Using AI to Extract Newspaper Information for Genealogical Research

by Thomas MacEntee

Unlock Hidden Family Stories Buried in Historical Newspapers—With the Power of AI

Millions of pages of digitized newspapers are now online, containing obituaries, marriage announcements, legal notices, social columns, and everyday stories about our ancestors. Yet for many genealogists, these records remain frustratingly difficult to use. Poor OCR text, overwhelming search results, and hard-to-read newspaper images often hide the very clues that could break through a research brick wall.

Using AI to Extract Newspaper Information for Genealogical Research shows family historians how to harness modern artificial intelligence tools to uncover, extract, and analyze genealogical information hidden inside historical newspapers.

Written specifically for genealogists—not programmers—this practical guide demonstrates how AI can transform newspaper research from hours of manual reading into a powerful, structured research workflow.

Inside this book, you’ll learn how

• Use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to analyze historical newspaper articles
• Extract names, dates, locations, relationships, and life events from unstructured text
• Overcome poor OCR quality and decode difficult newspaper pages
• Read and interpret damaged, faded, or foreign-language newspaper images
• Turn long articles into structured genealogical data you can use immediately
• Identify hidden family connections buried in social columns, legal notices, and community news
• Build timelines and research leads from scattered newspaper references
• Verify AI-generated information and apply sound genealogical standards
• Create repeatable AI-assisted workflows for efficient family history research

You’ll also gain a clear understanding of the digitized newspaper landscape—including major databases like Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank, Chronicling America, and state digital newspaper projects—along with strategies for finding records even when OCR search fails.

Packed with real-world examples, step-by-step exercises, and a complete AI prompt library for genealogists, this book teaches you exactly how to communicate with AI tools to extract meaningful historical data from newspaper archives.

Whether you’re a beginner exploring AI for the first time or an experienced genealogist looking to work more efficiently with digitized records, you’ll discover how artificial intelligence can act as a powerful research assistant—helping you read faster, analyze deeper, and uncover stories you might otherwise miss.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of digitized newspapers—or frustrated by missing ancestors in search results—this book will show you a smarter way forward.

Your ancestors are in the newspapers. Now you have the tools to find them.

490 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 11, 2026

About the author

What happens when a “tech guy” with a love for history gets laid off during The Great Recession of 2008? You get Thomas MacEntee, a genealogy professional based in the United States who is also a blogger, educator, author, social media connector, online community builder and more.

Thomas was laid off after a 25-year career in the information technology field, so he started his own genealogy-related business called High Definition Genealogy. He also created an online community of over 3,000 family history bloggers known as GeneaBloggers. His most recent endeavor, Hack Genealogy, is an attempt to “re-purpose today’s technology for tomorrow’s genealogy.”

Thomas describes himself as a lifelong learner with a background in a multitude of topics who has finally figured out what he does best: teach, inspire, instigate, and serve as a curator and go-to-guy for concept nurturing and inspiration. Thomas is a big believer in success, and that we all succeed when we help each other find success.