Author: James Tanner

Researching Indentured, Transported, and Enslaved Ancestors

Note: This article was originally published on the Genealogy’s Star blog site. Note: The time links refer to the video. A “brick wall” is a common frustration for genealogists, particularly when an ancestor seems to “magically appear” in the American colonies with no discernible connection to an overseas origin. For many researchers, this missing link is not a matter of...

AI Intelligence and Genealogical Research

Note: This article was published previously in the Genealogy’s Star blog site. While history in general is a broad subject with many specialized subdivisions, genealogical research is one of the more focused parts of the overall historical research community.  An example of the limits of genealogical research is the lack of academic standing in the greater educational community. In universities around...

An Update of the Now Seventeen Rules of Genealogy

Note: This article appeared previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site. The recent BYU Library Family History Center webinar “An Update of the Now Seventeen Rules of Genealogy” is also available on YouTube – https://youtu.be/mDIGO80_xCM. Here is a summary of the YouTube video.  This presentation, delivered by James Tanner at the BYU Library Family History Center, provides a vital “reality...

Finding Records Lost Online in the AI Universe

Note: This article was published previously in the Genealogy’s Star blog site. FamilySearch.org‘s Full-text Search capability is an overwhelming change to way genealogical searches are conducted and may well modify or replace any current way of searching historical documents. At the heart of using a previously unavailable tool for genealogical research is an artificial intelligence supported handwriting recognition.  Currently, the...

What I Learned from 1418 Consultations for FamilySearch

Note: This article has been updated to reflect that FamilySearch consultations have not been discontinued. During the past five years, I have scheduled 1418 online consultations for FamilySearch.org. These consultations originated from the Salt Lake City FamilySearch Library website. There were dozens of people volunteering to respond to the consultation requests, mostly Church Service Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of...