by "Date Updated" during the period from 14 to 20 February 2026:

The ADDED and Updated collections include:

• Germany, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current; 4,581,877 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Germany. The records are dated between the 1600s and the present. 
• Mexico, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 94,933 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Mexico. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• Norway, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 257,936 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Norway. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• Sweden, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 1,168,658 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Sweden. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• Global, Find a Grave® Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current; 23,286,587 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® for burials at sea and other select burial locations. 
• Italy, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 461,314 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Italy. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• Brazil, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 248,203 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Brazil. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• UK and Ireland, Find a Grave® Index, 1300s-Current; 24,458,579 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The records are dated between the 1300s and the present. 
• U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current; 185,133,949 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from the United States. The records are dated between the 1600s and the present. 
• Canada, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current; 12,080,203 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Canada. The records are dated between the 1600s and the present. 
• Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 12,642,715 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/20/2026. Yhis database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Australia and New Zealand. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• Alabama, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-current; 481,453,902 indexed records without record images, Updated 2/19/2026. This index allows you to search for your ancestor by name in Alabama newspapers that are available on Newspapers.com™ from the 1800s to the present.
• UK, Selected Smaller Units Service Records, 1921-1959; 228,677 indexed records with record images, Updated 2/19/2026. This collection contains military service records for members of the British armed forces created between 1921 and 1959.
• Vermont, U.S., Veteran Burial Records, 1776-1980; 36,502 indexed records without record images, ADDED 2/18/2026. This collection contains records for military veterans who were buried in Vermont between 1776 and 1980. The records are “grave registration” index cards.
• New Hampshire, U.S., Divorce Certificates, 1850-1974; 186,959 indexed records with record images, Updated 2/17/2026. This collection contains certificates for individuals who were divorced between 1850 and 1974 in New Hampshire. All records are in English.
• New Hampshire, U.S., Death Records, 1678-1974; 2,416,309 indexed records with record images, Updated 2/17/2026. This collection contains an index and images of New Hampshire death records from 1678 to 1974.
• New Hampshire, U.S., Marriage Records, 1700-1974; 3,812,622 indexed records with record images, Updated 2/17/2026. This collection of New Hampshire marriage records include parents’ names along with bride and groom.
• New Hampshire, U.S., Non-Resident Tax Lists, 1849-1880; 112,149 indexed records with record images, ADDED 2/16/2026. This collection contains lists of people who paid property taxes in New Hampshire between 1800 and 1840 but were not residents of the state.
• New Hampshire, U.S., Name Changes, 1824-1933; 20,775 indexed records with record images,   ADDED 2/16/2026. This collection contains index cards with information about people who legally changed their names in New Hampshire between 1840 and 1940.
• New Hampshire, U.S., Records of Indentures, 1743; 5,229 indexed records with record images, ADDED 2/16/2026. This collection contains land indenture records filed in New Hampshire in 1743.

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The complete Ancestry.com Card Catalog is at https://search.ancestry.com/search/CardCatalog.aspx.  

By my count, there are 4 NEW record collections ADDED this past week, per the list above.  There are now 33,888 collections available as of 20 February 2026, an INCREASE of 5 from last week. 

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Disclosure: I pay for an All-Access subscription from Ancestry.com. In past years, Ancestry.com  provided a complimentary All Access subscription, an autosomal DNA test, material considerations for travel expenses to meetings, and hosted events and meals that I attended in Salt Lake City.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/02/added-and-updated-ancestrycom-record_078075522.html

Copyright (c) 2026, 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. Please note that all Comments are moderated so they may not appear immediately.

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Ask AI: Describe Brita Olsdatter's Life At Age 16 in Eimstad, Voss, Norway in 1835

After developing the AI-assisted ABC Biography of the Sjur Torgersen Leland (1804-1889) and Brita Olsdatter (1818-1895) Family of Voss, Norway and Dane County, Wisconsin, I wondered what life was like for Linda's 2nd great grandmother Brita Olsdatter at age 16 in 1835 on Eimstad farm, near Voss, Norway.

(AI NotebookLM infographic of Brita Olsdatter's  life in 1835)

I asked Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 to write a story about it and here is the story about Brita Olsdatter's life in 1835 at age 16: 

Brita's Year at Age 16

A Young Woman's Life in Eimstad, Voss - 1835

Brita Olsdatter woke before dawn on a cold April morning in 1835, as she did every morning, to the sound of her mother moving about downstairs. At sixteen years old, she was no longer a child but not quite a woman either—caught in that in-between time when the world seemed full of both promise and uncertainty. She lay for a moment in the loft she shared with her sisters, listening to the wind whistling through the eaves of their farmhouse in Eimstad, before the demands of the day pulled her from her warm bed.

This is the story of Brita's life in that year—1835—when she was sixteen, the eldest daughter of Ole Olavsen and Ingeborg Botolfsdatter, living on a farm in the Voss valley in Norway's Hordaland region.

Family and Home

Brita was the oldest of six children, though she remembered a time when it was just her and Åsa. Now the household was full. Åsa was fourteen, just two years younger than Brita, and the two were as close as sisters could be. They shared everything—work, secrets, dreams, and the cramped sleeping space in the loft. Rannveig, at twelve, was becoming useful around the house, no longer just underfoot. Ingeborg was nine, Olav was seven, and little Sjur was just four years old.

Their father, Ole Olavsen, was forty one years old that year, a farmer like his father before him. He was a quiet man, steady and reliable, who worked from dawn to dusk to keep the farm running. Their mother, Ingeborg Botolfsdatter, was forty-three, worn from years of childbearing and hard work, but still strong, still the center of the household. She ran the home with firm efficiency, and everyone—children and husband alike—knew that Mother's word was law inside the house.

The family had moved from Midtun to Eimstad (about one mile west of Midtun on the south side of the lake) when Brita was about seven, but she still thought of herself as being from Midtun. The farm in Eimstad was larger, with better grazing land for their cattle and sheep, but it was still hard work to make a living from the rocky Norwegian soil.

Spring: The Awakening

Spring came late to Voss, and even in April, snow still clung to the higher slopes of the mountains that rose steeply on all sides of the valley. But down in Eimstad, the snow was melting, creating rushing streams that fed into the lake. The world was waking up, and there was work to be done.

Brita's mornings began in the near-dark. She and Åsa would climb down from the loft, careful not to wake the younger children, and help their mother prepare the morning meal. Porridge, always porridge, made from whatever grain they had—oats or barley, sometimes mixed with a bit of milk if the cow was giving well. The family would eat together, quickly and without much talk, because there was too much to do.

After breakfast, the work divided along familiar lines. Father and Olav would head out to the fields or to tend the animals. Mother would begin the endless round of household tasks—cleaning, cooking, managing the younger children. And Brita and Åsa would split their time between helping Mother indoors and doing their own outdoor work.

In spring, that meant helping to prepare the vegetable garden, cleaning and repairing after the winter, and—most importantly—tending the sheep. The sheep had been kept in the barn through the worst of the winter, but now they needed to be taken out to graze on the hillsides where the grass was beginning to grow green again.

Brita loved this work, though she would never have admitted it. Taking the sheep up into the hills meant freedom, at least for a few hours. She would wrap herself in her warmest shawl, pack some bread and cheese in a cloth, and climb the steep paths with the sheep following, their bells chiming softly. From up high, she could look down on the whole valley—the lake stretching away to the east, the farms scattered along its shores, the mountains rising all around like the walls of a great bowl.

Sometimes Åsa came with her, and they would sit together on a sun-warmed rock, watching the sheep graze, and talk about everything and nothing. Åsa wanted to know what it would be like to be married, to have her own household. Brita, at sixteen, was old enough that marriage was becoming a real possibility, though no one had formally approached Father yet. She wasn't sure what she thought about it. Marriage meant leaving home, starting a new life. But it also meant babies and work and responsibility—more of what she already had, really.

The Daily Round

Most of Brita's days were spent in the endless round of household work. There was always something to be done, and as the eldest daughter, much of the burden fell on her and Åsa.

Washing was a major undertaking. On washing days, Brita and her mother would heat great pots of water over the fire, scrub the family's clothes with harsh lye soap, wring them out until their hands were red and aching, and hang them to dry. In spring and summer this could be done outside, but in winter everything had to dry inside, filling the house with damp and the smell of wet wool.

Cooking was another constant task. Mother did most of it, but Brita was learning. She knew how to make the daily porridge, how to bake the flat bread on the iron griddle, how to prepare the simple stews that fed the family. Fish from the lake, salted or dried. Meat when they could afford to slaughter an animal, otherwise just on special occasions. Vegetables from the garden when in season, otherwise root vegetables from the cellar. Milk and cheese and butter from their cow.

Brita was becoming skilled at spinning and weaving. Every family needed to produce its own cloth, and this was women's work. The wool had to be cleaned, carded, spun into thread, and then woven into fabric. It was slow, painstaking work, done in the evenings by the light of the fire or a precious tallow candle. Brita's hands moved automatically through the familiar motions while her mind wandered.

She was also learning the finer skills that a wife would need. Mother was teaching her to embroider, to create the decorative patterns that would adorn a bride's costume and household linens. These were the marks of a skilled housewife, and they would matter when the time came for Brita to marry.

Summer: The Busy Time

Summer in Voss was brief but glorious. The days grew long, the sun barely setting before it rose again. The grass grew thick and green on the hillsides, and everything that could grow, grew. It was the busiest time of year, when everyone worked from first light until late evening, trying to make the most of the short growing season.

In June, there was the haying. The whole family worked together, cutting the grass on the hillsides with scythes and rakes, spreading it to dry in the sun, gathering it into haystacks. This hay would feed the animals through the long winter, so there could be no slacking. Brita worked alongside everyone else, her hands blistered from the rake handle, her back aching from the constant bending and lifting.

But summer also brought visitors and social gatherings. Neighbors would stop by, and families would visit back and forth on Sunday afternoons after church. There were weddings in the summer, and Brita loved going to weddings. The whole community would gather, there would be music and dancing and feasting, and for a few hours everyone could forget about work and just enjoy themselves.

At one wedding that summer, Brita noticed a young man watching her. He was older than she was—perhaps in his late twenties—and she had seen him before at church but didn't know his name. When the dancing began, he asked her to dance, and she felt her face flush hot. They danced a few dances together, and he told her his name was Sjur, and that he lived on Molster farm. Then her father was ready to leave, and that was that.

She thought about Sjur sometimes after that, wondered if she would see him again. But she also wondered if he was too old for her, or if Father would even consider a match. She said nothing to anyone, not even Åsa, but she kept the memory of that evening tucked away in her heart.

Sundays and the Church

Sunday was the Lord's day, and the whole family attended church at Voss parish church. This meant getting up even earlier than usual to walk the five miles to Vangen, where the church stood. The whole family would dress in their best clothes—which weren't much different from their everyday clothes, just cleaner and less patched—and make the journey together.

Brita loved church for reasons that had little to do with religion, though she would never have said so. Church was where she saw people from beyond her immediate neighborhood. It was where she saw other young women her age, where she could compare her life to theirs, where she could see and be seen. The service itself was long and in a language—formal Danish-Norwegian—that she only partly understood. The pastor droned on about sin and salvation, and Brita tried to pay attention but often found her mind wandering.

After church, families would linger outside, talking and catching up on news. This was where important information was exchanged—who was sick, who had died, who was getting married, what the weather was doing, how the crops were growing. Father would talk with the other men about farming and politics, while Mother would talk with the other women about children and households. Brita and Åsa would stand with the other young women and girls, giggling and whispering and casting sidelong glances at the young men.

It was at church that Brita learned the larger news of the world beyond Voss. In 1835, Norway was still joined with Sweden under one king, and there was always talk about politics and the relationship between the two countries. There was talk of people leaving for America—she had heard the word before but didn't really understand what it meant. A land across the ocean where there was free land for anyone who wanted it. It seemed like a fairy tale to her.

Fall: Harvest and Preparation

As summer faded into fall, the work changed but didn't lessen. The garden needed to be harvested—potatoes dug up and stored in the cellar, cabbages cut and made into sauerkraut, carrots and onions and turnips all gathered in. Brita worked alongside her mother and sisters, her hands stained with earth and vegetable juice, preserving as much as they could for the winter ahead.

In October, Father and Olav slaughtered one of the pigs they had been fattening. It was a big event, requiring the help of neighbors. Brita helped her mother with the processing—the meat had to be salted, the fat rendered into lard, the blood made into blood sausage, the intestines cleaned for sausage casings. Nothing could be wasted. The fresh pork was a feast, but most of it had to be preserved to last through the winter.

As the days grew shorter and colder, Brita felt the year turning toward winter. The sheep were brought down from the high pastures and housed in the barn. The last of the hay was gathered in. The house was made ready for the cold months ahead—cracks chinked, firewood stacked high, food stores checked and rechecked.

She saw Sjur once more that fall, at church. He nodded to her, and she nodded back, and that was all. But it was enough to make her wonder, to make her think about the future in a way she hadn't before. She was now seventeen. In another year or two, her parents would expect her to marry. Would it be someone like Sjur? Someone she hardly knew? Or would they let her have some say in the matter?

Winter: The Long Dark

Winter closed in around the valley like a fist. The snow came, first in small flurries, then in great storms that piled drifts higher than a man's head. The lake froze solid. The mountains disappeared into gray mist. The days became short—just a few hours of weak sunlight before the long darkness returned.

The family drew in on itself during winter. They couldn't go far from the house when the snow was deep and the cold bitter. Father and Olav had to go out twice a day to tend the animals in the barn, but otherwise everyone stayed close to the fire. The house felt crowded with all eight of them confined in the small space, but the closeness also meant warmth.

The work continued indoors. Brita and Åsa spent hours at the spinning wheel and loom, creating the cloth the family would need. Mother mended and sewed, making and repairing clothes. The younger children had small tasks—little Sjur could help wind yarn, Rannveig and Ingeborg could knit simple things.

In the evenings, Father sometimes told stories—old tales of trolls and hidden folk, of heroes and adventures. Or sometimes neighbors would come visiting, trudging through the snow to spend an evening by someone else's fire, bringing news and gossip and breaking the monotony of winter isolation. These were precious times, when the whole community came together to survive the long, dark months.

Christmas came as a bright spot in the middle of winter darkness. The family went to church for the Christmas service, and there was special food—Mother made her best bread, and they had saved some of the pork for the feast. The children received small gifts, simple things like a new pair of mittens or a carved toy. For a few days, work eased, and the family rested and celebrated.

A Year in Brita's Life

As 1835 drew to a close and a new year began, Brita looked back on the year that had passed. She was now seventeen, still the eldest daughter, still living at home and doing the work she had always done. But something had shifted inside her. She was no longer quite the child she had been. She had started to think about her future, about marriage and children and a household of her own.

She didn't know what the future would bring. She didn't know that she would eventually marry that man Sjur Torgersen, though it would be many years yet—she wouldn't marry until she was thirty-one. She didn't know that she would bear five children, or that she would cross an ocean and live in a place called Wisconsin. She didn't know about the losses and joys that lay ahead.

All she knew was the life she had now—the rhythm of the seasons, the daily round of work, the warmth of family, the beauty of the mountains rising around her valley, the cold bite of winter air and the sweet smell of summer grass. This was her world, and it seemed like it would last forever.

She was sixteen years old in 1835, a young woman in Voss, Norway, living a life that had been lived by her mother and grandmother and countless women before her. She didn't know that she would be one of the last of her family to live that life, that the old ways were already beginning to change, that within her lifetime half the valley would empty out as people left for America.

But on a winter evening in January 1836, as she sat by the fire with her spinning, with Åsa beside her and her mother humming softly and the younger children drowsing in the warmth, Brita was content. This was her life, her family, her home. The future could wait.

Epilogue

The young woman who sat spinning by the fire in 1836 could never have imagined the life that lay ahead of her. Brita Olsdatter would remain unmarried until 1850, when at age thirty-one she would marry Sjur Torgersen. She would bear her first child, Torger, before the marriage was formalized. She would have five children in total, three born in Norway and two in America.

In 1856, at age thirty-seven, she would leave the only home she had ever known, saying goodbye forever to her parents and sisters. She would cross the Atlantic Ocean in three weeks aboard the sailing ship Hebe, survive the journey with her three young sons, and build a new life on a farm in Wisconsin.

She would bury one son, Mathias, shortly after arriving in America. She would bury her daughter Anna at age thirty-three. She would bury her husband Sjur in 1889 after thirty-nine years of marriage. And she would die herself in 1895 at age seventy-six, having lived fifty-six years beyond that winter evening when she was sixteen and thought she knew what her life would be.

But all of that was still ahead of her. In 1835, she was just Brita, sixteen years old, the eldest daughter of Ole and Ingeborg, a young woman in Voss spinning thread by the firelight and dreaming of a future she could not yet see.

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3)  The Google NotebookLM Video Overview of this story is below. 

4) This is historical fiction, based on real persons and events.  I have no easy way to double-check these responses from Claude. I don't have many book resources for these subjects and this locality, but there are published books available for this time period and general location. The family mentioned is my wife's ancestral family (Brita is her 2nd great-grandmother) and I have significant information about their lives from the available records, but know nothing about their daily lives, especially as a young person.

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 Norwegian family in Voss in 1835 and witness their daily lives.  I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and eyewitness accounts.

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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) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/02/ask-ai-describe-brita-olsdatters-life.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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Findmypast Friday: Delve Deeper Into Your Family's Story

 I received this information from Findmypast today:

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

Delve deeper into your family's story

Outlining British parishes before 1832, we've added the Phillimore Atlas to our collection this week, as well as memorial inscriptions from Scotland and Yorkshire and burial records from the English county of Kent. With over 200,000 pages added, our newspaper archive has also reached an impressive milestone.

New this week:

Britain, Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers

Where exactly did your ancestor live their everyday life, walking the lanes, working the fields they ploughed, or building the towns that shaped their world? The Phillimore Atlas and Index allows you to trace those places across England, Wales, and Scotland. Its detailed parish maps reveal boundaries, settlements, streams, railways, and more, helping you pinpoint the precise parish your ancestor belonged to. Use Findmypast’s deep‑zoom viewer to explore every feature, search by map name or individual parish, and open Extra Materials to view all maps that include your parish, plus the index page where it appears. Delve deeper into your ancestry with one essential reference that uncovers limitless discoveries.

Scotland Monumental Inscriptions

Was your ancestor buried in Scotland, or had close relatives in the country? Discover final resting places, together with many details about lives lived in this collection of Scottish cemetery gravestone inscriptions, the largest of its kind online.

Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions

Kent Burials

Do you have ancestors from Kent? Discover if they were buried there in records spanning over 400 years. These records may reveal where and when they were buried, as well as their spouses’ and fathers’ names. These records constitute a valuable resource for researching ancestry in Kent and have been provided in association with Canterbury Cathedral Archives, The National Archives, Kent County Council, Medway Archives, Kent Family History Society, the North West Kent Family History Society, Val Brown and the College of Arms, the official heraldic authority for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and much of the Commonwealth including Australia and New Zealand. The records will provide you with details found in the original parish register. For a full list of all parishes and date ranges currently covered, view our [parish list](https://www.findmypast.com/articles/world-records/full-list-of-united-kingdom-records/life-events-bmds/kent-parish-lists).

Celebrating 100 million pages

With the addition of 206,718 new pages, our newspaper archive hit an exciting milestone this week - there's never been a better time to uncover stories spanning hundreds of years.

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See all of my posts about Findmypast at   https://www.geneamusings.com/search/label/FindMyPast

Disclosure: I have a complimentary subscription to Findmypast, and have accepted meals and services from Findmypast, as a Findmypast Ambassador. This has not affected my objectivity relative to Findmypast and its products.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/02/findmypast-friday-delve-deeper-into_20.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 X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads 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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Added and Updated MyHeritage Record Collections - Week of 13 to 19 February 2026

 The following Record Collections were ADDED or Updated in the MyHeritage Collections Catalog during the week of  13 to 19 February 2026:

• MyHeritage Family Sites (Family Trees), Updated Feb 18 2026, 99,174,394 entries  
• MyHeritage members (Family Trees), Updated Feb 18 2026, 77,269,392  entries
• MyHeritage photos & docs (Images), Updated Feb 18 2026, 470,313,075 entries
• Search Connect™ - Searches by MyHeritage Members (Family Trees), Updated Feb 18 2026, 553,332,766 entries
• Filae Family Trees (Family Trees), Updated Feb 18 2026, 315,944,405 entries
• MyHeritage Family Trees (Family Trees), Updated Feb 18 2026, 6,749,419,119 entries
• FamilySearch Family Tree (Family Trees), Updated Feb 18 2026, 1,232,792,943 entries
• Geni World Family Tree (Family Trees), Updated Feb 18 2026, 371,321,789 entries
• Netherlands Newspapers from OldNews.com (Newspapers), Updated Feb 17 2026, 19,310,104 pages in 1418 newspaper titles
• United Kingdom, British Army Lists, 1839-1946 (Military Documents), ADDED Feb 15 2026, 7,319,253 records
• Sweden Deaths, 1850-1945 (Death, Burial, Cemeteries & Obituaries), ADDED Feb 15 2026, 7,656,153 records

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

 There are 2 ADDED record collections in the list this past week, and MyHeritage now has a total of  7,527 record collections (an increase of 1 collection from last week).  The collection has 38,823,370,614 records or entries (a decrease of about 36 million entries from last week).  

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

See previous Genea-Musings posts about MyHeritage record collections and features in https://www.geneamusings.com/search/label/MyHeritage.com.

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

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/2026/02/added-and-updated-myheritage-record_19.html

Copyright (c) 2026, 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: The Lyle Carringer Family Visits the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition

After developing the AI-assisted ABC Biography of #6 Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976) of San Diego, California  and ABC Biography of #7 Emily Kemp (Auble) Carringer (1899-1977) of Illinois and California (my maternal grandparents), I wondered what they experienced when they visited the California-Pacific International Exposition in San Diego in 1935.  

(AI NotebookLM infographic of  the Carringer family visit to the fair in 1935)

I asked Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 to write a story about it based on information in the biographies (which are based on my genealogical research), and also information on the Internet about the Exposition. Here is the story about the Lyle Carringer family visiting the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition in San Diego:

A Day at the Fair: The Carringer Family Visits the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition

Saturday, June 15, 1935 - A Special Day

The morning sun was already warming San Diego's streets when the Carringer family gathered at the breakfast table on Saturday, June 15th. Today was special—they were going to the California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park, something they'd been planning for weeks. After carefully budgeting, Lyle had saved enough for the admission fees: fifty cents each for himself and Emily, fifty cents for fifteen-year-old Betty, and fifty cents for sixty-six-year-old Georgia Auble. Two dollars in total—nearly half a day's wages for Lyle—but worth every penny for a family outing in these difficult Depression times.

"I want to see everything about gardens and plants," Emily announced, her eyes bright with anticipation. Since their garden had been featured in the San Diego Union just three months ago, she'd been even more passionate about horticulture.

"The Ford Building for me," Lyle said with a smile. "I want to see that V-8 engine demonstration everyone at work has been talking about."

Betty bounced excitedly in her chair. "I heard there's a Hollywood Motion Picture Hall of Fame! And something called the Zoro Garden that everyone at school is whispering about."

Georgia chuckled knowingly. "I suspect I'll find my way to the Old Globe Theater. I heard they're performing Shakespeare, and it's been years since I've seen a proper play."

10:00 AM - Entering a World Transformed

The family took the streetcar to Balboa Park (down 30^th Street, west on Broadway, and transferred to the Balboa Park trolley going north on 12^th Avenue into the heart of the park), riding with hundreds of other San Diegans heading to the Exposition. As they approached, Betty gasped. The park had been transformed since the 1915 Exposition Lyle remembered so well. While the Spanish Colonial buildings from twenty years ago still stood, magnificent new structures had risen alongside them.

At the entrance, they paid their admission and received their tickets. The gates opened to reveal fourteen miles of exhibits and attractions stretching before them. Unlike the Spanish theme that had dominated in 1915, this Exposition embraced a bold new vision—American progress, technological innovation, and hope for the future.

"Where should we start?" Emily wondered, clutching the free map they'd been handed.

"Let's each pick something," Lyle suggested. "We have all day, and we can meet back for lunch."

Emily's Wonder: The Botanical Building and Gardens

Emily made straight for the Botanical Building, the lath structure she'd admired since 1915. Inside, she found herself transported to a tropical paradise. The botanical garden contained lilies, begonias, fuchsias, aralias, and varieties of ferns she'd never imagined existed. The plants harmonized beautifully with the large groves of eucalyptus and palm trees visible through the lath walls.

She walked slowly through the displays, studying how the plants were arranged, how different species complemented each other, how the lighting filtered through the lath created perfect growing conditions. She pulled out the small notebook she'd brought and began sketching ideas for their own garden at 2130 Fern Street.

An elderly horticulturist noticed her detailed notes and struck up a conversation. For nearly an hour, Emily talked with the expert about tropical plants that could survive in San Diego's climate, about heating systems for delicate species, about pool plantings and shade structures. He mentioned that the heated aquariums in the Botanical Building used the same principles she and Lyle had implemented in their glass house.

"Your garden sounds remarkable," the horticulturist said warmly. "You understand what so many people miss—that a garden should be a living room, a place where beauty serves life."

Emily walked away glowing, her notebook full of ideas that would transform their Fern Street paradise in the years to come. The Botanical Building had given her something precious: validation that what she and Lyle had created was truly special, and inspiration to make it even better.

Lyle's Fascination: The Ford Building and Modern Progress

Lyle found his way to the Ford Building, and the sight took his breath away. The massive white concrete structure, designed in the ultra-modern "Streamline Moderne" style by Walter Dorwin Teague, stood in stark contrast to the Spanish Colonial architecture surrounding it. It looked like something from the future—all clean curves and sharp lines, steel and glass and concrete proclaiming the promise of the machine age.

Inside the Court of the Pacific Nations, a revolving half-globe displayed twelve dioramas of Pacific nations. But what really captivated Lyle was the massive March of Transportation mural painted by Juan Larrinaga on the inside wall of the circular exhibit hall. The 20-foot by 450-foot painting chronicled the entire history of human transportation—from cavemen to spacecraft. Spacecraft! The idea that humans might one day travel beyond Earth filled Lyle with wonder.

In the main exhibition hall, he watched a Ford worker expertly disassemble and reassemble a V-8 engine, explaining each component with practiced ease. Having worked at Marston's for thirty years, Lyle appreciated the precision and skill involved in mass production. The worker explained how Ford's assembly line had revolutionized manufacturing, making automobiles affordable for ordinary Americans.

"Before Mr. Ford," the demonstrator said, "only the wealthy could afford cars. Now a working man like yourself might own one."

Lyle thought about his steady salary as an auditor at Marston's and his Model-T Ford. Could he someday afford one of these newer magnificent machines? The idea seemed both impossible and tantalizingly within reach.

He spent time in the courtyard, resting on one of the many benches provided for weary fairgoers, listening to a South American musical group performing near the V-8 logo fountain. The landscaping, designed by Milton Sessions (Kate Sessions' nephew), featured pepper trees and palms that provided welcome shade.

Before leaving, Lyle signed up for a ride on the "Roads of the Pacific"—a tour around different Pacific roads in a brand-new Ford V-8. The young Ford-trained driver expertly navigated the course while explaining the history of Pacific roads and the virtues of the new Ford automobiles. The ride cost extra, but Lyle considered it money well spent. As they drove, he imagined himself behind the wheel, driving Emily and Betty through San Diego's streets in their own V-8 automobile.

The Ford Building represented everything that impressed Lyle most: American ingenuity, technological progress, the democratization of luxury through mass production, and hope that even during the Depression, better days lay ahead.

Betty's Excitement: Hollywood Glamour and Youthful Adventures

Fifteen-year-old Betty felt like she'd stepped into a dream world. The Hollywood Motion Picture Hall of Fame exhibit featured a stock company of actors signed with the Screen Actors Guild, and she recognized costumes and props from movies she'd seen at the downtown theaters.

She watched demonstrations of movie-making techniques, makeup artistry, and costume design. The Dominos Club of Hollywood had contributed memorabilia from famous actresses including Carole Lombard, Thelma Todd, and ZaSu Pitts. Betty, who'd been studying art at San Diego High School, was mesmerized by the attention to detail in the costume designs.

But it was the Midway that truly captured her imagination. The $1.5 million entertainment area offered relief after walking through exhibits, with amusements designed to delight and surprise. She convinced her grandmother to join her later, and together they explored Gold Gulch—a replica of a California mining community from the 1849 Gold Rush, complete with burro rides.

"Can you imagine living like this, Grandma?" Betty asked, wide-eyed at the rough wooden buildings and dusty streets.

Georgia smiled. "My dear, when I came to America in 1889, many towns looked exactly like this. We've come a long way in just forty-six years."

Betty also insisted on seeing the controversial Zoro Garden, though from a respectable distance. The sunken garden with its lush tropical landscaping featured performers doing exotic dances with little clothing, and while the "Zoro Girls" were scandalous by some standards, Betty was more interested in the innovative garden design—multiple levels creating distinct areas within a single space. She made mental notes for her own future homes.

At Midget Village in the Casa de Balboa building, Betty watched with fascination as little people performed in tiny houses designed to charm visitors. She later learned that many of these performers would go on to appear as Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz. The miniature world reminded her of the dollhouses she'd played with as a child, but seeing real people living in them felt like stepping between childhood fantasy and adult reality.

Georgia's Inspiration: The Old Globe Theater and Cultural Refinement

Sixty-six-year-old Georgia Auble had immigrated from Canada in 1889 and had spent her youth in an era when theater was the pinnacle of cultural entertainment. The newly constructed Old Globe Shakespearean Theater represented something she'd dreamed of seeing in San Diego—a permanent home for serious theatrical productions.

The building itself was magnificent, designed to evoke Shakespeare's original Globe Theatre in London. Inside, Georgia watched a matinee performance and was transported back to her youth, when theater companies would occasionally tour through the frontier towns of her Canadian childhood.

Between acts, she explored the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages in the area between the Ford Building and the plaza. Each cottage represented a different nation among the twenty-one participating countries: Argentina, British Empire, Chile, China, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Germany, Honduras, Irish Free State, Italy, Japan, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Sweden, Uruguay, United States, and Yugoslavia.

Georgia spent time in the British Empire cottage, chatting with volunteers about her Canadian heritage. She was delighted to discover that her native Ontario was well-represented, and she shared stories of her immigration journey with younger visitors who had never left California.

At the Palace of Education, housed in the remodeled 1915 New Mexico Building, Georgia attended a lecture on literacy programs being implemented across America through New Deal initiatives. As a woman who valued education deeply and had ensured her daughter Emily received proper schooling, she found hope in these programs aimed at lifting Americans out of poverty through knowledge.

The Standard Oil Building's 108-foot "Tower to the Sun," inspired by pre-Columbian palaces in Yucatan and central Mexico, captured Georgia's imagination with its bold Mayan-inspired architecture. She stood before it, marveling at how San Diego—a city that had seemed so small and provincial when she first arrived in 1889—now showcased architectural styles from around the world.

1:00 PM - Family Reunion at the Cafe of the World

The family reunited for lunch at the Cafe of the World, one of four restaurants serving fairgoers. Despite the expense—more than they'd normally spend on a meal—Lyle insisted this was a special day deserving of special treatment.

As they ate, each shared their favorite discoveries:

Emily bubbled with enthusiasm about the Botanical Building and her conversation with the horticulturist. "I have so many ideas for our garden! We could expand the tropical aquarium section, and I want to try some of those fuchsias in the lath house."

Lyle described the Ford Building's marvels and his thrilling ride on the Roads of the Pacific. "Someday," he said thoughtfully, "we might own a V-8 automobile. It's not as impossible as it once seemed."

Betty talked rapidly about Hollywood glamour, Gold Gulch's Old West atmosphere, and the innovative garden designs she'd seen. "Everything feels so modern and exciting! It's like the whole world is changing right before our eyes."

Georgia, more measured but equally moved, spoke of the Old Globe Theater and her conversations in the International Cottages. "This Exposition isn't just about showing off," she reflected. "It's about bringing people together, sharing cultures, finding hope in progress. We needed this—San Diego needed this—to remember that even in hard times, beauty and culture matter."

Afternoon Adventures Together

After lunch, they explored as a family. They visited the California State Building, now the palace dedicated to California's history and achievements. Inside, exhibits detailed California's Spanish missions, the Gold Rush, agricultural development, and Hollywood's rise as the world's film capital.

At the Palace of Better Housing (today's Casa de Balboa), they examined model homes showcasing modern conveniences—electric refrigerators, gas stoves, modern plumbing. Emily and Lyle studied the layouts carefully, dreaming of future improvements to their own home.

The Standard Oil tower fascinated them all, and they climbed the stairs for a panoramic view of the Exposition and San Diego beyond. From this height, they could see how the city had grown, spreading east toward the mountains and south toward the Mexican border.

They watched the Firestone Singing Fountains in front of the Ford Building, where water jets danced in synchronized patterns. The landscaping around the pool spelled out "Firestone" in flowers—a marvel of horticultural advertising that Emily studied with professional interest.

Evening Magic

As the sun began setting, the Exposition transformed. The lighting experts had created what the Official Guide proclaimed as "the world's greatest nocturnal spectacle." Seven fingers of lights atop the Organ Amphitheater blazed against the darkening sky, and every building was outlined in electric illumination.

The family made their way to the Ford Music Bowl, the 3,000-seat clamshell amphitheater next to the Ford Building, where the San Diego Symphony Orchestra was performing a free concert. The music, broadcast by radio across America, filled the evening air with Beethoven and Brahms.

Georgia sat with tears in her eyes. "To think," she whispered, "that people all across the country are hearing this same music right now. What a marvel modern technology is."

Betty leaned against her mother's shoulder, tired but happy. Lyle held Emily's hand, both of them thinking of their garden at home, comparing it favorably to even the grandest displays they'd seen today.

9:00 PM - Heading Home

As they waited for the streetcar home, the family looked back at the illuminated Exposition grounds. Nearly 45,000 people had visited on opening day just two weeks earlier, and today's crowds had been nearly as impressive. They were part of the 4,784,811 people who would attend the Fair in 1935.

"Will you remember this day?" Lyle asked Betty.

"Forever," she promised. "When I'm old like Grandma, I'll tell my grandchildren about the year San Diego proved it could do anything."

Georgia chuckled. "I'm not that old, dear. But yes, this is a day worth remembering."

What Each Treasure Most

As the streetcar carried them home through the June night, each member of the Carringer family held their own special memories:

Emily carried a notebook full of horticultural inspiration that would enhance their famous Fern Street garden for years to come. The Botanical Building had validated her passion and expanded her vision. She'd learned that their garden wasn't just a backyard hobby—it was art, it was science, it was life itself made beautiful.

Lyle had witnessed the promise of American progress embodied in the sleek Ford Building and its celebration of technology. The sight of that V-8 engine being assembled and disassembled, the ride in the new Ford automobile, the vast March of Transportation mural showing humanity's journey from caves to spacecraft—all of it reinforced his belief that hard work and innovation could overcome even the Depression's darkness. He'd seen the future, and it was bright.

Betty had experienced glamour, adventure, and the exciting energy of a world in transformation. From Hollywood costumes to Gold Rush mining towns, from exotic gardens to miniature villages, she'd seen that life could be magical even in ordinary times. The Exposition had shown her that creativity and imagination could transform any space into wonder. These memories would influence her artistic sensibilities for the rest of her life.

Georgia had found cultural refinement and international connection in the Old Globe Theater and International Cottages. The Exposition reminded her of how far she'd traveled—from a small Canadian town to this beautiful California city hosting a world's fair. She'd seen twenty-one nations represented with dignity and respect, proof that even in Depression times, humanity could choose cooperation over conflict, beauty over despair, hope over surrender.

A Shared Legacy

But more than individual memories, the Carringer family carried home something shared: the knowledge that they lived in a special place at a special time. San Diego, their San Diego, was proving itself capable of remarkable things. The Exposition would eventually attract 7,220,000 visitors over its 377 days of operation in 1935 and 1936, bringing $37.7 million to the city and employing thousands during the depths of the Depression.

For a family weathering economic uncertainty with grace and determination, the Exposition represented validation of their own values: that beauty matters, that progress is possible, that communities can accomplish great things together, and that even in hard times, there is reason for hope.

As they walked the block from the streetcar stop at 30^th and Ivy to their home at 2130 Fern Street, Lyle put his arm around Emily. "Thank you for today," he said quietly.

"Thank us all," Georgia corrected gently. "Days like this happen because families choose to make them happen, even when it's not easy."

Betty ran ahead to feed the goldfish in their pools, eager to tell them about the magnificent Botanical Building and all the wonders she'd seen. The fish, of course, were merely hungry—but Betty's enthusiasm made even their ordinary evening feeding feel like part of the day's grand adventure.

Inside their home, as Emily put on the kettle for tea and Georgia settled into her chair with a satisfied sigh, Lyle looked around at his family and his comfortable house and thought about the Exposition they'd visited. The fair celebrated progress and the promise of better times ahead. But for Lyle Carringer, sitting in his living room with his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law, the future was already here.

He had work in difficult times. He had a home they'd built themselves. He had a garden that rivaled anything at the Exposition. Most importantly, he had family who loved each other and faced life's challenges together.

The 1935 California Pacific International Exposition would run until November 11th, when Corporal Joe Galli of the 30th Infantry would play "Taps" from the roof of the Palace of Fine Arts, officially closing the first season. The fair would return for a second triumphant season in 1936. But the Carringer family wouldn't wait that long to return—they'd visit again in September, and again next year, each time finding new wonders and new inspiration.

For now, though, they had their memories of this perfect June Saturday, when San Diego celebrated itself and four members of the Carringer family celebrated being alive, together, in a city and time worth cherishing.

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The Google NotebookLM Video Overview of this story is below. 

This is historical fiction based on known events in the lives of my ancestors - it might have happened this way. The family mentioned is my ancestral family (Lyle and Emily are my maternal grandparents, Betty is my dear mother) and I have significant information about their lives from the available records, but know nothing about their day-to-day lives, especially before 1950.

After I read these types of social history summaries, I wish that I could be a time traveler for one day to visit the Carringer family in San Diego in 1935 and witness their daily lives.  I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and eyewitness accounts.

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