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.

The Daughters of Masons

The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls

Elizabeth, New Jersey Assembly Number 19

May 26, 1972

In the picture: Loretta Bowman, Beth Sue Durning, Hazel Hutmaker, Marion Lutter, Diane Hutmaker, Mary Beth Phillips, Jean Hanna, Helen Hoens, Robin Hanna, "Willy," Eileen Derry, Gail Yeats. (There are more people than names.)

Membership in Rainbow Girls was open to girls and young women whose fathers were Masons.

1940 High School Graduation

An admission ticket to a graduation ceremony was among family pictures I received recently.

The small red stub was for entrance to the commencement exercises of Central Commercial and Technical High School on June 19, 1940. The event was held at South Side High School. Both these schools were in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.

Whose graduation was this?

My first guess was my paternal grandmother, Beulah Bernice Cook (1921-1940). She was the right age and her family lived in Newark in the 1940 census.

Yearbooks for Newark are online at Archive.org.

Cog 'N' Pen, the yearbook of the graduating class of 1940, features Beulah!

Photograph of graduating senior Beulah Cook
Central Commercial and Technical High School

The school as it appeared in 1940

The building that housed this high school still stands, though it is now part of the campus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. It sits on Summit Street and Dr Martin Luther King, Jr Boulevard (formerly High Street) between Warren Street and New Street.

Modern day aerial view of campus buildings
New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey
Google Maps

Central High School was constructed around 1910 and 1911. These pictures are also available on Archive.org. Eberhardt Hall is visible in the background with its eyebrow dormers. Eberhardt Hall still stands today. It was constructed in the 1850s to house the Newark Orphan Asylum.

Construction of Central High School on Summit Street

In Newark today there is a school called Central High School that credits its descent from the Central High School founded in 1911. 

Picture of Clarence E Winterton, Produce Merchant

I snagged a great picture from eBay. It's a sepia tone photograph of eleven men standing in front of a structure labeled "Clarence E Winterton" with a sign "Philadelphia Poultry." "Papa" and an arrow are drawn underneath one of the men. The number "95" is on two of the posts. This was probably 95 Park Place in New York City.

The picture (not including mat) measures 4 1/4 " by 5 1/2 "

On the reverse is written, "First place he worked" and the photographer's information, J Watson.

"First place he worked"
J Watson, photographer. ?05 Bowery, NY

Clarence E Winterton (1860-1921) was was an older brother of my great great grandfather, William Walling Winterton (1863-1932). They were raised in Matawan and Keyport in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

I inherited many photos from this branch of my family, though most of the people in these photos remain unidentified. I'm not sure which of the photos, if any, that I have in my possession feature Clarence E Winterton. I tentatively identified William Winterton in some of these photos. 

Probably William Walling Winterton (1863-1932)
Brother of Clarence E Winterton

At MyHeritage, the picture was sharpened.

Image sharpened by MyHeritage

MyHeritage also colorized the photo. This is amazing. Life is breathed into sepia when colorized. The numbers on the pillars are more prominent. Light from above is visible within the structure on the right behind the men.

Image colorized by MyHeritage

MyHeritage can also recognize faces and enhance them. This picture was not crisp to begin with. Only one figure was recognized as a face, the man labeled "Papa."

Face of "Papa" reimagined by MyHeritage

The colorized picture of William Winterton revealed lush greens and a stored firewood.

 

Colorized photograph of William Walling Winterton

The New York City city directories list Clarence and his helpers at 95 Park Place.

City directory for the City of New York
1889-1890
William Winterton, trucks, was my great great grandfather.

In 1881 Clarence Winterton married Elizabeth R Lufburrow (1862-1940). They had three children:

-Clyde Ellsworth Winterton (1883-1936), married Blanche Johnson (1883-1966) and Marilena Drake (1887-1966).

-Vera Adele Winterton (1886-1964), married Frank Pierson Sproul (1884-1936).

-Roy Lufburrow Winterton (1889-1960), married Lillie Pedee (1894-1965).

 

Clarence relocated to New York City in the late 1880s- the youngest child was born there in 1889. (Though his name at birth was Orlie Vincent and not Roy.) By 1900, Clarence had relocated to Brooklyn.

1900 federal census 594 Monroe Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.
Clarence Winterton, produce merchant.
Lizzie R, wife.
(Children on next page.)

 

 

 

 

By 1910, Clarence had relocated back to Keyport.

How did Clarence commute? By boat or train, I would imagine. 

Current map of showing locations of Keyport, New Jersey
and 95 Park Place, New York City

 

I visited Keyport Harbor for July 4th. You can see Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan from the water in Keyport. This building stands a few hundred feet from 95 Park Place.  

Me at Keyport on July 4, 2025.
The buildings of lower Manhattan can be seen by the rim of my hat.
This is where Clarence and William Winterton commuted
in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Who is the business partner, Frank Wardell?

I have not seen him in any records so far related to Wintertons. He might be the Franklin Wardell buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1945. In 1886 in Clintondale, Ulster County, New York Frank married Evva Carpenter (1865-1955). He must have commuted south to the produce store.

School Picture 1910s

Picture of three adult women and 36 children.
The picture measures 4 3/4 by 6 3/4 inches.

 

I inherited this picture from my paternal aunt. This appears to be a class picture of children below the age of ten. Three women are poised in the rear row.

The back of the picture is stamped "Heron & Co. Photographers, P. O. Box 958, Orange, N. J." This was located in Essex County, New Jersey.

Based on the hairstyles, I estimated that this picture was taken in the 1910s. The girls' hair was short with big floppy bows. The women's hair was long and piled atop their heads. Their blouses were not form-fitting.

Colorizing the photo at MyHeritage brought the people to life.

MyHeritage estimated that the photo was taken around 1915. That is amazing!

I don't know who these people are. My paternal grandparents were born in 1915 and 1921, so they (and their younger siblings) are not in this picture.

Jay Te Winburn, Photographer (1889-1965)

A mural in a bank in Montclair, New Jersey caught my eye. It depicts a parade on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair.

From a storefront hung a sign for Jay Te Winburn, Portrait Photographer.

Fourteen years ago I researched this person. I inherited a photo taken by him.

Imprint of photographer Jay Te Winburn

I do not know the subject of the portrait. She appears to be a young woman with short, waved hair, wearing pearls. Perhaps the time period was the 1920s.

Current view of area depicted in mural

Based on addresses used by National Grocery Company and Winburn's studio, I would place this view from Bloomfield Avenue looking west at Maple Place.

Since writing the original article, the burial place of Jay Te Winburn was entered on Find A Grave. He died in 1965 and was buried in Flushing Cemetery in Queens, New York.

What became of Sarah Scherer?

Sarah Scherer, her first husband, William Schoenberg, and their seven children were all together in the 1925 New York State Census in Brooklyn. Sarah was 44 years old, or born about 1881. William was 43 years old, or born about 1882. The children ranged in age from twelve to 22.

1925 New York State Census
178 Throop Avenue, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

By 1930, Sarah was a "widow," though the disposition of William has not been determined as of this writing. What became of her after the 1930 census was a mystery until the estate papers of Regina Phillips popped up on FamilySearch thanks to their full text search.

The names of Sarah's children appeared in accountings. Sarah's name was misspelled.

Estate of Regina Phillips, 1932, late of Queens County, New York

Sarah was described as Regina's niece. I guess that the connection is through Sarah's mother, Rosa Rubenstein (1853-1924), but the specific relationship is not clear as of this writing.

Parents and spouse of Regina Rubinsons (1870-1932)

Parents and maternal grandparents of Sarah Scherer (1881-19xx)

In 1890 in Manhattan, New York, Regina Rubinsons married Samuel Phillips (1870-1929). Her parents were Elias Rubinsons and Fany Goldberger.

Marriage certificate of Samuel Phillips and Regina Rubinsons
July 8, 1890 in Manhattan, New York.
Groom's parents- Israel Phillips and Amali Hönig.
Bride's parents- Elias Rubinsons and Fany Goldberger.

Samuel Phillips predeceased his wife in 1929. They had no surviving issue when Regina died in 1932.

Death certificate of Regina Phillips
died May 27, 1932 in Manhattan, New York.
Father- Edward Robinson. Mother- Dora Chonowksy.

The names of Regina's parents had morphed from Elias Rubinsons to Edward Robinson and from Fany Goldberger to Dora Chonowsky.

Regina's estate documents mention a change in Sarah's surname from Schoenberg to Koppel, along with the address 518 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. Koppel was the married name of Sarah's youngest daughter, Beatrice.

No marriage record for Sarah Scherer or Schoenberg to Mr Koppel was found in New York City, New York State, or New Jersey.

Using FamilySearch's search text function, Sarah's application for naturalization popped up. She filed twice- once under the name Sarah Koppel in 1942 and again under the name Sarah Mendlinger in 1946.

Declaration of Intention of Sarah Koppel
signed February 4, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York.

Declaration of Intention of Sarah Mendlinger
signed November 21, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York.

These documents are great because she provides a birthdate and place (April 15, 1881 in Sobolj, Megye, Hungary), date of immigration, marriages, and children. These are not necessarily accurate.

Plus we get a picture of Sarah!

Picture of Sarah Scherer attached to her 1942 Declaration of Intention

On the 1942 petition, she wrote that she married Jacob Koppel on June 15, 1931 in Brooklyn. I don't see this in the index of marriages.

On October 10, 1931, Sarah's youngest daughter, Bertha (called Beatrice in the naturalization document), married Bernard E Koppel, the son of Jacob Koppel and Lizzie Friedman.

Marriage certificate of Bernard E Koppel and Bertha Schoenberg
October 10, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York.
Groom's parents- Jacob Koppel and Lizzie Friedman.
Bride's parents- W [Aaron?] and Sarah Scherer.

Bertha, later called Beatrice, was born August 25, 1913 in Jersey City. The surname was misspelled "Schomberg" on the birth certificate.

Birth certificate of Bertha Schomberg
August 25, 1913 in West New York, Hudson County, New Jersey.
Father- William Schomberg. Mother- Sara Scherer.

On October 28, 1931, a correction was submitted to change the surname from Schomberg to Schoenberg. Four months earlier, mother Sarah had supposedly married Jacob Koppel. Yet she signed "Sarah Schoenberg" and not "Sarah Koppel" on the request for the correction.

Correction to birth certificate of Bertha Schomberg to Schoenberg
signed October 28, 1931.

A record does exist for Sarah's marriage in 1943 to Kopel Mendlinger. (Not the same person as Jacob Koppel.)

Marriage license of Kopel Mendlinger and Sarah Koppel
married January 10, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York.

Although marriages for Brooklyn in 1943 are supposedly all scanned and available online, this one was not. I ordered it through the mail. Cost was $18 and turn-around time was two months.

Available marriage records supposedly online at
New York City Department of Records and Information Services

Sarah's place of birth was Tisa Dop, Hungary. This is Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary.

Map of Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary on map of Europe 2025.

Sarah listed one prior marriage to Jacob Koppel. She omitted her first marriage to William Schoenberg. How did that marriage end? Did William die? Disappear? Divorce?

Sarah's marriage history as reported on her license to marry 1943

What became of Sarah Scherer? I do not know. I did not find a death record for her in New York City. 

Notes about the birth records of the children as listed on Sarah's petitions for naturalization:

Sarah had seven children that I discovered. The first, Dora (1903-1934), was deceased by the time of Sarah's petitions, which only asked about living children.

The second child was born February 2, 1905 in Manhattan. "Lena" was originally the name, but "Sadie" was written in read above the crossed out Lena. This is probably for Sadie, but where is Lena's birth certificate? Lena was child number 3.

Birth certificate of Lena [crossed out] Sadie Schönberg
born February 2, 1905 in Manhattan, New York.
Father- William Schönberg. Mother- Sarah Scherer.

I did not find a birth record for Abraham, child number 4. He could not not have been born on January 16, 1909 because the fifth child, Sam, was born July 29, 1909.

Birth certificate of Sam Schomberg born July 29, 1909
in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey.
Father- William Schomberg. Mother- Sarra Scherer.

Catherine, child number 6, was born February 21, 1911 in Jersey City, not February 2, 1912.