Clinton K. Wells Revisited
Earlier this week, I shared the 1932 probate file of my first cousin three times removed, Clinton K. Wells of Eaton County, Michigan. What began as a simple request to “transcribe” the PDF turned into multiple research outputs — a genealogical abstract, a Friday Find post, WikiTree research notes, and a properly formatted citation.
But I didn’t stop there.
Curious about how else I might present the information, I uploaded the same probate PDF into Google Notebook LM.
Turning a Probate File into Visual & Audio Content
Within Notebook LM, I asked for two things:
- An infographic summarizing the estate, heirs, land, and key dates
- An audio overview explaining the probate in narrative form
The infographic provided a clean visual summary of:
- Date of death (10 May 1932)
- Wife: Lydia A. Wells
- Daughter: Nellie M. (Wells) Barningham
- Land distributions in Kalamo and Vermontville Townships
- Estate value during the Great Depression
The audio overview transformed the legal language of the probate into an accessible explanation of what the document reveals about the Wells family structure and financial standing.
From Infographic + Audio to YouTube
Using the infographic as the visual component and the audio overview as narration, I created a short video and uploaded it to YouTube.
Instead of simply reading a document transcription, viewers can now:
- See the family structure visually
- Hear a summary of the estate
- Understand why this collateral line matters to my Wells research
It’s the same probate file — just presented in a different format.
Why This Matters
As genealogists, we often focus on collecting documents. But sharing those documents in multiple formats allows us to:
- Reach family members who may never read a probate file
- Preserve research in more than one medium
- Tell the story behind the legal paperwork
Clinton K. Wells was not my direct ancestor, but as the son of Benjamin Franklin Wells, grandson of Ozias Wells (my 3rd great grandfather), his probate file helps confirm and strengthen the Wells family structure in Eaton County, Michigan.
This video is another way of telling that story.
Watch the Video
If you’ve experimented with AI tools like ChatGPT or Google Notebook LM in your genealogy, I’d love to hear how you’re using them.
Sometimes all it takes is one probate file — and a willingness to explore what’s possible.