A while back, another blogger tried out Chat GPT’s capability to write out a biographical sketch of himself and commented how (scarily) well AI did so, out of curiosity, I thought I would try it myself.

My prompt was to write a biographical sketch about myself and provided my maiden and married surnames. I thought AI might also do a good job for me since I’ve written a lot about my life growing up and as a genealogist. WRONG!

Here is what appeared:

First, this is a bulleted list, which would be easy enough to correct if the details were right, but they aren’t, by a long shot.

What’s wrong?

1. Birth date
2. I have absolutely no ability to move to music, aka dancing.
3. I didn’t write the above mentioned books.
4. I don’t live alone.
5. I don’t find solace in photography.
6. There was no Shakespeare fiasco.
7. Most importantly, I didn’t pass away five years ago!!!
8. With all the inaccuracies, the summary is wrong, too.

About the only correct items are where I went to high school and my Blogging Ventures.

For those who are enamored of AI-generated writing, fiction is fine, but if you are expecting AI to create historically accurate articles about real people, living or dead, be sure to proofread carefully before sharing or AI’s lies will reproduce faster than those crazy online trees.

For this month’s 12 for ’26, Artificial Intelligence was the subject and I spent some time testing it with several different tasks.

Now it’s time for the retired teacher in me to grade AI on its successes and failures.

In Part 1, I shared a photo taken in Noble, Oklahoma perhaps around 1920. My father-in-law told me many Years ago that it was a picture of the first oil wells built in Noble. ChatGPT 4o did a great job telling me about the image and a bit of background about oil wells in Oklahoma. It couldn’t tell me when the first well was dug there. GRADE: B

In Part 2, both ChatGPT 4o and Perplexity were asked to identify the school building in Passaic, New Jersey from around 1920. Passaic had 12 numbered schools plus the high school and I even told AI that the school definitely was not #10 School. Neither AI came close to identifying the school as #12 School, Wilson Junior High. GRADE: F

In Part 3, I tried another photo taken c1918, this time one of a building that I believed was at Oklahoma University. Enough of the building was shown so that ChatGPT 4o made a correct identification of Evans Hall, the administration building (the third in the school’s history because the first two burned down). GRADE: A

In Part 4, the subject was a tintype photo of my 3X great grandmother, Mary (Scripture) Tarbox (1827-1866) and whether or not the picture was a post-mortem photo. Here’s where I think Ai can’t quite finesse details. While it addressed all the points I made, it said the photo was likely not taken post-mortem. I have other family photos taken in this era and not one of them is as strange looking as Mary’s. I still believe it was taken after she died. If she wasn’t dead, did the family have her photo taken to have something to remember her by because they knew she was dying? Either way, the photo is strange. GRADE: C

In Part 5, my last experiment, I shared two images from the Williams family in Dike, Hopkins, Texas in pre- and post-1900 photos. AI was asked to create a poem about John, his wife and small children in front of their new home and describe the daily life of the ladies in the second photo and to date that picture. I think AI hit the target with both photos. GRADE: A

So, how did AI do overall? Averaging the grades together, AI earned a solid B. It’s improving, but it’s strengths are in creating stories and identifying well-known public buildings. I was a bit surprised it couldn’t identify #12 School and still didn’t think Mary’s photo was post-mortem, but we agree to disagree there.

Moral of the story: I wouldn’t trust AI with its answers without doing the legwork myself to determine how accurate a response might be.

Today, I decided to try something different – an activity the Randy Seaver made very popular on Genea-Musings. I asked ChatGPT 4o to create a poem about the life and times of John and Ellen Williams of Dike, Texas in the late 1800s. He was a small farmer.

The family must have been very proud of their new-build home in the rural community of Dike.

Here is the poem:

“The House in Dike”
For John and Ellen Williams, c. 1900

Beneath a Texas sky so wide,
Where fields rolled out on either side,
John tilled the earth with weathered hands,
A farmer working honest lands.

Ellen stood with quiet grace,
The windlight playing on her face,
Her days were full, from dawn to bed,
With bread to bake and mouths to fed.

Their house, a frame of sturdy wood,
Upon stout piers and proudly stood.
A chimney tall, a porch held dear,
Where laughter rang and love drew near.

Children gathered at their knees,
Clad in calico and dungarees.
Barefoot summers, winter’s fire,
Simple dreams and strong desire.

The hound curled up beside the gate,
The rocker swayed till it grew late.
A fiddle’s tune, a Bible verse,
Life stitched tight, for better or worse.

No riches lined their humble floor,
But kin and kindness meant far more.
A legacy of toil and care—
Of roots grown deep and hearts laid bare.

In Dike they sowed, in Dike they stayed,
Through drought and storm, they were not swayed.
And though the world has moved along,
Their house still hums a frontier song.

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I then added this second photo with John’s granddaughter, Pearl (born 1898), visiting some friends. I have no idea who any of these people are.

I asked a 2-part question:

Here is a photo of John’s granddaughter Pearl (wearing the hat in the photo) visiting with a friend and her family. Pearl was born in 1898. Can you estimate the date of the photo from her birth year and the style of the baby carriage? What would a day in the life of these ladies been like?

Answer:

Thank you for the detailed context. Let’s explore both parts of your question—dating the photo and imagining a day in the life of these women.

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🕰️ Estimated Date of the Photo

Given:

• Pearl (wearing the brimmed hat) was born in 1898.
• She appears to be roughly 13–15 years old in the image, suggesting a date between 1911 and 1913.
• The baby carriage design—large spoked wheels, a deep curved bassinet, and push handle—matches styles common in the Edwardian era, particularly around 1905–1915.

📅 Conclusion: The photo was likely taken around 1912, give or take a year.

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🧺 A Day in the Life of These Ladies – circa 1912, Rural Texas

These women represent multiple generations—from the seated matron (perhaps a grandmother) to young mothers, teens like Pearl, and toddlers.

Here’s a likely rhythm to their day:

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🌅 Morning

• Before sunrise: The older women and younger mothers would start the day by stoking wood stoves and preparing breakfast—cornbread, bacon, or leftover biscuits with syrup or lard.
• Children fed and dressed; if it was Sunday, everyone might wear their best for church; otherwise, they might begin chores.

🧺 Mid-Morning

• Washing laundry by hand with washtubs and scrub boards.
• Caring for babies and tending to small children.
• Chickens fed, garden weeded, and any sewing, darning, or quilting begun.

🥘 Midday

• Dinner (the noon meal) would be the largest: fried meat, potatoes, beans, maybe canned peaches or tomatoes.
• After eating, there might be rest on the porch, fanning in the heat, sharing gossip, or shelling peas together.

🌳 Afternoon

• More needlework or letter writing.
• Children playing barefoot in the yard or pushing the baby in the carriage.
• Perhaps a visit from a neighbor—someone like Pearl, coming by to check in and socialize.

🌇 Evening

• A lighter supper, sweeping the porch, tending to animals.
• Older children reading aloud, while younger ones were bathed in a washbasin before bedtime.
• Laughter, stories, and quiet reflection ended the day.

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This porch scene—dresses rumpled from wear, hats shading eyes, and the worn wood beneath their feet—is a vivid glimpse into early 20th-century rural womanhood: domestic, communal, and deeply rooted in kinship and resilience.

I think ChatGPT 4o did an excellent job with this reply. I dated the photo to about 1912, too, and I think the description of the daily life on a small farm is quite accurate.

AI did well with these tasks.