[Genealogy] Seems Like Indirect Evidence and NotebookLM

[Michael John Neill]

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14 January 2026

** It Seems Like It Is Indirect Evidence to Me
** NotebookLM for Genealogy Released
** Other New Products

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It Seems Like It Is Indirect Evidence to Me
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There are many things listed in the mid-19th century inventory for the
estate of Peter Bieger of Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois, that the
typical person would not have had on hand. At least not in the quantities
that Peter Bieger had them.

Thirty-six gallons of alcohol seems to be a bit much for the typical person
to have on hand. The inventory is suggestive of running a tavern combined
with some type of general store.

The theoretical question is:

does this inventory provide direct evidence of Peter’s occupation or does
it provide indirect evidence of his occupation?

Elizabeth Shown Mills in Evidence <http://amzn.to/1H8sTPT>* Explained
<http://amzn.to/1H8sTPT>*  (page 25, 3rd edition) defines direct and
indirect evidence as follows:

   - *direct evidence* “seems to directly answer the research question”
   - *indirect evidence* “does not directly address the research question
   but can be combined with other information to arrive at an answer or build
   a case.”

Which begs the question: What’s my research question?

The question would then have to be “What was Peter Bieger’s occupation?”
There’s no record that flat-out directly states it. Peter is not listed in
any extant United States census that provided occupational information and
no other extant records explicitly state what his occupation was. It is the
same problem that we have in certain areas of the United States before the
1850 census–no record states the occupation specifically.

And knowing the occupation can help us to distinguish between two
individuals of the same name (at least sometimes) or it can help tell us if
an ancestor was more susceptible to economic downturns and opportunities.

Would the probate inventory be direct or indirect evidence of Peter’s
occupation? Part of me says it would be direct evidence, part of me says it
is indirect evidence, and part of me says that it really doesn’t matter
what type of evidence one calls it.

It also hinges on our narrowly one defines “direct evidence.” Mills defines
it as “*seems* [my emphasis] to directly answer the research question.”
Here’s where the mathematician in me isn’t too keen on the definition of
“direct evidence.” I would like a definition that doesn’t hinge on “seems.”
That’s pretty vague. What seems to you may not seem to to me and what seems
to me may not seem to you. For me, I think I’ll tweak the definition of
direct and indirect.

   - *direct evidence*–explicitly answers the research question
   - *indirect evidence*–does not explicitly answer the research question,
   but can be used with other evidence, legal statutes and practice, and
   logical reasoning to answer the question

To some that may seem like a tight definition and it is. There’s enough
gray area in how records are interpreted and analyzed that my personal
preference is to try and have definitions that are as tight as possible.

Now I can view the probate inventory as indirect evidence–because nowhere
does it explicitly state Peter’s occupation. Indirectly it does.
Classifying something as indirect does not mean it is wrong and classifying
something as direct information does not mean it is right. Our analysis of
information does that. The classification of information as direct or
indirect simply reflects upon the type of statement the information made
related to the research question under study.

It’s always worth it to think about the information you have located, how
it answers your question, and how to use it to logically and clearly write
up your conclusion and argument.

And I bet it can be done without ever using the phrase “direct evidence” or
“indirect evidence.”

But at least you thought about it.
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NotebookLM for Genealogy Released
--------------------------

Now released for immediate download: NotebookLM for Genealogy

Ever wanted to create graphics, mind maps, and other graphics for your
genealogy research easily? Now you can and we’ll show you how. Notebooklm
at Google.Create audio and video overviews, mind maps, reports, quizzes,
infographics, and slide decks from your uploaded files, genealogy
documents, and the like. NotebookLM is not perfect by a long shot, but it
may give you insight into your own research. We will take a responsible
genealogical approach to using Notebooklm. It is a tool and like any tool
needs to be used carefully and judiciously. We won’t necessarily agree with
all the conclusions it reaches, but thinking about its insights and trying
to prove/disprove them or analyze them further may enhance our research in
ways we did not expect.Order now–download immediate. Hour long presentation
and handout included
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=248457&method_id=271366>
.

See sample infographics on our blog post at:

https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/01/14/notebooklm-for-genealogy/

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January 2026 Full-Text Search at FamilySearch Webinar

Intro price ENDING--regularly $37.50--save $30

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We’re excited to offer this revised presentation on the full-text searching
at *FamilySearch*--reflecting changes made to the site since this was
recorded in August 2025. We’ve redesigned our presentation as this
functionality continues to change. And…we have an extensive handout
complete with forms to help you find more people.

If you have purchased an earlier version of this presentation--email me at
mjnrootdig at gmail.com for the code to order this revision for $10.
Fully Utilizing Full-Text Search: Revised for January 2026

Your purchase includes:

   - *A 90 minute (or more presentation)* you can view as often as you want.
   - *Detailed handout* with charts and forms to help organize your
   searches. Charts and forms sent as separate files you can edit and
   customize and not as a locked PDF you have to re-create yourself as a new
   document.

We’ll be including and discussing:

*Determining what is in Full-Text Search—*what you can access at home and
what you will have to be in a FamilySearch facility or affiliate to access.

*Seeing How AI Transcriptions are different*—they aren’t like the
transcriptions made by humans. That can change your approach.

*Remembering that Full-Text means every word*—approaches need to differ as
we aren’t looking up a name in an index any more.

*Asking Who* is in the record? We aren’t just searching for the main person
like we did with traditional indexes. We’ll discuss how to determine who
could be mentioned in a record.

*Determining How to search?* There are a variety of ways to search and
filter results. We’ll see how each one works to help determine the best
strategy.

*Creating search strategies*—how full-text search changes your approach and
why just dumping terms in search boxes is not always effective.

*Determining what you found* The interface does not always make this clear.
We will show you how to get beyond the confusion and help you get enough
detail for a citation.

*Creating effective problem-solving approaches*—what to do when you cannot
find something you want.

*Demonstrating practical examples*—completely new people and families from
our previous presentations.

Available for immediate download for $30
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=246272&method_id=268990>.
Complete handout included and additional forms.

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Common Names When Using Full-Text Search?

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Having difficulties with common names when using the full-text search at
FamilySearch? Take a look at our presentation on this very topic.

Common Name webinar:

https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025/11/04/common-names-at-familysearch-full-text-webinar/

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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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