Optical Intelligence:

April Challenge: A to Z AI in Genealogy

My collection of inherited or gifted ancestral artefacts, is small. I have a small 1944 diary, a cache of black and white photos, a memoir, and a small bundle of letters. I have worked with others who have, enviably, inherited box loads of memorabilia. I have dabbled in archiving and deciphering several handwritten documents of one kind or another, including a War Diary that captured a soldier's experience in WW1. The process then was arduous, pre-AI tools. Now the process is made simple with AI tools.

AI Tools for Deciphering Ancestral Documents

Every genealogist knows the feeling—the thrill of discovering an ancestor's will, a family Bible record, or a stack of old letters, followed quickly by the challenge of actually reading them. Spidery handwriting, faded ink, unfamiliar abbreviations, and archaic language can transform promising documents into frustrating puzzles. Thankfully, artificial intelligence is revolutionizing how we decipher these precious ancestral documents, making previously inaccessible family information available to researchers at all skill levels.

Following up on my research into the Angell Estate, as made infamous by William Adrian Allery, the first genealogist in my family; I discovered the Will of John Angell. I was then facing a huge challenge in deciphering this old famous Will. Luckily the hard task of transcribing had already been done and was available online.

Read on to find the Case Study: The Will of John Angell.

The Document Deciphering Challenge

Historical documents present several significant challenges for genealogists:

• Handwriting Variations: From the elegant but complex scripts of the 18th century to the hasty scrawls of 19th-century clerks, historical handwriting often bears little resemblance to modern styles.

• Deterioration: Time, moisture, light exposure, and poor storage have degraded many documents, leaving text faded, damaged, or partially missing.

• Specialized Terminology: Legal documents, medical records, and occupation-specific writings contain terminology unfamiliar to modern readers.

• Abbreviations and Symbols: Historical writers frequently used abbreviations, contractions, and symbols that are no longer common.

• Multiple Languages: Many family archives contain documents in languages that changed over time or that the researcher doesn't speak.

Traditional approaches to these challenges required specialized paleographic training, language skills, and considerable time investment—barriers that kept many genealogists from fully utilizing their family documents.

AI Revolution in Document Analysis

Artificial intelligence has transformed document analysis through several key technologies:

1. Advanced Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Traditional OCR struggled with handwritten text, but AI-enhanced OCR can now:

• Recognize diverse handwriting styles from different periods and regions

• Account for inconsistencies in how individual writers formed letters

• Identify words despite ink blotches, paper creases, or fading

• Distinguish between text and decorative elements or illustrations

• Process documents in multiple orientations or layouts

These capabilities turn previously unreadable documents into searchable, analyzable text resources.

2. Handwriting Recognition Networks

Specialized AI models focused on handwriting bring additional capabilities:

• Learning the specific handwriting style of a particular author

• Recognizing patterns in how certain letters or combinations were formed

• Improving accuracy by analyzing multiple examples from the same writer

• Converting cursive writing into modern printed text

• Identifying likely interpretations of ambiguous characters based on context

These systems grow more accurate over time, particularly when trained on specific document collections.

3. Language Processing and Translation

AI language models help decipher content after text recognition:

• Interpreting archaic terminology and historical usages

• Expanding period-specific abbreviations and contractions

• Translating content between languages while preserving historical context

• Suggesting modern equivalents for outdated terms or concepts

• Identifying specialized legal or medical terminology

This contextual understanding transforms raw text into comprehensible information.

4. Image Enhancement and Restoration

Before recognition even begins, AI can improve document legibility:

• Enhancing contrast between text and background

• Removing stains, foxing, or discoloration

• Reconstructing faded characters based on subtle ink traces

• Separating overlapping text (like bleeding through from reverse sides)

• Digitally "flattening" creased or damaged papers

These preprocessing techniques make previously unreadable documents accessible to both human and AI analysis.

Practical Applications for Family Historians

How can genealogists apply these AI capabilities to their research challenges?

Family Letters and Correspondence

Personal correspondence often contains crucial family information, but can be particularly difficult to decipher:

• AI systems can process entire collections of family letters, identifying repeated names, places, and events

• Handwriting recognition adapted to a specific ancestor's style improves with each letter processed

• Content analysis can identify relationships mentioned, significant life events, and previously unknown connections

• Translation features make immigrant ancestors' correspondence accessible even if written in an unfamiliar language

Example Tools:

1. Transkribus offers specialized handwriting recognition for historical documents and can be trained on specific writers' styles.

2. DeepL offers a free Chrome extension which can be implemented to translate text or whole documents from one language to another.

Legal Documents and Records

Wills, deeds, contracts, and court records often contain valuable genealogical information obscured by legal terminology and formal handwriting:

• AI recognizes structured formats typical in legal documents, improving accuracy

• Specialized legal terminology models identify relationships, property details, and key provisions

• Named entity recognition extracts people, places, and dates even from dense legal text

• Pattern recognition finds relationships between multiple legal documents referring to the same individuals or properties

Example Tool: Try using ChatGPT 04 mini (fastest at advanced reasoning) for recognition of structured legal documents.

Case Study: The Will of John Angell

My research into the Angell Estate (the subject of my great-grand-uncle William’s inheritance claim in 1928) led me to the intriguing Will of John Angell. This link takes you to its transcription. Below is what it looked like in Old English.

I used ChatGPT 40 Mini to summarise.

This analysis made it so much easier to understand the intentions of John Angell in his most complex Will.

Religious and Parish Records

Church records present unique challenges with specialized formats, abbreviations, and multilingual content:

• AI language models trained on religious terminology can interpret Latin phrases in Catholic records, Hebrew in Jewish records, etc.

• Format recognition identifies baptism, marriage, and burial entries even in densely written registers

• Abbreviation expansion converts shorthand notations for common terms into full text

• Cross-referencing capabilities connect individuals across multiple religious events

Example Tool: MyHeritage's Photo Enhancer can improve the legibility of scanned religious records before text recognition is applied.

Diaries and Journals

Personal writings offer intimate glimpses into ancestral lives but often feature abbreviated, informal, or idiosyncratic writing:

• AI content analysis identifies people, places, and events mentioned across multiple entries

• Temporal pattern recognition tracks individuals and relationships over time

• Sentiment analysis highlights emotionally significant entries that might contain important family information

• Contextual processing interprets shorthand or personal abbreviations consistent within a single writer's style

Example Tool: Try using ChatGPT o4 mini (the fastest at reasoning) for content analysis.

Getting Started with AI Document Tools

Ready to apply these capabilities to your own family documents? Here's a step-by-step approach:

1. Document Preparation

• Scan documents at high resolution (at least 300 dpi)

• Capture in color, even if the document appears monochrome

• Include a color/grayscale calibration card if possible

• Create multiple scans with different lighting if the documents are faded

2. Image Preprocessing

• Use AI-powered image enhancement tools to improve contrast

• Apply digital restoration to address fading or damage

• Consider specialized tools for specific document types (e.g., newspaper enhancement)

• Save processed images alongside originals to maintain provenance

3. Text Recognition

• Select OCR or handwriting recognition tools appropriate to your document type

• For collections from the same writer, use systems that can be trained on specific handwriting styles

• Process related documents together to improve contextual recognition

• Review and correct initial results to improve future processing

4. Analysis and Integration

• Extract key information (names, dates, places, relationships)

• Connect information to your family tree or research database

• Create searchable transcriptions for future reference

• Consider a collaborative review for difficult passages

Summary: From Deciphering to Discovering

Optical intelligence technologies are transforming genealogical research from a process of painstaking decipherment to one of discovery and connection. By automating the most technically challenging aspects of document analysis, AI allows family historians to focus on interpretation, verification, and storytelling—the aspects of genealogy that benefit most from human judgment and creativity.

The most effective approach combines AI's technical capabilities with the genealogist's contextual knowledge and critical thinking. Together, they can unlock the stories preserved in ancestral documents, revealing details of family history that might otherwise remain hidden behind the barriers of faded ink and unfamiliar handwriting.

As you experiment with these tools on your family documents, remember that even the most advanced AI serves as an assistant rather than a replacement for careful research. Verify important information, maintain healthy skepticism about uncertain transcriptions, and always preserve original documents alongside their digital transformations. With these principles in mind, optical intelligence becomes a powerful ally in discovering and preserving your family's documentary heritage.

---

Ready to elevate your genealogy research with AI? Come and learn how to become an AI-skilled ancestral storyteller in the course, "Beyond the Pen: Using AI to Transform Ancestral Storytelling." Discover practical techniques and ethical approaches to incorporating AI into your family history work. Join us at Beyond the Pen and transform how you preserve your family's legacy!

---

What challenging family documents have you struggled to decipher? Have you tried any AI tools to help with the process? Share your experiences in the comments below!