Ancestors and Algorithms: AI for Genealogy
Stuck on a family history brick wall? It's time to add the most powerful tool to your genealogy toolkit: Artificial Intelligence. Welcome to Ancestors and Algorithms, the definitive guide to revolutionizing your family tree research with AI.
Forget the hype and confusion. This isn't just another podcast about AI; this is your hands-on, step-by-step masterclass using AI. Each week, host and researcher Brian demystifies the technology and shows you exactly how to apply AI tools to find ancestors, analyze records, and solve your toughest genealogy puzzles.
We explore the incredible promise of AI while navigating its perils with an honest, practical approach. Learn to use AI as your personal research assistant—not a replacement for your own critical thinking.
Join us to learn how to:
- Break through brick walls using AI-driven analysis and data correlation.
- Transcribe old, hard-to-read documents, letters, and census records in minutes.
- Use ChatGPT, Gemini, and other Generative AI to draft biographies, summarize findings, and organize your research.
- Analyze DNA matches and historical records to uncover hidden family connections.
- Master prompts that get you accurate results and avoid AI "hallucinations."
- Discover the latest AI tech and digital tools for genealogists before anyone else.
Whether you're a beginner genealogist or a seasoned family historian, if you're ready to upgrade your research skills, this podcast is for you. Hit Follow now and turn AI into your ultimate secret weapon for uncovering your ancestry.
Episodes
43 episodes
Ep. 38: The Research Map - How AI Finds the Records You're Missing
Most genealogists search 4-6 databases and miss 70% of the records that exist for their ancestor. In this episode, we fix that.If you have ever searched Ancestry, FamilySearch, and a couple of other databases and still hit a wall, this e...
Ep. 37: What Grandma Never Said - Using AI to Uncover Hidden Ancestors in Census Records
Every family has a story that got quietly handed down across the generations. A birthplace. A number of children. One marriage, one life, neatly summarized. But what happens when you sit down with the actual records and the story doesn't match?...
Ep. 36: The Highland Line - Tracing Scottish Ancestors with AI
If you have Scottish Highland ancestry and your family tree hits a wall before 1855, this episode was made for you.In Episode 36 of Ancestors and Algorithms, Brian traces a MacLeod family from the Isle of Skye using three AI tools and a ...
Ep. 35: How AI Resolves Conflicting Evidence for Immigrant Ancestors
Three records. Three completely different birthplace answers. A German Lutheran church register from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania says New York. The 1880 US Federal Census says Germany. A Pennsylvania death certificate says Pennsylvania. All...
Ep. 34: How to Use Claude, Perplexity, ChatGPT & Gemini to Find a California Gold Rush Ancestor
Your ancestor went to California in 1849 as a forty-niner. The family says he struck it rich. But when you search the mining records for his name? Nothing. No claim. No miner's registration. No county tax list. He's a ghost.That is exact...
Ep. 33: FAN Club Method + AI - Find Ancestors Through Their Neighbors
If you have a brick wall ancestor with a common name; a William Harrison, a Mary Smith, a John Thomas this episode will change how you research forever.In Episode 33 of Ancestors and Algorithms, host Brian walks through a completely upgr...
Ep. 32: Tracing Irish Ancestors With AI
"All the Irish records burned." Every genealogist with Irish ancestry has heard this warning and most have believed it long enough to stop searching. In Episode 32 of Ancestors and Algorithms, host Brian shows why that warning is not the whole ...
Ep. 31: The Homestead Claim That Vanished | AI-Assisted Homestead and Land Record Research
What happens when your ancestor filed a homestead claim, worked the land for a decade, and then vanished from every surviving record?In Episode 31 of Ancestors and Algorithms, Brian follows the trail of a Volga German family who filed a ...
Ep. 30: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude & NotebookLM Meet the Genealogical Proof Standard
Every genealogist eventually asks the same questions. How do you know when you have enough evidence? How do you decide which record to trust when two documents disagree? How do you turn years of family history research into a conclusion that ho...
Ep. 29: How to Find Ancestors in Historical Newspapers Using AI
Have you ever searched for an ancestor in a newspaper database and found nothing, even though you were certain the information had to be there? You are not searching wrong. You are searching with the wrong strategy. And in this episode, that ch...
Ep. 28: Italian Ancestor Name Changes | Connected an Ellis Island Immigrant to His Naples Birth Record
He arrived at Ellis Island in 1912 as Salvatore Maranzano. He reappeared in the 1920 Census as Samuel Martin. Eight years of silence in between, and three years of searching by his granddaughter had turned up nothing.In Episode 28 of Anc...
Ep. 27: AI Tools for African American Genealogy and the 1870 Brick Wall
For millions of African American families, the search for ancestors hits a wall at 1870. Before that year, the federal census did not list enslaved people by name. They appeared only as ages and numbers in slave schedules, as property in estate...
Ep. 26: Genealogy + DNA | How to Use Artificial Intelligence Safely for DNA Research
If you have been sitting on a pile of DNA matches with no idea how to make sense of them, this episode was made for you.Episode 26 of Ancestors and Algorithms tackles one of the most requested topics since the show launched: can you actu...
Ep. 25:: Tracking Australian Ancestors Using AI | International Genealogy Research
Discover how to find Australian convict ancestors and track family across international borders using free AI tools. Perfect for genealogists researching British, Irish, Scottish, or Australian family history.What You'll Learn: Tr...
Ep. 24: How to Use Google NotebookLM for Family History Research | Free AI Tool Tutorial
Have you ever stared at a stack of genealogy documents knowing the answers are there, but unable to find them? That was me with a 47-page probate file from 1892. Three years I avoided it. Then I discovered Google NotebookLM, and twenty minutes ...
Ep. 23: Writing Ancestor Biographies with AI | Free ChatGPT Tutorial
Learn how to transform dry genealogy facts into compelling ancestor biographies using free AI tools. This complete AI writing tutorial teaches genealogists step-by-step how to use Claude, Perplexity, and ChatGPT to create family histories peopl...
Ep. 22: Solving Multiple Same-Name Ancestors in English Parish Records Using AI | UK Genealogy
Three John Smiths. Same parish. Same occupation. All married to women named Mary. Which one is YOUR ancestor?If you research English or UK family history, you've hit this genealogy brick wall: multiple people with identical names in the ...
Ep. 21: How AI Uncovered a Civil War Soldier's PTSD | Free Transcription & Research Tools for Military Genealogy
The Soldier Who Came Home Different: Using Free AI to Uncover PTSD in Civil War RecordsA Union soldier survived three years of brutal Civil War combat, witnessing battles where 30% of his regiment was killed or wounded. He came ho...
Ep. 20: How to Transcribe Handwritten Genealogy Documents with Free AI | Gemini 3 Tutorial
Struggling to read your ancestor's handwriting? Spent hours squinting at impossible cursive in Civil War pension files, wills, letters, or family Bible records? Google's new Gemini 3 AI achieves expert-level handwriting transcription at 1.67% e...
Ep. 19: AI Signature Analysis Uncovers Identity Theft - Polish Immigrant Mystery Case Study
Discover how AI signature analysis solved a 120-year-old genealogy mystery involving identity theft, mining deaths, and desperate immigrants in Pennsylvania coal country. This complete tutorial demonstrates using free AI tools—Gemini, Claude, P...
Ep. 18: Civil War Widow Denied | AI Uncovers Heartbreaking Pension Files
She had six children, a 33-year marriage, and witnesses who knew her as Mrs. Hoffman. So why couldn't this Civil War widow prove she was married?In this heartbreaking case study, we dive into a 173-page pension file that reveals h...
Ep. 17: FamilySearch Full-Text Search | Find Ancestors in 30 Seconds Using AI (2+ Billion Records Unlocked!)
What if you could search through 2+ BILLION genealogy records in 30 seconds instead of spending hours browsing page by page?In this complete tutorial episode, you'll discover FamilySearch Full-Text Search—a free AI-powered tool th...
Ep. 16: FAN Club Method | How to Extract Census Records with AI & Find Missing Relatives
Discover how to use the FAN Club method (Friends, Associates, Neighbors) combined with free AI tools to extract entire census neighborhoods into spreadsheets and find missing relatives. In this complete tutorial, I share exactly how I found my ...
Ep. 15: Tracing Your Immigrant Ancestor with AI | Death Certificate to German Church Records
What if you could trace your immigrant ancestor from their American death certificate all the way back to their exact birthplace in the old country—in just six hours? In this complete case study episode, I share exactly how I did it using four ...
Ep. 14: How to Use AI for DNA Genealogy | Analyze Genetic Matches & Break Through Brick Walls Safely
Staring at hundreds of DNA matches with no idea where to start? Wondering if AI can help solve your genealogy DNA mysteries? In this groundbreaking episode of Ancestors and Algorithms, discover how to safely combine DNA results with AI chatbots...