Historical Context Generation: Using AI to Understand Ancestors' Lives

April Challenge: A to Z AI in Genealogy

Using AI to Understand Ancestors' Lives

Dates, names, and places are the foundation of genealogical research. But they're only the beginning of truly understanding our ancestors' lives.

• What was it like to live through the potato famine in Ireland?

• How did the Industrial Revolution transform the daily existence of a family of English weavers?

• What challenges did a woman widowed during the First World War face?

• Why did a young Welsh man migrate to Ontario in the Roaring Twenties?

Without historical context, we have only disconnected facts rather than meaningful stories.

This is where artificial intelligence is opening remarkable new possibilities. AI-powered historical context generation is transforming how genealogists understand and interpret the past, bringing ancestral experiences to life in ways previously impossible.

Note: In this eighth episode, I will feature how the AI tool Perplexity has assisted me in the challenge of understanding my ancestors’ lives.

Beyond Names and Dates: The Context Challenge

Traditional genealogical research excels at establishing the basic framework of ancestors' lives—when they were born, whom they married, where they lived, and when they died. But these facts alone can't help us understand what shaped their decisions, what challenges they faced, or how they experienced the world around them.

Consider the difference between these two statements:

1. "Thomas Hugh Savage migrated to Canada in 1925."

2. "Thomas Hugh Savage moved from Treffloyne Farm in Pembrokeshire, Wales, to Saint John, New Brunswick, Ontario, Canada, in 1925, during the height of the 'Roaring Twenties.'’ This was after the Harvester Scheme, an incentive generated by the Empire Settlement Act of 1922, so what enticed him?”

Source: https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/empire-settlement-act-1922

The second statement places Thomas’s migration within its historical context, immediately raising questions about his motivations, political beliefs, and the risks he was willing to take. This context transforms a simple fact into a window into character and circumstance.

How did I learn about the Harvester Scheme and the Empire Settlement Act? I asked Perplexity this question:

Part of the response from Perplexity is displayed below. For the entire response, visit this shared page.

My prompt generated a summarised list of reasons for migration and provided a total of 19 sources. Websites and PDFs with a wealth of stories and articles to build my knowledge of the ‘Great Migration.’

How AI Generates Historical Context

AI systems bring several powerful capabilities to historical context generation:

1. Broad Knowledge Integration - Synthesizing information from diverse historical sources about specific periods and locations

2. Personalized Context Generation - Creating tailored context based on geography, period, occupation, social class, religion, ethnicity, gender, and age

3. Multi-dimensional Analysis: Exploring intersections between economic conditions, political developments, technological changes, and cultural shifts

4. Visual and Narrative Context - Describing typical homes, clothing, daily routines, and sensory experiences of historical environments

Note: Using traditional research methods, I recently discovered migration papers (passenger lists, ocean arrivals lists) for both Thomas Savage and Emily Wilkinson, who later became his wife. These gave me vital clues as to the specific destinations of the couple as they sailed from England to Canada and back again (several ocean voyages). One of these was useful in solving the mystery of the couple’s home address on their return to Canada in 1933.

I did not know this place, Noranda, Quebec, which was noted in the passenger list for the Savage family sailing on the Duchess of Richmond in 1933. However, I now had a full address to work with.

Another prompt for Perplexity gave me a wealth of detail about the town of Noranda and how it was built for the mining industry in 1926. From one of the links provided, I found a map displaying 8th Street (shown as 8th Rue at marker 11).

Source: https://tourismerouyn-noranda.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/brochure_circuits_historique_vanglais.pdf

Practical Applications in Genealogy

AI-generated historical context can be applied in several powerful ways:

• Decision Point Analysis - Exploring factors that may have influenced ancestral choices like migrations or career changes

• Gap-Filling with Historical Probability: Suggesting plausible scenarios for periods with missing records

• Occupation Understanding - Providing rich context about historical jobs and their social implications

• Medical History Interpretation - Explaining historical diseases, treatments, and community responses

• Social Status Clarification - Understanding ancestors' positions within their communities

Note: Perplexity certainly helped me understand Thomas Savage’s new occupation as a hoistman in the mining industry, giving rise to this question:
”Did Thomas Savage work for the Noranda Mines? If so, which one in particular? Was it the Horne Mine?” A new research strategy is required for this.

Best Practices for Using AI-Generated Historical Context

To maintain genealogical standards while using AI for historical context:

1. Verify key information against reliable historical sources

2. Distinguish documented facts from contextual information

3. Consider multiple perspectives on historical events

4. Ask specific questions about aspects of daily life

5. Seek local specificity rather than general historical background

6. Compare how different groups might have experienced the same events

Note: I was interested in what daily life for a hoist man in the Noranda Mines was like, and Perplexity gave me an answer:

Limitations and Ethical Considerations

Despite its power, AI-generated historical context has important limitations:

• Knowledge constraints from historical sources that overrepresent privileged perspectives

• Risk of presenting speculative information with inappropriate certainty

• Potential for imposing modern values on historical situations

• Need for sensitivity when discussing traumatic historical experiences

As AI technology continues to evolve, we can look forward to increasingly detailed visual reconstructions, greater local specificity, more diverse perspectives, and interactive exploration of historical contexts.

By helping us understand not just who our ancestors were but how they lived, AI transforms genealogy from a collection of facts into a meaningful exploration of family history within the rich tapestry of the past.

Note: I was conscious of the need for sensitivity in telling the story of Thomas Hugh Savage and used AI (Claude Sonnet) to help structure the story about the tragedies in Thomas’s life. You can read his story here.

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How has historical context changed your understanding of an ancestor's life? Share your experiences in the comments below!