Using AI for Genealogy Research

Previously, 90% of the microfilmed data at FamilySearch was never indexed into a computer system. However, starting in 2025, FamilySearch began using AI in Full-Text Search which can read and search all the handwritten images in microfilms to find people in wills, deeds, court records, church records and more. To learn how, see FamilySearch Full-Text Search Help. (Hint: Be sure to read how to set Filters so you limit matches to your ancestor.)

How to Process Handwritten Records (Workflow for FamilySearch and Gemini)

Trick: When you find a handwritten image from a record book, FamilySearch tries to show its AI transcription, but the quality is often poor. To save time and ensure accuracy, follow this workflow:

  • Download the Image: Click the button with a down arrow above the document image(s) on FamilySearch to download to your PC.
  • Open Gemini AI: In your browser, go to https://gemini.google.com, a free and powerful AI tool.
  • Upload and Prompt: Start a chat, click the “+” button to upload your image(s), and provide a clear instruction.

Example: Deed Summary

By telling Gemini: “Transcribe the attached image of a handwritten deed for Samuel Wotring and write a summary of this document,” you can receive a concise and professional summary ideal for your records. Here is an example output:

Deed Summary: Samuel Wotring to Thomas King

  • Date of Deed: March 15, 1834
  • Date Recorded: September 26, 1836
  • Grantors (Sellers): Samuel Wotring and Rosena (his wife), of Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
  • Grantee (Buyer): Thomas King (Blacksmith), of Williams Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
  • Purchase Price: $1,100.00
  • Property Size: 30 acres and 16 perches (being part of an earlier tract of 34 acres and 69 perches)
  • Location: Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
  • Neighboring Borders & Landmarks Mentioned:
    • Road leading from Samuel Seider’s mill to Springtown
    • George Syphert’s (Sypher’s) lane and land
    • Land intended to be conveyed to Abraham Seider
    • Land of Jonas Yotter
    • Land intended to be conveyed to Henry Riegel
    • Christian Ruch’s line
    • Charles Stauffer’s land
  • Chain of Title / Prior Recitals:
    • April 26, 1819: Conrad Eichman and wife Margaret to Samuel Wotring (10 acres, 34 perches; Book E, Vol. 4, p. 92).
    • May 1, 1824: Abraham Reich and wife to Samuel Wotring (Book B, Vol. 6, p. 460).
    • January 27, 1826: Abraham Reich and wife Eve to Samuel Wotring (Book B, Vol. 6, p. 467).
    • August 14, 1832: Jacob Wotring and wife Sarah conveyed these tracts (totalling 34 acres, 69 perches) to Samuel Wotring.
  • Signatures & Witnesses:
    • Signed by Samuel Wotring and Rosena Wotring (by her mark X).
    • Witnessed by Joseph Weaver and Henry Riegel.
    • Acknowledged before Joseph Weaver, Justice of the Peace, on March 15, 1834.

Researching Locations

You can also use Gemini to explore the history of specific locations. For example, asking “When was Lowhill Township founded in Pennsylvania?” yields the following historical context:

Establishment: Lowhill Township was established on December 18, 1753, by order of the Northampton County Quarter Sessions Court following a petition by local settler Peter Derr.

  • Early Settlement: The earliest recorded land warrant in the area was granted to John Conrad Redd in 1743, with settlement largely driven by German immigrants throughout the mid-18th century.
  • County Realignment: Originally erected as part of Northampton County, Lowhill was transferred into Lehigh County upon that county’s formation in 1812.

Finding Surnames and Ancestors

Gemini can assist with deep research into specific family lines. For example, asking Gemini  “Where can I learn about the Wotring family in Northampton and Lehigh counties” reveals the following resources:

Published Genealogies & Family Histories

  • The Wotring-Woodring Family of Pennsylvania (1968) by Raymond M. Bell and Mabel G. Dihel: The definitive genealogy covering the Huguenot origins (Vautrin) in Alsace-Lorraine, their 1733 arrival, and descendants across Lehigh, Northampton, and surrounding counties.
  • History of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania (1914) by Charles Rhoads Roberts et al. (Volume II/III): Contains dedicated biographical and genealogical sketches of the early Abraham Wotring/Woodring lines, land transactions, and intermarriages with families like the Balliets, Schneiders, and Mickleys.
  • Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical Memoirs of the Lehigh Valley by John W. Jordan: Covers regional Woodring lineages and prominent descendants in the Northampton/Lehigh area.

Church & Cemetery Records

  • Egypt Reformed Church Records (Whitehall Township): Abraham Wotring was one of the founding pillars and a delegate to the Reformed Church Coetus in 1747. The Pennsylvania German Church Records (published by the Genealogical Publishing Company) contain extensive Wotring/Woodring baptisms, marriages, confirmations, and burials from Egypt Church.
  • Jordan Reformed Church & Unionville Church Records: Useful for 18th- and 19th-century branches who lived in North and South Whitehall, Heidelberg, and Lowhill townships.
  • Union and West End Cemetery (Allentown): Holds burials for many 19th-century descendants.

Historical Societies & Regional Archives

  • Lehigh County Historical Society / Heritage Museum (Allentown, PA): Holds extensive vertical family files, early tax assessment rolls, church transcription binders, and original county land warrants/patents.
  • Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society (Easton, PA): Houses pre-1812 county court, deed, and probate records from before Lehigh County was partitioned out of Northampton.
  • Pennsylvania State Archives (Harrisburg, PA): Houses the original land warrants and surveys for the 1738 Whitehall tract, along with Revolutionary War militia records where several Northampton County Wotrings served.

Online Digital Repositories

  • FamilySearch & Ancestry (Pennsylvania, U.S., Church and Town Records, 1669–2013): Digitized microfilms from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania covering Egypt, Zionsville, Jordan, and Allentown congregations.
  • Internet Archive & Google Books: Free full-text scans of 19th- and early 20th-century Lehigh Valley county histories and Pennsylvania Archives series (Volumes on Naturalizations, Militia, and Oaths of Allegiance).

Important: Use Gemini Notebooks

Major Hint: Instead of using individual Gemini chats, utilize Notebooks in Gemini. Create a dedicated Notebook (e.g., “Wotring Ancestors”) and upload your family history documents into it to “train” the AI. This allows Gemini to use everything you already know to find new patterns and information. Just ask Gemini “How do I create a notebook in Gemini to explore my Wotring family ancestors?” and it will tell you how to set it all up!

Then do your Wotring chats within a notebook, because Gemini will always remember every chat you’ve had about your family and find clues in your data that help it discover new data you didn’t have.

Example Gemini AI Genealogy Prompts

    • Old German Script / Fraktur / Latin Records:

      Translate and transcribe this 18th-century German church record. Transcribe the original German text line-by-line first, then provide a modern English translation. List the child’s name, birth date, baptism date, parents’ full names, and all baptismal sponsors/witnesses.

    • County Boundary & Jurisdiction Shift Check:

      My ancestor lived in [Township/Locality], [State] between [Start Year] and [End Year]. Provide a timeline of all county and township  jurisdictional changes affecting that exact location during that period, and list the specific courthouse repositories where records for each decade are currently housed.

    • Will & Probate Extraction:

      Extract every person mentioned in this handwritten will. For each person, list: full name, stated relationship to the testator, bequest received, and any executors, overseers, or witnesses named.

    • Handwritten Document:

      Transcribe the attached handwritten document verbatim. Preserve original spelling, abbreviations, punctuation, and capitalization exactly as written. If a word or name is uncertain or illegible, mark it as [unclear] or [illegible] rather than guessing. Assemble the attached images into one document.

    • Conflicting Data:

      I have conflicting birth dates and birthplaces for [Ancestor Name]: Document A states [Details], while Document B states [Details]. Compare both sources, evaluate the reliability of primary vs. secondary information for each, and generate three plausible research hypotheses to resolve the conflict.

    • Missing Information:

      I cannot find a death record or burial for [Ancestor Name], who disappeared from records after the [Year] census in [County, State]. Act as a professional genealogist and create a step-by-step research plan detailing alternate record groups (tax lists, orphan court dockets, poor house records, bounty land warrants, probate dockets) to prove death or migration.”

      • Case Study: Solving the Hamman Family Mystery

      After 30 years of unsuccessful research, AI finally solved a mystery regarding the 4th great-grandmother in the Lebanon County Beacher line. Her maiden name was Hamman. By uploading my records into Gemini, I asked Gemini to find her Hamman father. The AI discovered a Lebanon deed mentioning a Samuel Hamman, who turned out to be my 4th grandmother’s brother. When  Gemini studied him it discovered the family’s origins in Bucks County and my 4th great grandmother’s father, Baltzer Hamman!

      Case Study: Ships Records

      Gemini recognized that surnames of immigrants who arrived with my ancestor in 1751 on the ship Neptune matched surnames in German baptism records from the 1600s and 1700s who were my family’s godparents, revealing many of the families on the ship were my family’s relatives! That led to discovering many new generations in German records!