Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Have you ever found a genealogy book packed with information about your ancestors… but no index? That was my problem with an 1890 history of Randolph County, North Carolina. The book contains dozens of references to my ancestors and their neighbors, but finding those names over and over again was becoming a challenge. So I turned to AI—and in just a short time, I created a fully searchable name index complete with page numbers.
In this video, I’ll show you how I used ChatGPT to analyze a PDF version of the book, extract every personal name, organize them alphabetically, and generate a custom index. Then I’ll show you how I took that information one step further by creating an Ancestry Network to help visualize relationships and build out my FAN Club research.
You'll also learn where to find digitized genealogy books online, including HathiTrust, FamilySearch Books, Google Books, and other free resources that may contain valuable information about your ancestors.
Whether you're working with county histories, local memoirs, family histories, or other older publications, this technique can save hours of manual work and help uncover connections you might otherwise miss.
📄 A handout is available for eligible members. Information on how to access the handout is included below.
#Genealogy #FamilyHistory #Ancestry #GenealogyResearch #ChatGPT #ArtificialIntelligence #AIforGenealogy #FamilySearch #GoogleBooks #HathiTrust #GenealogyTV #RandolphCountyNC #AncestryNetworks #FANClubResearch
❤️ JOIN the GENEALOGY TV ACADEMY
genealogytv.org/academy
📝📝📝📝 HANDOUT OPTIONS
📝 1) Genealogy TV Academy members have access to all lessons and handouts back to 2022. genealogytv.org/academy
📝 2) Become a CHANNEL MEMBER at the INFO ACCESS level $9.99 per month. This gets you all the handouts. youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/join.
As a Channel Member, find the handouts by scrolling through the blog posts on the Community tab at youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/community
📝 3) All handouts can be PURCHASED INDIVIDUALLY ($5 and up) at genealogytv.org/handouts/. Here you will get a redirect and an email to download the handouts.
📝 4) Become a monthly PATRON at the HAPPY DANCE level ($15/Month) or more. You will get early release of the videos and the handouts are emailed to you, when they become available. patreon.com/GenealogyTV
❤️ BECOME A GENEALOGY TV CHANNEL MEMBER and help support Genealogy TV - see perks!
youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/join
❤️ Patreon Membership – Handouts Emailed as they are produced. patreon.com/GenealogyTV.
✅ Genealogy TV WEBSITE
genealogytv.org
✅ GTV on FACEBOOK
facebook.com/Genealogytv
✅ SIGN UP For GTV’s NEWSLETTER
https://mailchi.mp/a0862c6473aa/genealogytvnewsletter
👉 Subscribe to Genealogy TV (Free)
youtube.com/channel/UCcvpi8XvOScBogIxmarmADw/Subscribe
*** GTV Affiliate Partners ***
🛍️ Genealogy TV’s AMAZON STORE full of Connie’s favorites.
amazon.com/shop/genealogytv
DIRECT HANDOUT LIBRARY LINK: genealogytv.org/product/handout-for-creating-an-index-from-a-pdf-ancestry-networks
Timings
00:00 Intro
00:49 About the Book
01:32 Why Create an Index?
01:50 Building a Community
03:28 HathiTrust
03:45 OCLC Archive Grid
03:54 FamilySearch Books
04:13 Google Books
04:37 ChatGPT
08:42 Ancestry Networks
11:01 Handout Info
Have you ever found a genealogy book packed with information about your ancestors… but no index? That was my problem with an 1890 history of Randolph County, North Carolina. The book contains dozens of references to my ancestors and their neighbors, but finding those names over and over again was becoming a challenge. So I turned to AI—and in just a short time, I created a fully searchable name index complete with page numbers.
In this video, I’ll show you how I used ChatGPT to analyze a PDF version of the book, extract every personal name, organize them alphabetically, and generate a custom index. Then I’ll show you how I took that information one step further by creating an Ancestry Network to help visualize relationships and build out my FAN Club research.
You'll also learn where to find digitized genealogy books online, including HathiTrust, FamilySearch Books, Google Books, and other free resources that may contain valuable information about your ancestors.
Whether you're working with county histories, local memoirs, family histories, or other older publications, this technique can save hours of manual work and help uncover connections you might otherwise miss.
📄 A handout is available for eligible members. Information on how to access the handout is included below.
#Genealogy #FamilyHistory #Ancestry #GenealogyResearch #ChatGPT #ArtificialIntelligence #AIforGenealogy #FamilySearch #GoogleBooks #HathiTrust #GenealogyTV #RandolphCountyNC #AncestryNetworks #FANClubResearch
❤️ JOIN the GENEALOGY TV ACADEMY
genealogytv.org/academy
📝📝📝📝 HANDOUT OPTIONS
📝 1) Genealogy TV Academy members have access to all lessons and handouts back to 2022. genealogytv.org/academy
📝 2) Become a CHANNEL MEMBER at the INFO ACCESS level $9.99 per month. This gets you all the handouts. youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/join.
As a Channel Member, find the handouts by scrolling through the blog posts on the Community tab at youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/community
📝 3) All handouts can be PURCHASED INDIVIDUALLY ($5 and up) at genealogytv.org/handouts/. Here you will get a redirect and an email to download the handouts.
📝 4) Become a monthly PATRON at the HAPPY DANCE level ($15/Month) or more. You will get early release of the videos and the handouts are emailed to you, when they become available. patreon.com/GenealogyTV
❤️ BECOME A GENEALOGY TV CHANNEL MEMBER and help support Genealogy TV - see perks!
youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/join
❤️ Patreon Membership – Handouts Emailed as they are produced. patreon.com/GenealogyTV.
✅ Genealogy TV WEBSITE
genealogytv.org
✅ GTV on FACEBOOK
facebook.com/Genealogytv
✅ SIGN UP For GTV’s NEWSLETTER
https://mailchi.mp/a0862c6473aa/genealogytvnewsletter
👉 Subscribe to Genealogy TV (Free)
youtube.com/channel/UCcvpi8XvOScBogIxmarmADw/Subscribe
*** GTV Affiliate Partners ***
🛍️ Genealogy TV’s AMAZON STORE full of Connie’s favorites.
amazon.com/shop/genealogytv
DIRECT HANDOUT LIBRARY LINK: genealogytv.org/product/handout-for-creating-an-index-from-a-pdf-ancestry-networks
Timings
00:00 Intro
00:49 About the Book
01:32 Why Create an Index?
01:50 Building a Community
03:28 HathiTrust
03:45 OCLC Archive Grid
03:54 FamilySearch Books
04:13 Google Books
04:37 ChatGPT
08:42 Ancestry Networks
11:01 Handout Info
