[Genealogy] Who would have been mentioned, Died on Leap Day in 1849, Metes and Bounds with AI sale ending

Michael John Neill mjnrootdig at gmail.com
Wed Sep 23 08:12:53 CDT 2026 

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Genealogy Update 22 Sept 2026

** Who Would Have Been Mentioned
** Using AI as a Genealogy Consultant
** Died 29 Feburary 1849
** Save $5 on Metes and Bounds with AI (last day to save $5)

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Who Would Have Been Mentioned?
---------------

It is always good to contemplate who could haves slipped through the cracks
in the records that have been located and used.

Henry and Barbara Trautvetter’s known children were named in a 1870-era
estate settlement for Henry’s brother in Hancock County, Illinois. The
brother had no children and Henry was one of his heirs under Illinois state
statute. While Henry survived his brother, Henry died before the brother’s
estate was finally settled. Henry’s death necessitated that his children be
listed in the probate record as they became heirs of Henry’s brother upon
Henry’s death.

But the estate settlement of Henry’s brother was not interested in all of
Henry’s children. The court would only have been interested in:

   - Henry’s children who survived him.
   - Henry’s pre-deceased children who had descendants of their own alive
   at the time Henry’s brother’s estate was settled.

Children who died before Henry and did not leave descendants of their own
would not have been mentioned.

Think about the record you are using–who would  be in it and who would not.

Using AI as a Genealogy Consultant

*Our approach is to always use AI responsibly and practically a**s your own
genealogy consultant.*

Maybe you can’t afford a consultant for your own research or you have too
many genealogy problems to hire help with every one.  AI can serve as your
own genealogy research consultant.

As with a human consultant, you’ll need to do the initial work on your
ancestor, gather what you have, and familiarize yourself with basic sources
in the area. There is no guarantee that AI will solve your problem.

But using AI as your personal research consultant can help. Not by doing
the research for you,  or inventing ancestors that never existed, but by
doing what a good consultant actually does: looking at what you have,
summarizing it, discussing it, and giving you ideas on where to look next
or to help you see things in a different way.  It may even tell you where
you need to go to improve your research skills.

After using AI, you still may decide to use a human consultant. The work
you did with AI will help you prepare to get the most from that advice from
a real person and to make the best use of your time and money should that
be necessary. We acknowledge in this presentation and approach that AI does
not know everything, is not perfect, and cannot solve every problem. It’s
just another tool.

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instead of something vague. You'll learn to recognize when it's guessing,
because it will, and how to catch hallucinations and how to use AI in a
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The goal isn't to replace your judgment. It's to give you a thinking
partner available at two in the morning when you finally realize you need
to get outside your own mind on a certain ancestral problem.

Pre-order the presentation now.
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3SJCPREXK5EUC>

Release date: 25 September
Price: $15.99

Includes the full presentation, a detailed handout, and a ready-to-use set
of prompts you can adapt to your own research problems.

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

Died 29 February 1849

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

The tombstone of Rebecca Mullin in Delaware County, Ohio, has been
mentioned in this blog before. The stone indicates she died on 29 February
1849. Her tombstone (available on FindaGrave) in Delaware County’s Hope
Cemetery
<http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mullen&GSiman=1&GScid=42854&GRid=19953220&>
reminded
of two questions I have about her stone:

   - Did they spell her name “Rebeca” on the stone because there was not
   enough room for two c’s?
   - What part of her death date is wrong? Is it the day of the month, the
   month, or the year?

Of course the information on her stone should be transcribed as it is
written. Use of a [*sic*] after the spelling of her name and the date may
be a good idea–or could be used after the complete transcription to avoid
an awkward looking transcription. If [*sic*] is not used a comment about
the transcription should be made so that it’s clear the errors were not on
the part of the transcriber.

Makes a person wonder.

*Metes and Bounds intro price ends today (23 Sept)--now $23...regularly
$28.*

*Metes and Bounds have you confused?*

*If you missed the early-bird price there's still time.*

-------------------------------------
Using AI for Metes and Bounds Deed Analysis
-------------------------------------

A completely new presentation!


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[image: image.png]

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[image: image.png]

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   -

   Using AI to work with metes and bounds descriptions.
   -

   Manual versus AI transcriptions
   -

   Fitting parcels together
   -

   Viewing acquisitions and sales over time
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   Creating ownership chronologies


Participants are encouraged to send Michael a limited number of questions
after they have viewed the presentation.

<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/view?product_id=251367&method_id=274508#/>

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If you pre-ordered and did not get link contact me for that information.


Handout included which will include commentary and prompts that were used.
The presentation is approximately an hour long and can be viewed more than
once. Order yours today
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=WZ7W2VTNUFRM6>.



About Michael:

Michael John Neill has actively researched his genealogy since the early
1980s. He has given genealogy lectures at a variety of national and small
conferences since the 1990s. Michael has a master’s degree in mathematics
and taught mathematics at a community college for thirty years. He has led
research trips to the FamilySearch Library for over twenty years.


--------------------
Webinars
--------------------

Ready-to-Go Webinars from Michael–download immediate:

   -

   Creating Children’s Stories from Genealogy Events
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-childrens-stories-from-genealogy-information/>
   -

   Creating Families from pre-1850 Census Records
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-families-from-pre-1850-census-records/>
   -

   DeedMapper webinars
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/deedmapper-intro-and-more-deedmapper-webinars/>
   -

   FamilySearch Catalog
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/02/19/using-the-familysearch-catalog-webinar/>
   -

   Farming Ancestor webinars–landowner and non-landowner versions
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/rooting-around-for-farmers-and-tenants-and-laborers/>
   -

   Full-Text Search at FamilySearch
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/05/updated-familysearch-full-text-search-webinar/>
   -

   Full-Text Search at FamilySearch with Common Names
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025/11/04/common-names-at-familysearch-full-text-webinar/>
   -

   How Errors Get in Records
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/how-errors-get-in-records-webinar/>
   -

   Illinois Genealogy Research
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/03/10/genealogy-research-in-illinois-webinar/>
   -

   Unburying Funeral Home Records
   <https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/unburying-funeral-home-records/>

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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17

Henderson, IL 61439
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