Family Locket – Finding ancestors and keeping them close to the heart

RLP 418: Meet Leo – The Handwritten Text Recognition Platform Built for Researchers

Nicole Dyer and Diana Elder explore Leo, a powerful handwritten text recognition platform designed specifically for researchers. Nicole interviews the creator, Jon Cooper, a PhD candidate at Stanford who developed the tool with a machine learning expert to address the difficulty of transcribing complex Elizabethan manuscripts. Listeners learn how Leo differs from general AI models by prioritizing faithful, accurate transcriptions of handwritten text rather than guessing words. The platform offers specialized features for genealogists, including […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer July 13, 2026 Podcast

Finding a Father for Cynthia: Phase 5 – Part 3: Research Planning

If you have an ancestor who is still a mystery despite years of research, you’ll relate to my Cynthia (Dillard) Royston project. I am currently working on phase 5 as part of the Research Like a Pro with DNA study group. Each phase has focused on a specific objective and has eliminated many Dillard candidates. Eventually, I hope to have one man left standing, whom documentary and DNA evidence point to as Cynthia’s father. In […]

By Diana Elder July 11, 2026 Research Like a Pro, Research Tips

RLP 417: AI Handwritten Text Recognition Tools at the RootsTech Expo Hall

Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer discuss the evolution of AI Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) tools, focusing on the platforms Nicole explored at RootsTech. They evaluate several key technologies used to decipher historical manuscripts. They discuss Kindex, which provides highly accurate transcriptions and a side-by-side editor for corrections. They also review Leo, an AI platform that handles secretary hand effectively and offers a side-by-side editor, though users should watch for minor hallucinations. Transkribus serves as a […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer July 6, 2026 Podcast

RLP 416: George Washington and Richard Wiatt Royston – America 250 Ancestor

Diana and Nicole discuss the America 250 Ancestors series, which focuses on researching colonial ancestors who lived during the Revolutionary War era. Diana shares her recent trip to Mount Vernon, where she experienced Revolutionary War Weekend and visited the slave quarters and memorial to learn about the 317 enslaved individuals who lived on the estate. Listeners learn how to use historical context to tell the stories of their own ancestors who lived during this foundational […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer June 29, 2026 Podcast

RLP 415: Testing AI’s Ability to Map Historical Land Records

Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer examine the current capabilities of artificial intelligence for mapping historical land records. Nicole tests ChatGPT’s ability to convert a metes and bounds description from an 1788 Arnold-West deed into an accurate land plat drawing. She compares the AI-generated results against a verified plat she previously created using DeedMapper software. Nicole experiments with several prompting strategies, including simple prompts, chain-of-thought, and meta-prompting. She discovers that while basic image generation struggles to […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer June 22, 2026 Podcast

Unearthing an Oklahoma Death Certificate Buried Under Tricky Handwriting

About a year and a half ago, while working on my Kinship Determination project (KDP) for BCG certification, I needed a death certificate for a sister of my second-great-grandfather, who was the subject of the middle generation of my study. I knew her name, I knew when she died, and I knew the county. What I didn’t expect was just how thoroughly an index could obscure someone whose identity I thought I already had pinned […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer June 21, 2026 Certification, Research Tips

RLP 414: A Trip to the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center

Diana and Nicole share their recent visit to the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they explore the facility’s premier resources. Listeners learn how to use the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) to locate articles by keyword, surname, or locality. The pair explains the value of city directories for tracking individuals after 1950 to uncover addresses and occupations. They also offer guidance on utilizing published family histories, specifically on evaluating an […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer June 15, 2026 Podcast