The Making Process: The Path From Your Records to a Finished Chronicle
Your making process is the path from the records you found to the chronicle your family reads. Documenting it as you work is the practice.
Latest
The Soundness Standard: When Family History Research on an Ancestor Is Finished
The Soundness Standard defines when research on one ancestor is finished: searched to the records that exist, written down, honestly defensible.
AI and Privacy: What to Think About Before You Paste
The privacy question in family history is not really about AI. It is about whose material goes into your tool, and what it does to the tool.
Is It Cheating to Use AI to Write Your Family History?
Is it cheating to use AI to write your family history? No. Cheating needs a competition with rules and you never entered one. Here's the real answer.
Five Years at the Head of the Table: A Texas Rancher's Quiet Authority
The chronicle of Clyde B. Keele, a Burnet County, Texas rancher whose character a new son-in-law learned across five years of Saturday lunches — told through two unforgettable afternoons. By Mark Gillin.
AI Can't Give You the Answer (That Was Never the Point)
AI can't hand you the answer about your ancestor, and that was never the point. How the Full Pantry changes what AI does for genealogy.
The Research Quality Check: How to Know Your Research Is Ready to Become a Story
The Research Quality Check is the five-check standard family historians run on their research before writing an ancestor's story.
You Don't Need Claude's Fable Model for Genealogy (Yet)
Claude's Fable model is remarkable, and family historians don't need it. Here's what actually gets your daily genealogy work done.
Francis Day: A Patriot of the Piedmont
The chronicle of Francis Day, a Patriot who fought in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina. Written by his descendant John Day.
What's New in Google Gemini for Family Historians: January–June 2026
Summary of the newest features in Gemini AI for family historians, highlighting the most useful features and what to avoid.
What's New in ChatGPT for Family Historians: January–June 2026
A summary of the changes to ChatGPT from January to June of 2026, focused on what matters for family historians using it for research and writing.
What's New in Claude for Family Historians: January–June 2026
Summary of the key updates to Claude AI by Anthropic for family historians, included memories, visual skills, and Claude Cowork.
Chronicles
Three Cows and a Tea Kettle: A Revolutionary War Soldier's Life
The chronicle of John Truax, a Revolutionary War Continental soldier whose decades of service were reduced to sworn testimony and an inventory of near-poverty. By Erin Hoover.
Chronicles
Copper and Chance: A Railroad Man's Korean War
The chronicle of Kermit LeRoy Fredrickson, a railroad lineman whose Korean War was shaped by precision, paperwork, and chance. By Ellen Forderer.
Writing with AI
Themes About Family: 20 Storytelling Themes for Writing Your Family History
Themes about family, from reunion ideas to the deeper threads that turn genealogy research into a story worth reading. 20 themes to shape your family history.
AI Tools
Best AI for Genealogy in 2026: Which Tool to Choose (and Why It Matters Less Than You Think)
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity for genealogy? They overlap more than ever. Here's how to pick one — and why mastering one beats sampling all four.
Safety and Privacy
What Does AI Actually Remember About You? How to See It, Fix It, and Use It
Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini build a memory of you as you work. Here's how to see what's in it, fix what's wrong, and use it to make AI better at your research.
Safety and Privacy
AI Privacy for Family Historians: What's Real, What's Fear, and What to Actually Do
Cut through the AI privacy fear. A clear framework for family historians: what to protect, what to share freely, and how to keep your tools working.
Safety and Privacy
The Five-Question Audit: What Every Genealogy Platform Actually Does With Your Data
Before you trust a genealogy platform with your family's data, run the Five-Question Audit. AI reads the Terms of Service so you don't have to. Free prompt.
Chronicles
From Ore to Milk: The Life of Horace Wilmer Sr.
The chronicle of Horace Wilmer Sr., who turned a Pennsylvania iron-mining family's small dairy into Wilmer Dairies — and watched it end. By Denyse Allen.
AI Tools
The 4R Model Test: How to Tell If a New AI Model Is Worth Your Time
The 4R Model Test is a Chronicle Makers framework for deciding whether a new AI model earns a place in your family history work. Read, Reason, Render, Rely.
AI Tools
Claude Fable 5: What Anthropic's New Model Means for Family Historians
Anthropic released Claude Fable 5, its most powerful AI model yet. Here's an honest look at what it does, who it's for, and whether family historians need it.
AI Tools
Claude's New Effort Setting, Explained (For People Who Aren't Coders)
Claude added an effort setting with five levels. Here's what Low, Medium, High, Extra, and Max actually do — and which one to pick — in plain language.
Chronicles
What a Chronicle Actually Is: The Same Ancestor, Three Versions
Chronicles are a new type of family history writing. The best way to understand them is the contrast between genealogy reports and typical family history.