[Genealogy] DNA, AI, Brick Walls, Proof as an Infant

Fri Apr 17 09:28:30 CDT 2026

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Genealogy Update 17 April 2026

** Transcriptions at Ancestry

** DNA Price Reduction

** Proof as an Infant

** Brick Walls and AI

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Transcriptions at Ancestry

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Those transcriptions you see at Ancestry are not "official" nor are they
sanctioned by anyone. They are what someone at Ancestry thinks (or possibly
what their script reading software "thinks"). Don't take their take as the
official word.

I've never heard of "Clerk in Lind."
[image: image.png]

Do your own transcriptions or ask in various online groups for help or
suggestions--keep in mind that random people on the internet are not always
correct either.

*Order today--see below*

*price lowered to $30*

AncestryDNA Results Analysis–2026

*Confused with your DNA results at AncestryDNA? *

Michael takes a commonsense, down-to-earth approach to genealogical DNA
match analysis. Emphasis in this presentation is on developing skills, not
on relying on automatic processes that are often misunderstood.
Presentation discusses Michael’s pooling technique that he applies to his
genealogical tree and his DNA matches.

Discussion will include: the importance of reviewing currently known
genealogical information, understanding centimorgans and predicted
relationships, working from the known to the unknown with matches, avoiding
rushing into brickwall work, reaching out to matches, tree-less matches,
clustering matches, tracking progress, documenting reasoning and analysis,
avoiding duplicating work. Then we’ll talk about setting new goals and
problem-solving.

Presentation length is approximately 90 minutes. Handout included. This
session is geared towards beginning and intermediate genealogists.

Michael brings genealogical knowledge and thirty years of classroom
teaching experience to his presentations. His work with math students gives
him a unique perspective on analyzing DNA matches.

Presentation will be released on 1 May 2026. Pre-orders are $30–order yours
today.
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=67LJNCR98WWKA>

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Thinking of Genealogical Proof as an Infant

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I’ll be honest, I don’t like the phrase “genealogical proof.” There I said
it. If I’m in trouble, so be it.

I use it, but I don’t like it. I don’t have to like it. I’m trained in
mathematics, where when you have a proof, you have a *proof*. If your logic
and your analysis is correct, it’s done. Over. Complete. There is no
changing the conclusion. Others may deduce other proofs that reach the same
conclusion or others may find a more “sophisticated” or “elegant” proof,
but if your conclusion is sound, you’re done. And if you were the first,
then you may even have a theorem named after you. And if your approach is
clumsy you may be chided for it, but at least you got the job done.

But genealogical proofs are not quite like that. And it’s not just that a
genealogical proof won’t be named after the writer.

A genealogical proof can change if new evidence, stronger and more reliable
that was was originally known to exist, is located.  Two different
genealogists may even use the same information to reach a conclusion. In
mathematics, if the assumptions are the same and the reasoning is sound
there are no alternate answers. A genealogical proof is not a mathematical
proof. It is not the same sort of proof as a mathematical proof. And it
should not be judged or viewed in the same way as a mathematical proof.
Of course, if the genealogical proof standard is applied completely and
accurately, a change in the conclusion should rarely happen. Yes,
genealogical proofs are more subjective than mathematical proofs. After
all, we’re dealing with humans and with records that don’t always tell the
whole story. The genealogical proof standard requires though that an
exhaustive search be conducted and that an analysis be complete and clearly
written (among a few others things). Is it hard to meet the genealogical
proof standard? Sometimes. It is hard to meet the standard  if one gets
bogged down in terminology and is unwilling to learn it, is scared of
learning what one does not know or understand, refuses to search for every
record possible that could answer the question, and is not willing to admit
they could be wrong. A proof, even one written by an experienced and highly
regarded genealogist could need to be revised.

That revision usually is the result of something “appearing.” A new record
could come to light in an old archives. A new finding aid could locate a
reference that clearly contradicts previous material and that new reference
contains “better information” that was originally discovered. However, if a
new record “appears” in a place where one really should have expected it,
then the exhaustive search was not applied.

If a researcher “knows the records of the area and time period” the chance
that something is overlooked should be minimal. And creating a genealogical
proof is not impossible or onerous. It is less so if one chooses not to be
afraid of the terminology. Writing a genealogical proof is not like writing
a proof in a geometry class.

Should the word “proof” even be used when there are other words, such as
inference, that have a similar interpretation? Perhaps, but it’s worth
remembering that there are may words that are used in different disciplines
and have different meanings in each. A legal document may refer to an
*infant*. A medical document may also refer to an *infant*. The lawyer
writing the legal document probably is referring to someone under the age
of majority. The doctor writing the medical report probably means someone
less than a year or so of age. Completely different things in different
disciplines.

Do we tell the doctor that he can’t use the word infant because the lawyer
already uses it to mean something else? No.

Just because another profession or discipline uses a word is not reason for
us not to use it. A discipline is free to use words of its choosing as long
as the definition of those words is clearly agreed upon by members of the
discipline. The *BCG Genealogical Standards Manual *defines these terms. It
may be that various members of the discipline disagree on some of the
details.

I may not think the word “proof” is the best word to use, but if I want to
play genealogy with others concerned about standards, I’ll have to use
agreed upon terms.

Just like I had to write mathematical proofs “by the rules” when I took
Sets and Logic all those years ago.

And sometimes I didn’t like those either (grin!).

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Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Genealogy

 ------------------------------------------------------------

Been curious about using artificial intelligence for your genealogy
research? In this hour-long session, we will provide an overview of
responsible and simple ways to use artificial intelligence to assist with
your genealogy research. Our focus will be practical, easy-to-follow
techniques to use artificial intelligence to jumpstart your research in a
responsible manner. We won’t talk about ways to create images or fiction
but will show you how to incorporate AI into your research in down-to-earth
ways that don’t waste your time. We will see how to use AI to get research
ideas, focus your research, transcribe handwriting, organize and extract
information—and how to create your own research prompts.

AI can be used as a research assistant that’s always available. See how to
take advantage of it without the hype.

Presentation is available on 18 April. Pre-order price is $22
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—order yours today
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2DJMKLMETRABQ>.
Price after 18 April is $30.
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Brick Wall Busters 2026--New!
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This hour-long presentation is geared towards advanced beginning or
intermediate genealogists. Our focus will be on problems in the United
States between roughly 1700 and 1900. Brick wall ideas will be pulled from
consultations with clients and personal research experience. Approaches
will be practical and down-to-earth. Presentation approach will be through
a series of examples from a variety of time periods, locations, and social
classes. Handout included. Presentation made by Michael John Neill.

Presentation (video/audio) and handout will be released for viewing on 21
April 2026. Pre-order price is $22–order today
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=E26EPTPJ3C7AU>.
Price after 21 April 2026 will be $30.

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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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