NotebookLM - a new AI tool for Genealogists?

I know it has been a while since I last posted here. I have only done three posts since we moved in June of last year. During that time we have been working on settling in, building our social network in the new area, starting a genealogy club for our community, doing research for clients, and preparing for RootsTech. This year I am doing three in-person talks at RootsTech. Unlike last year, these talks will not be available online.

1. Thursday, March 5 at 3:00pm MST in Room 255 BC - Discovering German Church Records
2. Friday, March 6 at 1:30pm MST in Room 150 - Location, Location, Location - Tracking family history through land records
3. Saturday, March 7 at 8:00am in Room 255 BC - Solving Family Mysteries with the FAN Method and Census Clues

In addition to my presentations, I will be doing my usual media posts during the event as well as manning The Family History Guide's booth and probably helping out at the International Institute for Genealogical Studies booth. So it will be a busy couple of days.

I am also now a regular panel member for Dear Myrtle's Mondays with Myrt. Archived sessions can be viewed on Dear Myrtle's YouTube page. New episodes will be livestreamed on Mondays at 12:00pm Eastern.

Now, let's get to the topic of this blog post. NotebookLM is a fairly new AI website. It is part of the Google suite of products and does some unique things compared to the other AI engines. I am just now starting to explore the possibilities of how NotebookLM can be used to enhance my family history research. So, let me provide an example of how I used it today.

Back in May 2016, I wrote a biography about Leo Kohnen on my other blog site OurAncestories. This page contains biographies about ancestors I have researched. Like this blog, it isn't updated as often as it should be, but it contains some interesting stories. One of those articles is about Leo Herman Kohnen, a mystery family member. The blog post explains how I eventually discovered how he was connected to my Westerheide family through various marriages and complicated research. This story will be presented at RootsTech during my Saturday session, so if you are at RootsTech stop by and listen in for the story of how FAN research and incorrect census information led to the eventual discovery of this connection. If you won't be at RootsTech you can read the original blog post to fast forward to the ending. But if you are interested in how AI can help tell the story, just stick around till the end here and you will see what NotebookLM has to say about the subject.

How does NotebookLM work?

NotebookLM is pretty simple to use. I uploaded the text from my blog post about Leo Kohnen and NotebookLM read the information and produced a fairly short summary of the information:

 

"The provided text chronicles a genealogical investigation into the identity of Leo Herman Kohnen and his complex family connections. By utilizing the FAN research method and scrutinizing various census records, the author corrects historical errors regarding a "mystery person" originally misidentified as George Homan. The narrative reveals that Leo was the grandson of Elisabeth Holthaus, who married Frank Westerheide after the death of her first husband. This research clarifies that the Westerheide family tree was complicated by several marriages and frequent surname misspellings in official documents. Ultimately, the source maps out the "lost link" between the Kohnen, Langenkamp, and Westerheide lineages through a detailed analysis of 19th-century records."

After the summary, NotebookLM provided a couple prompts to build upon. In this case, the prompts were:

• How did inaccurate census indexing complicate the research of Frank Westerheide's family history?
• How was the identity of Leo Kohnen linked to his biological parents?
• In what ways did remarriages create complex connections between the Kohnen and Westerheide families?

NotebookLM has a set of tools in its Studio which help bring stories to life. These tools are easy to use, just click on the tool and wait for it to produce the output. Some take longer than others, especially the Audio and Video tools.

Studio tools in NotebookLM.

 
Mind Map

One of the tools is Mind Map. Mind mapping provides a flowchart of the connections from the document that was provided. The tool was able to define family relationships, research methods, and identify the mystery in this research problem. 

NotebookLM Mind Map

Each of the bubbles can be expanded by clicking on the arrows or can be further explored by clicking on the bubble itself. One example of how the Mind Map is further explained comes from the Key Records bubble. Clicking on that bubble produced the following text:

"In the provided sources, marriage records serve as a critical tool for bridging gaps and verifying relationships that are often obscured by errors or omissions in other documents. While census records and obituaries provide the initial clues, marriage records are specifically utilized to reveal parental lineages and confirm family connections that might otherwise remain "mystery" links.

Within the larger context of key genealogical records, marriage records function in the following ways:

• Identifying Parental Links: When an obituary for Leo Kohnen failed to include his parents' names, the researcher turned to the marriage record of his sister, Mary Frances Kohnen. This specific record listed her parents as Ben Kohnen and Elizabeth Langenkamp, allowing the researcher to definitively link Leo to his biological parents.
• Navigating Re-marriages and Blended Families: Census records often provide ambiguous data regarding how long a couple has been married or how many children a woman has had. For instance, the 1910 census for Frank and Elisabeth Westerheide used the code "M2," indicating they had both been married twice. To understand the family's "convoluted connections," the researcher sought out the marriage record for Elisabeth’s first marriage to John Heinrich Langenkamp in 1853. This record was the "lost link" needed to connect the Langenkamp and Westerheide branches of the family.
• Supplementing Other Vital Records: Marriage records are often used in tandem with death certificates and cemetery records. For example, a death certificate provided the maiden name "Holthouse" for Elisabeth Westerheide, which then directed the search for a marriage record under that name to confirm her previous spouse.
• Verifying Census Data: While census records are helpful, they are prone to indexing errors and misspellings, such as "Sisterhiden" or "Wisterhier". Marriage records provide a more stable secondary source to verify the identities of individuals who appear as "step-sons" or "grandsons" in census listings, such as the confusion surrounding whether Leo Kohnen was a grandson or a step-son.

Ultimately, the sources illustrate that while census records offer a "snapshot" of a household, marriage records are essential for establishing the legal and biological framework of a family across multiple generations."

This is a very detailed description of how the various records were used to explore the problem and come to a final solution.

Infographics

Infographics are a powerful tool used to illustrate complex ideas. 

NotebookLM Infographic

This infographic, while esthetically pleasing and full of details, does have a couple errors that need to be highlighted. First, in the upper right corner it states that Frank marries Elizabeth 2 (1978). This is about 100 years too late. It should be 1878. Second, in the lower right corner the "tree" has Frank Westerheide marrying Margaret Langenkamp and being the father of Leo Kohnen. Frank should be married to Elisabeth Holthouse. But generally, this infographic does a good job at telling the story in a visual way.

Audio Overview

The audio overview was fantastic. It produces a podcast quality story told by two narrators in a compelling way which draws you in and makes you want to listen to the end. The podcast is about 15 minutes long and it keeps your attention throughout the entire story. You can click on this link to listen to the audio overview.

Video Overview

NotebookLM can also produce videos from your stories. The videos are narrated by AI voices and images are AI produced. The video it created from my story was a little over 7 minutes long and was very interesting. You can see it below. If this doesn't work, you can click on this link to view it on my YouTube channel.

Slide Deck

The slide deck was very impressive. I really liked the combination of images and text that it produced but it also has some small problems with spelling so you need to beware and not just use the slides as is. They may need some editing. I think I will use the slides as ideas for layout and design for future presentations.

NotebookLM Slide

Overall, I was very impressed by the capabilities of NotebookLM to provide engaging graphics and stories. These will be great ways to record your family history for future generations.