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Highlands Ranch Genealogical Society February 2026 Presentation: Efficient Locality Research with AI
Join us at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at The Highlands Ranch LDS Stake Center, 9800 Foothills Canyon Blvd #B, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 for a presentation of “Efficient Locality Research with AI: Discovering New Avenues of Exploration,” by author and professional genealogist Diana Elder. This presentation was recorded in March 2025 at RootsTech. We will pause the video as needed during the presentation to address questions.
Genealogists often face the hurdle of locality research – gathering historical details, records, and repositories for a specific area. This is where locality guides can help. A locality guide is a personalized reference document that serves as a comprehensive "roadmap" for researching ancestors in a specific geographic area, such as a county, state, or country. Rather than just a list of names, it is a research hub that consolidates historical context, jurisdictional changes, and a directory of available record sets into one accessible place.
This process can be slow and laborious. Here's where large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini can empower your research. LLMs excel at summarizing vast amounts of information and pinpointing key details you might miss. They can even translate resources into foreign languages, broadening your search scope. However, like with any tool, the user must guide the process by crafting clear prompts and critically evaluating the information LLMs provide. In this program, Diana Elder will explain the value of locality guides in our research and how AI can help us create them.
Diana Elder, AG is a professional genealogist accredited in the Gulf South region of the United States and serves as a Commissioner for The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). Diana authored Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and co-authored the companion volume, Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence. Diana and her daughter, Nicole, share research tips on their website, familylocket.com and host the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast.
Arrive early at 6:30 p.m. for networking with fellow genealogists. You never know who might have an answer to your most perplexing research problem.
Also, if you would like help using FamilySearch and the many other resources of the Highlands Ranch FamilySearch Center for your genealogical research, FamilySearch experts will be available starting at 6 p.m., for anyone wanting to use them.
We invite you to continue the genealogical conversation after the meeting over libations at Old Chicago, 1489 Park Central Dr, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129.
Winter is here, so if the weather looks dicey on the day of the meeting, please check the HRGS Website at https://hrgenealogy.wordpress.com for updates.
Questions? Visit our website at https://hrgenealogy.wordpress.com or email us at [email protected].
Event Links
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3448097-0
