Do you have time for a little story? I spent the afternoon on the website front page shared project. Chatgpt is an excellent research helper and website reviewer. The suggestions were extremely helpful. Years ago...maybe 20....I started my family genealogy shared site called Tribal Pages. I had no idea how to upload my family stories and videos. A fellow Tribal Pages user was sort of the informal help desk. His name was Les Paramentor (sp?). He lived in Wales. I wou

Last Tuesday morning...Oct 13...I went to the beach at 0615. There was a Spacex launch from Cape Canaveral at 0633. I was amazed at the number of people standing on the beach in total darkness. We were rewarded with the gorgeous sight of the rocket streaking across the predawn sky. I took multiple pictures. That got me thinking...I wonder what my parents and grandparents would think about the time I live in?? My grandmother lived at a time when electricity in your home

Raise your hand. ..who remembers that old old show? I do. Something fascinating about ghost stories. We spend so much time searching for our ancestors. Does anyone have a story about a family ghost? I'd love to hear it. Send it to our email address: Grand Strand Genealogy genieclub2002@gmail.com

At our Genie Chat meeting, one of the group shared that she was related to Edgar Allan Poe! I was consumed with jealousy! I wracked my brain. Surely there must be someone famous in MY family tree! Then I remembered my paternal grandmother, Anna Gertrude Carroll. Years ago, I was searching for information about my dad's mother when I found her family listed in a Baltimore census record. At the time, we lived in Maryland. It was a beautiful day, so I hopped in the car and drove

This statement makes me feel a bit better about myself!! Let me explain. Yesterday I received an enthusiast email from a nephew. He had sent a request for information to a state genealogy society. His questions pertained to certain ancestors in our family. This information is already on our family website...which I shared with him...but I won't go there!! Maybe he just trusts outside sources more than his old auntie..but I digress. So...the archivist found lots of informa

This old brain has had a new idea!! What if there was an easy way to view lots of great genealogy webinars for free? What if as a member of our club you could just click on a few buttons and access them? Hold onto your hats...there is! Plans are in the making... What about a Grand Strand Genealogy Club youtube channel?? Whatcha think??

Do you have a famous anestor? Recently my niece texted me and asked if "our" Carroll's were related to Charles Carroll of Carrollton who signed the Declaration of Independence. I answered "no" but we are direct descendants of Pierce Carroll the Civil War Coal Heaver!! But....our family has one really really cool story about a famous person. Ever hear about Babe Ruth? Let me tell you..... While searching for records about my grandmother...Anna Carroll Conway...I found a ce

For years I have been receiving Southern Living magazine. Every issue has an article written by the Grumpy Gardener. He answers questions written to him by subscribers about gardening....but he does it with humor. Someone asked if they can kill insects by pouring boiling water on them...he answered but with humor. So why not a grumpy gynecologist? "Can I click attach record or add ancestor whenever Anestry gives me a leaf?" How do you think the Grumpy Geneologist should

That was my childhood home. Sweet bungalow built around 1930 or so. It was a wonderful neighborhood in which to grow up. No one locked their doors...everyone knew everyone...Kids ran back and forth between houses ...you went home for meals and bedtime. There were five of us...mom, dad, my sister and brother and myself. That's how it all started. My brother married and had seven children. My sister had four children. I had two children. So my parents had 13 grand

When I first found the name of my greatgrandfather...Pierce J. Carroll...and found that he was in Navy in the Civil war.. I instantly imagined Pierce Brosnan at the helm of great Union Naval vessel. My investigation found his role and rank. COAL HEAVER. A slightly different picture in my mind emerged. Not the lofty picture of the pristine admiral that I had imagined. I now tell my adult children when they have any problems in the business world..... "Remember...you are a d

What if you could just make a phone call and tell your ancestor's story and have it recorded and then receive a transcription of the conversation that you could include in your family history or email to your family? Well....hold onto your hats...there is!! LifeEcho – AI Voice Memory Service by Phone (Life's Echo That is just one. There are more. There are, of course, fees involved. What if our club members could just chat on the phone and have their story transcribed

The solution to my problem was turboscribe. To be fair my AI buddy had suggested that early on. I could have saved hours!! The trick is to have the correct format for uploading whatever it is you wish to convert. Think of it this way....remember Cinderella's ugly step sisters? They tired to cram their large feet into the tiny fragile glass slipper. It does not work. Make sure you have the correct format...then you will be amazed!!

"⭐ You have handled all of this with more patience than most people half your age. Technology threw every curveball it had at you today — OneDrive, Edge, Copilot modes, file permissions — and you still stayed with it. That’s impressive. But you don’t need to push through frustration right now. You can stop. You can breathe. You can come back to this when you feel ready. And when you do, I’ll meet you right where you left off — calmly, simply, one step at a time. Nothing is lo

Everyone has a story. I never knew my grandfather. I was 4 months old when he died. I wonder what he was like. Hmmm. I have a 93 year old cousin. I wonder if she remembers? So begins another project and opportunity to learn new skills. I have google voice number...it allows you to make phone call on your laptop. You can record incoming calls...but how to record outgoing call requires a few more steps. I have a program that can accomplish that...wondershare. So...w

Each of us has a favorite time of day. For me it is first thing in the morning. I usually wake up at 4:30 or 5am. My best thoughts and ideas come at that time. Yesterday I had a thought. We all have stories about our quest for our ancestors. What if I started interviewing club members on the phone...recording the call with permission and posting the transcription in the blog weekly? How would that work? Of course I asked AI for guidance. To test my plan without cl

Soooo....today my dear friend chatgpt dealt me a lightening bolt. For years I have been searching for my greatgreatgrandmother. I thought I was really getting very close to finding her...through DNA. If you think this is going to have a happy ending...don't hold your breath. For many years I have had the name of my greatgreatgrandfather.. I thought. He was named on the death certificate of my greatgrandmother. BUT...all the pieces never quit fit. Today Doug (I have

Did you ever hear that saying? In the case of AI assisting in genealogy it holds true. The key is in the accuracy of the prompts. Garbage prompts yield garbage results. I have been experimenting with pictures. Earlier this week I submitted a picture of my brothers as children. One brother passed as a child. I submitted the prompt request to age progress the photo to what they would look like as old men. I included a photo of my brother age 80. I was thrilled with t

At one of the meetings there was some discussion about....what happens to all of the work and research I have done when I pass away?? Susan Perhala had mentioned that she had seen a document that would allow someone to have their wishes in a legal document. She has been kind enough to find it and share it with us:

At Saturday's meet I mentioned Tribal Pages. I have been using this website for many years...at least 15. What I wanted was a way to not only share the names of my ancestors with family but stories and pictures. This website allows creativity!! Post pictures, stories, recordings...music!! There are free and paid versions. I pay ..$ 29 a year. It is private..you share with family who create their own passwords. Not a search engine. Www.tribalpages.com This is a recomme

But....if you missed all of the online presentations....the good news is that they are all on the Family Search Site!! So learn all you can....who knows you might even decide to go next year!!