One of the questions I often hear is, “How are you using AI in your genealogy research?”
The answer is that I don’t use AI to replace research. Instead, I use it to help share the stories that emerge after the research is complete.
Recently, I experimented with two different AI tools using the same RootsMagic narrative report for my 2nd great-grandmother, Julia Harding Hutchinson (1840–1892). Although both projects began with the same documented facts, they produced two very different ways of telling her story.
A Song: Julia on the Prairie
The first project became a song.
After completing Julia’s biography, I asked ChatGPT to transform her life story into song lyrics. Those lyrics followed her journey from New Brunswick, Canada, to Iowa, where she married Albert Hutchinson, through the difficult Civil War years while Albert served in the 1st Iowa Cavalry, and finally to Kansas.
I then used Suno.com to create a gentle Americana folk ballad inspired by music of the late nineteenth century.
The result was “Julia on the Prairie,” a song that celebrates her life, family, and legacy.
A Different Perspective: Julia’s Story Through the Records
The second project used the very same RootsMagic narrative report, but this time I uploaded it to Google NotebookLM.
Instead of creating music, NotebookLM generated an video overview that explored Julia’s life from a historian’s perspective.
One of the observations I found particularly interesting was its discussion of the records—or more accurately, the lack of records.
Unlike her husband Albert, whose Civil War service generated military records, pension files, and numerous documents, Julia appears primarily in census records, marriage records, and as the mother of her children. Her daily work, sacrifices, and contributions are largely invisible in the historical record.
NotebookLM does an excellent job explaining how common this is for nineteenth-century women and reminds us that the absence of records does not mean the absence of influence.
That perspective adds another dimension to Julia’s story and helps us appreciate both what we know—and what history failed to record.
Two Stories from the Same Research
What fascinates me is that both videos were created from exactly the same genealogical research.
The facts never changed.
Instead, the AI tools emphasized different aspects of Julia’s life.
The song focuses on the emotional journey of a wife, mother, and pioneer.
The NotebookLM overview focuses on the historical context and the challenges genealogists face when reconstructing the lives of women who left behind relatively few records.
Together they paint a richer picture than either could alone.
AI Doesn’t Replace Research
These projects also illustrate something I believe strongly:
AI works best after careful genealogical research has been completed.
The foundation for both videos was a RootsMagic narrative report built from census records, marriage records, land records, military records, and other documented sources. AI simply helped transform that research into formats that are easier to share with family members and others who may never read a traditional narrative report.
Bringing Family Stories to Life
One of my goals for Heartland Genealogy is to find new ways to preserve and share family history.
Some readers enjoy reading biographies.
Others prefer listening to stories.
Still others connect through music.
If AI tools can help descendants discover the lives of ancestors like Julia Harding Hutchinson, then I believe they have earned a place in the genealogist’s toolbox—not as researchers, but as storytellers.
I’d love to know which presentation you prefer.
Did Julia’s story speak to you more through music or through historical narration?