My Darling Little Rabbit

Marion with her father, Clifford Lutter.

My aunt Marion received the letter below from her father, Clifford Lutter (1915-1980). It is dated January 16, 1962. For context, Clifford was residing in the family home in Newark, New Jersey. His wife, Beulah Cook (1921-2003), and children were staying in Florida with Beulah's sister. This was not a vacation. The family eventually reunited in Newark. "Grandma" was Clifford's mother, Ethel Laurel Winterton (1891-1962). She died two weeks after this letter was written.

Howard is Marion's brother. He either did not go with his mother to Florida or had made his own way back to New Jersey.

Letter written from Clifford Lutter to his daughter, Marion

January 16, 1962

My Darling little Rabbitt

I was very thrilled to get your nice letter. I am feeling quite well. I have a slight cold, which makes me cough a little bit, but other than that it doesn’t bother me. I am glad to hear that you are having a lot of fun.

I am sure that you are making some nice new friends, and that they all like you.

Grandma is not feeling well. She is very sick. I told her that you had gone on a vacation trip, so she said that she hopes you are enjoying yourself.

Howard and I miss you and Mommy and the boys very much. It is very quiet here now. We do things to keep busy. We cook our supper, and do the dishes. Howard washes his clothes and irons them.

He is also working in the Twin Store, up on Broadway. He gets ten dollars a week. Isn’t that a lot of money?

There was a little bird sitting on the window sill this morning. I asked him what he wanted, and he said that he was looking for you. I told him that you had taken a vacation trip, so he said he would see you when you came back. He said to tell you that Albert was asking about you. I gave him some bird-seed and he flew away with them.

Oceans of love

Daddy

Picture of Ethel Laurel "Laura" Winterton and her son, Clifford Lutter.
Ivy Haven Nursing Home, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.

Revolutionary War Resources in New Jersey

On Saturday, April 18, 2026 I attended an all-day presentation entitled "Revolutionary Roots" hosted by the Monmouth County Genealogy Society. The location was at the Visitor Center at what is now Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Freehold and Manalapan, Monmouth County, New Jersey.

The Battle of Monmouth was fought during the Revolutionary War on June 28, 1778.  Friends of the Battlefield reenact annually.

On this field in what was known as Monmouth Courthouse
many people died in 1778 fighting over the newly formed country called
The United States of America

Here are my takeaways from the presenters:

1. New Jersey's inhabitants were not overwhelmingly in support of one side or the other. From a research standpoint, this means that you need to check records of those who supported the British and those who supported the newly formed United States. Records of Loyalists are located across the pond in The United Kingdom's National Archives, Canada, as well as the United States. In New Jersey, those who sided with the crown were called "volunteers;" Stryker compiled their information into a book.

2. Monmouth County maintains digital archives. Below is an example of a page of confiscations on their website. A trial would have preceded this order to confiscate.

Order to confiscate property of Thomas Thorn for aligning with the King of Great Britain
January 6, 1779

3. New Jersey kept created its own records about activities during the Revolutionary War. 

a. While federal pensions became available to certain soldiers in 1818, New Jersey granted its own pensions to soldiers in some circumstances. These were official Acts and are recorded with the rest of the Acts (Laws) of the legislative term.

The New Jersey State Legislature could enact an Act
to provide a pension to a veteran of the Revolutionary War

b. New Jersey Council of Safety Records 1776-1778 are digitized online at this site on the New Jersey State Archives website. They include testimonials of those aligned with the United States testifying against Loyalists.

In the papers included below, William Imlay of Upper Freehold, Monmouth County, testified on April 12, 1777 that two individuals, Jesse Woodward and Richard Robins, took his property for use in the British service.

William Imlay's deposition against Jesse Woodward.

William Imlay's deposition against Richard Robins.

c. For those whose property was damaged, lost, or stolen, a claim could be submitted. You can search this collection on the Archives' website, but copies of claims are $5 by mail. The claims were not paid.

Search page of Revolutionary War Damage Claims
New Jersey State Archives
You can select a file to receive a paper copy of the contents.

d. Taxes were paid during the War. You can view them at the Archives' website. The names of towns might seem unfamiliar and some counties might appear missing, but this is because these are from the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Paying taxes during the Revolutionary War could qualify that person as a Patriot, making a descendant eligible for membership in Daughters of the American Revolution or Sons of the American Revolution.

Tax ratables in Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey for the year 1779.
Page 1.

Thank you to all of the participants and presenters who made this educational experience possible.

Using ChatGPT for Genealogy

I've been using ChatGPT to aid various aspects of genealogical research and writing. I'm learning as I go and thought I'd share some observations at this juncture.

I subscribe to the Plus Plan, which is $20 per month. There is a free version and a more expensive Pro Plan. I do not have these other plans, so I do not know what the results would be with the free or Pro plan.

My ChatGPT is geared towards me and what I have told it I am seeking. The same question that you pose within your profile would probably yield different results in mine.

Technical Help with Blogging Platform

Since August 2010 I have been using the Blogspot platform. One of the purposes of writing here is to attract people researching the same historical figures. Google no longer indexes every page, causing entire articles on particular people to be hidden from search results. In addition, I have been unable to alter information in tabs, delete them, or add new ones.

I have not found a solution through ChatGPT. It suggested adding headers through the formatting options. This does not seem to help.

I am exploring publishing on other platforms.

Review of Writing

ChatGPT can review my writing and offer suggestions about flow, grammar, and overall impact. I have inquired about specific sentences that sound awkward; ChatGPT offers rewording that is clearer.

I clarify that the purpose of the writing is genealogical. This is important for the tone. Writing on this genealogical blog is vastly different from business or legal writing. You need to inform ChatGPT about the goal of your particular piece of writing.

Revising Pictures

MyHeritage began offering photo revisions years ago.

ChatGPT can also revise pictures. I asked it to fix older pictures. ChatGPT took liberties with the pictures, adding items and features that were not present.

Original picture of Ethel Laurel Winterton (1891-1962)
Probably her high school graduation circa 1909

Colorized and fixed by MyHeritage

Colorized and fixed by ChatGPT
The blemishes were erased.
Note that the diploma in her hand was changed to a rose!

Answering Genealogical Questions

The continued lure of researching past people lies in figuring out their connections, locations, and dates.

ChatGPT cannot find all the documents about someone, analyze them, and spit out the answers.

ChatGPT can find sources on the internet and offer general genealogical rules.

Below is the inquiry I made for Ruben Bishop who died in Morris County, New Jersey in 1829. ChatGPT found the index of death notices online, which connected Ruben to Connecticut.

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Me: genealogy research question. Ruben Bishop died in Morris County New Jersey in 1829. His will named brothers Calvin, Luther, Miles, and Abner. I do not have their ages or places of residence. Presumably they died after Ruben died in 1829. Are there any mentions of these people on the internet?

ChatGPT: Short answer: very little shows up online (as of now) for those specific brothers by name, but there are a couple of useful clues and leads—including confirmation of your Ruben and context that may help you push further.

What does show up for Ruben Bishop

One solid hit:

• An early Morris County death notice index includes:
  “Bishop, Reuben (Woodbury, CT)… Sept. 11, 1829… Doctor… of Bottle Hill.”

This is important because it:

• Confirms death in 1829 (matching your will)
• Ties him to Bottle Hill (now Madison, Morris County)
• Suggests he was originally from Woodbury, Connecticut

👉 That Connecticut connection is a big clue—it suggests the brothers (Calvin, Luther, Miles, Abner) may not have remained in Morris County or may appear in Connecticut-origin families.

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Citations

I find genealogical citations challenging. You should provide the title of the document, database, film number if applicable, custodian, and information about online location. It's a layered approach.

The guide for citing genealogical sources is Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

The articles here on this blog are not formal writings for publication in journals, so I try to not delay publication here caused by fixation on proper citation format.

I've been asking ChatGPT for citations specific for use in genealogy, as opposed to Chicago, MLA, or APA. I provide an online link if available. ChatGPT looks at the webpage and returns suggested citations.

Creating Family Tree Diagrams

I need family trees to illustrate the relations among the people I write about. Sometimes I screenshot from Ancestry or Family Tree Maker. Often this is insufficient to show all the people needed to illustrate a point. I have created my own tree diagrams in Microsoft Paint. Now I use Canva. This is time consuming.

Family tree diagram created by me in Canva

I asked ChatGPT to create a family tree diagram of the children of Jonas Long and Elizabeth Merrell. I typed everyone's names and dates. I asked for and received revisions. This is pretty good for a few minutes of work on my end.

Family tree diagram created by ChatGPT

Creating Maps

I asked ChatGPT to create a map of three towns in New Jersey. The Plainfields share borders, but lie in three different counties. I wanted a map that clearly showed these three towns. The map created by ChatGPT was inaccurate.

Map of the Plainfields in New Jersey
Map on the left from New Jersey Department of Transportation
Map on the right from ChatGPT

Handwriting

ChatGPT can transcribe handwritten documents. Wow!

Difficult words might be revealed.

It's not perfect.

ChatGPT's transcription of the above portion of this document:

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This Deponent further saith that he saw the said
Woodward at [Aikens?]    on the Evening of the same Day
where he heard him boast that he had disarmed
sixteen or seventeen of the Rebels — and farther the
Deponent saith not.

[signed] William Imlay

Sworn in Council of
Safety 12 Janry 1777
Before me —

Wm Livingston Prest.

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I informed ChatGPT of errors.

Me: "Aikens" is "Trenton"

ChatGPT: Thank you — that reading fits the handwriting and the context much better. Here is the corrected portion:

This Deponent further saith that he saw the said
Woodward at Trenton on the Evening of the same Day
where he heard him boast that he had disarmed
sixteen or seventeen of the Rebels — and farther the
Deponent saith not.

This is an interesting Revolutionary War-era deposition. The reference to General Howe is almost certainly William Howe, commander of British forces during the New Jersey campaign.

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Me: "with the enemy on" is the phrase inserted between lines

ChatGPT: Yes — that insertion makes the sentence read much more naturally. The corrected passage would be:

This Deponent further saith that he saw the said
Woodward at Trenton with the enemy on the Evening of the same Day
where he heard him boast that he had disarmed
sixteen or seventeen of the Rebels — and farther the
Deponent saith not.

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Me: The month is April, not January

ChatGPT: Good catch. The attestation at the bottom should read:

Sworn in Council of
Safety 12 April 1777
Before me —

Wm Livingston Prest.

William Livingston was serving as president of the New Jersey Council of Safety at the time.

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Translations

ChatGPT can translate from one language to another.

I uploaded the death notice for Charles Loihle (1822-1891). The print is a bit smudged and is difficult to read for English speakers because the typeface is German Fraktur. This German notice appeared in the New Jersey Deutsche Zeitung, while an English notice appeared in the Newark Evening News.

Death notice of Charles Loihle.
December 11, 1891.
New Jersey Deutsche Zeitung, Newark, New Jersey.
Jody's German transcription is in the upper left; Jody's English translation on the right.

ChatGPT and I went back and forth as we did with William Imlay's deposition from 1777. The mishaps were with names, which I knew because of my knowledge of this family, but ChatGPT did not.

The other miss was in the first line with the word "hiermit." This can be translated as "hereby," but the sentence is still lacking a verb in the second position. ChatGPT offered the word as "machen," meaning to make or to do in English. I asked about this discrepancy. ChatGPT offered that the phrase is actually "machen wir hiermit" or "geben wir hiermit," but this was shortened as was typically seen in German newspapers of the time.

To fully appreciate the information in these death notices, one would have to be familiar with German vocabulary, grammar, and newspaper print of 135 years ago. ChatGPT definitely helped with this.

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Me: The word on the first line is unclear to me. Instead of "machen," it could be "hiermit." What do you think?

ChatGPT: I think you are right. Looking closely at the first sentence, the wording is much more consistent with the standard German obituary formula:

„Verwandten und Freunden machen wir hiermit die traurige Nachricht …“

or more idiomatically:

„… geben wir hiermit die traurige Nachricht …“

The blurry word after “Freunden” does not really resemble machen in Fraktur. The visible letter shapes fit hiermit better — especially the tall initial h and the clustered middle letters.

So the opening likely reads:

Loihle.—Verwandten und Freunden machen wir hiermit die traurige Nachricht, daß unser geliebter Vater …

English:

“To relatives and friends we hereby announce the sad news that our beloved father …”

That is a very typical 19th-century German newspaper death notice formula.

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Conclusions

ChatGPT holds great potential as a resource for researchers seeking to locate records, organize research, translate languages, and create images. It is far from perfect and not a substitute for critical thinking.

I hope that this article gives you ideas to try with ChatGPT.