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WARNING! Be cautious using ChatGPT for genealogy research
https://youtu.be/Njxpxpbmjx4 I love technology and I'm always up for trying new things. Last month, I used ChatGPT — a site I have used many times since its launch — in an attempt to do some creative genealogy research. The results are nothing short of a bad trip by...
GET MORE from Ancestry DNA & FamilyTree DNA – TOOLS to use for Solving Genetic Genealogy Problems 🧬
I was invited to give a presentation to the Craven County Genealogical Society about how to get more out of your Ancestry DNA, FamilyTreeDNA or any DNA results with some very useful tools, as well as some bonus content about how to find what you seek in the unindexed...
Using DNA to solve a mystery: Who was Nancy Catherine Watson, the third wife of Eli J. Cox?
In March 2014, I wrote a lengthy post about the mystery of my 3rd great-grandmother Nancy Catherine WATSON, the last wife of Eli J. COX of Craven and Lenoir Counties. I had questions about so many things: Was she really 18 when she married 59 year old Eli, or was she...
Genetic Genealogy Basics: Ethnicity Reports, Autosomal DNA, mtDNA, Y-DNA and DNA site comparisons 🌳
A lot of people have all kinds of questions about DNA tests and family tree research. Genetic genealogy has exploded over the last 15 years or so. In this video, I talk about ethnicity reports and some of the different types of tests available to genealogy...
NC GENEALOGY TREASURE TROVE 100% FREE at FamilySearch – Learn to search the UNINDEXED CATALOG
The best free genealogy resource online is FamilySearch.org, and in particular, their free online catalog. A lot of people get intimidated by it or they don't even know it's there. In this video, I explain how to get to the catalog and then how to drill down to find...
Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) Craftsman Database Search
Do you happen to have a carpenter in your family tree? How about a blacksmith? A bricklayer? Or any of 127 different crafts practiced in the American South (coopers NOT included, more's the pity). This is your lucky day! I have just stumbled over this bit of...
West Craven Highlights now digitized and searchable online
If your family is from the Vanceboro area, you will certainly remember the paper that was produced by the Cannon family, West Craven Highlights. I'm not sure when this was done, but the whole project has now been digitized. You can browse all of the issues or search...
Genealogy + DNA Game Changers: Step up your game with these FREE resources.
In the 21st century, if you're serious about genealogy, then let's face it: You will engage in DNA testing. In fact, if you're really serious, you'll get as many of your older relatives tested as possible. Why? Because their DNA will contain more lengthy segments...
Formation of Pitt County, North Carolina
Pitt County was formed after Beaufort and Craven Counties, but the establishment of its border wasn't a one-time thing. Below, you can read about the formation of Pitt County, North Carolina from David Leroy Corbitt's book, The Formation of North Carolina Counties,...
Formation of Craven County, North Carolina
Read the descriptions below for Craven County's shifting borders and see if it helps some pieces start falling into place with some of your ancestors who seem to appear and vanish from this and neighboring counties inexplicably in the mid-to-late 1700s and into the...
