Have you ever found yourself scratching your head while trying to match the children named in an obituary to a family tree? That was exactly my situation while researching the descendants of Sarah Nafus and her husband Joshua Erwin. I was trying to sort out the family structure for their son, Daniel Samuel Erwin, and his wife, Maud (Hudson) Erwin.
According to FamilySearch, Daniel and Maud had 13 children—including two listed as William. However, Maud’s 1962 obituary only names 11 children, and one of those named is not included in the FamilySearch list. That discrepancy sent me down a rabbit hole of research.
I dug deeper and found obituaries for two sons who died before Maud—Oscar and Floyd, both passing in 1959. I also tracked down the obituary of Charles Erwin, who died in 2000, but is surprisingly absent from the FamilySearch list.
At this point, I turned to ChatGPT to help me sort out the confusion. Below was my prompt:
The following information is from four obituaries separated by a line. The first is for the mother, Maud who died in 1962. The next two are for sons, Oscar and Floyd who both died in 1959. The last is for Charles who died in 2000. Can you use these obituaries to compile a list of the children?
[I then included the full text of all four obituaries]
ChatGPT delivered a clear and organized response, reconciling the information and producing a consolidated list of 14 children—a number confirmed in Charles’s obituary. Here’s what it came up with:
Certainly! Here’s a transcription of the list of children for Maud Erwin as shown in the FamilySearch image:
Children (13):
- Floyd Erwin
1903–1959 • LCVQ-2WV- Oscar Erwin
1904–1959 • LCVQ-2FZ- Edmond Erwin
1908–1995 • K816-JZ1- Edna M. Erwin
1908–2003 • LCVQ-2GX- Goldie Loretta Erwin
1910–2007 • GCW7-VJ7- Cleora Erwin
1912–2010 • LCVQ-L9N- Delbert Erwin
1914–1996 • LCVQ-LH7- Emma Erwin
1916–2010 • LCVQ-L6J- Elsie Erwin
1918–2007 • G361-9MJ- George William Erwin
1921–1921 • G52H-7LQ- George Lycurgus Erwin Jr
1922–1978 • LKQG-9CP- Herschel Erwin
1924–2007 • LCVQ-G36- Opal Marie Erwin
1927–1991 • G361-212
Since my goal was to match this family to their FamilySearch profiles, I also shared a screenshot of the children listed in FamilySearch and asked ChatGPT to transcribe that list. Finally, I gave it a prompt asking it to reconcile the names from the obituaries with the FamilySearch entries, identifying which children appeared in both sources, who might be missing, and how they matched up.
Absolutely! Below is a reconciled list of Maud Erwin’s children combining the names found in the four obituaries (Maud, Oscar, Floyd, Charles) with the FamilySearch list you provided. I’ve included each child’s name as it appears in the obituaries, matched with the FamilySearch name and ID:
✅ Sons:
- Floyd Erwin
- 📜 Obituary: Floyd Erwin
- 📘 FamilySearch: Floyd Erwin • LCVQ-2WV
- Oscar Erwin
- 📜 Obituary: Oscar Erwin
- 📘 FamilySearch: Oscar Erwin • LCVQ-2FZ
- Edmond Erwin
- 📜 Obituary: Edmond / Edmund Erwin
- 📘 FamilySearch: Edmond Erwin • K816-JZ1
- Charles Erwin(aka Chuck)
- 📜 Obituary: Charles Eugene “Chuck” Erwin
- 📘 FamilySearch: Not explicitly listed in screenshot (possibly unlinked or not named Charles)
- Delbert Erwin
- 📜 Obituary: Delbert Erwin
- 📘 FamilySearch: Delbert Erwin • LCVQ-LH7
- George Erwin
- 📜 Obituary: George Erwin (North Bend, Empire)
- 📘 FamilySearch: George Lycurgus Erwin Jr • LKQG-9CP
- Herschel Erwin
- 📜 Obituary: Herschel Erwin
- 📘 FamilySearch: Herschel Erwin • LCVQ-G36
✅ Daughters:
- Edna Gleason
- 📜 Obituary: Mrs. Edna Gleason
- 📘 FamilySearch: Edna M. Erwin • LCVQ-2GX
- Goldie Frey
- 📜 Obituary: Mrs. Goldie Frey
- 📘 FamilySearch: Goldie Loretta Erwin • GCW7-VJ7
- Cleora Heinz
- 📜 Obituary: Mrs. Cleora Heinz
- 📘 FamilySearch: Cleora Erwin • LCVQ-L9N
- Emma Barney
- 📜 Obituary: Mrs. Emma Barney
- 📘 FamilySearch: Emma Erwin • LCVQ-L6J
- Elsie Bennett / Elsie Tison
- 📜 Obituary: Mrs. Elsie Bennett / Tison
- 📘 FamilySearch: Elsie Erwin • G361-9MJ
- Marie Swinney
- 📜 Obituary: Mrs. Marie Swinney
- 📘 FamilySearch: Likely Opal Marie Erwin • G361-212
🟨 Not Mentioned in Obituaries (Likely Died Young):
- George William Erwin
- 📘 FamilySearch: George William Erwin • G52H-7LQ
- ❌ Not mentioned in any obituary, suggesting he died in infancy (confirmed by birth/death year: 1921–1921)
🟨 Unmatched in FamilySearch Screenshot:
- Charles E. Erwin is missing from the FamilySearch list shown. Since his 2000 obituary confirms he was one of 14 children, he should be included in the tree. He may be:
- Unlinked in the family group
- Entered under a different name
- Missing from this cropped screenshot
Conclusion
What started as a simple question—how many children did Maud (Hudson) Erwin have?—turned into a fascinating case study in reconciling records across multiple sources. By comparing obituaries with FamilySearch data and using AI tools like ChatGPT to assist in organizing the information, I was able to piece together a more complete picture of the Erwin family.
Not only did this process help confirm the identities of all 14 children, but it also revealed gaps in the online family tree—like the missing profile for Charles Erwin, who is clearly named in his own obituary but not yet linked on FamilySearch.
This experience is a reminder that even when we rely on trusted platforms like FamilySearch, it’s essential to verify, cross-reference, and sometimes dig deeper to ensure accuracy. And with tools like ChatGPT to help us analyze and synthesize data, we can solve these puzzles more efficiently than ever.
Have you faced a similar challenge when comparing obituaries with online family trees? I’d love to hear how you approached it!