Using Google's NotebookLM to Generate Videos About My Family Research

 I spent some time yesterday gathering together some of my blog articles, research notes and source lists to use at Google's NotebookLM.  Google's NotebookLM is an AI-powered research and writing assistant(it uses Gemini AL) that helps users to understand and organize information from sources they upload such as PDFs, Google Docs, website etc.  I wanted to use it to generate a video version of some of my research topics.  It will also do audio overviews, mind maps, reports, flashcards and quizzes.  Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings had written about his experience with it back in October of last year. I've wanted to try it for awhile but am just now making the time. 

So far I've had it generate two videos which I have uploaded to my YouTube Channel:  MarieB's Genealogy.  As with anything AI, you need to review and check to make sure the information it is generating from your input is correct and logical.  I feel like the audio and video summaries it generates would be helpful to get people interested who wouldn't normally take the time to read a blog post.  Also the flashcards and quiz tools might be useful when planning games for a family reunion.

Wm Harrison Land Grant 2127--640 acres

The Land Grant referenced in the previous blog post( E C Harrison to Wm Weaver) 

Source: Bedford Co Tennessee Deeds Book v. 1851-1852 p 55, E C Harrison to Wm Weaver; FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKX-M84Z : accessed 21 October 2025), IGN 8150805, Image 532 of 848.[There is an index at the start of 1851-1852 though the vol is not named(image 486 of 848)]

at the above listed source appears to be in Rutherford Co TN at the time it was granted. Note that Rutherford Co TN was established 25 Oct 1803. Bedford Co TN was established 3 Dec 1807 from southern parts of Rutherford. This grant mentions Lock's tract as does the deed from E C Harrison to Wm Weaver. The creek would later be called Alexander Creek after another land owner.


William Harrison 11 Apr 1810 Rutherford Grant 2127

In consideration of military service performed by Isaac Water to the State of North Carolina.

Warrant 4184 dated 8 Dec 1796(?)and entered on the 1st of Sept 1807 by No 144

William Harrison Assignee of the said Isaac Waters
640 acres lying in Rutherford Co in the 2nd Dist 4th Range and 7th section on the west fork of Stones River Beginning at 2 walnuts in the East Boundary line of Thomas P Sumners 640 acre tract 120 poles North from his south East corner, running thence East 100 poles to a cedar in an open glad thence south 407 poles to two cedars and a mulberry in the north boundary line of Mathew Locks' 5000 acre tract thence with his line West passing his north west corner in all 234 poles to a cedar and elm thence north 387 poles to two dogwoods in the south boundary lines of T E Sumners tract aforesaid thence with his line East 134 poles to two hickories his south east corner thence to the beginning surveyed 21st Sept 1809 by Henry Harrison D S.

11th April 1810 Willis Blount

Tennessee General Land Grants
Roll 33: Book I p 377 Image 190 of 332
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2882/records/198795?
Granted 11th April 1810
Recorded 23rd August 1815

Land Grant to Wm Harrison Mentioned in Bedford Co TN Deed

 I found a deed(E C Harrison to Wm Weaver) that was registered in Bedford Co TN Deed books(1851-1852) in 19 July 1850 though the indenture date was 13 Dec 1825.

The description mentions land Granted to William Harrison(640 acres on Alexander Creek)

"A Certain tract or parcel of land lying and being in the County of Bedford and State of Tennessee, in the Second District, Eleventh Section and said fourth Range. On the waters of Alexander's Creek. And being a part of a six hundred and forty Acre tract of land, Granted to William Harrison"

It wouldn't be the same as the Bounty Land listed in the pension papers for Wm & widow Elvira.  I would think that was federal and the 640 acres would be granted by the state of TN. 

I've contacted the TN State Archives and I'm awaiting their response which hopefully will point me in the right direction for finding out more about this grant.

Source:  Bedford Co Tennessee Deeds Book v. 1851-1852   p 55, E C Harrison to Wm Weaver; FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKX-M84Z : accessed 21 October 2025), IGN 8150805, Image 532 of 848.[There is an index at the start of 1851-1852 though the vol is not named(image 486 of 848)]

Probate Records Revisited: New Discoveries on the Second Pass

Almost two years ago I blogged about some finds I made while reading thru the images for Franklin Co NC Will Book C at FamilySearch. I now have a copy of Franklin Co NC Will Books A, B & C 1785-1812 which contains abstracts by Dr. Stephen E Bradley, Jr. The book was originally published by ColonialRoots  publishing but is now a part of the selection of books available at Heritage Books Inc Looking thru the index of the published book I located two items of interest that I had missed on my readthrough.

1.  In the inventory and sale listing of Drewry Jones, Pope Cook is listed as having purchased 1 looking glass.

Source:
Franklin Co. North Carolina, Wills, Inventories, 1804-1812, Vol C, p 57, Inventory & sales of Drewry Jones estate; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-JZDS-F : accessed 16 Oct 2025), IGN 4755060, image 135 of 630.

2.  The inventory of Harbert Hight's estate records the division of the Negroes he enslaved. In that record it states that Goodman Smith on behalf of his wife Molly drew lot which contained Louis valued at $400. This is of interest to me because I found a record of Wm P Cook selling an enslaved man named Louis in 1821 Maury Co TN.  There is a great deal of interactions between the Smiths, Harrisons ,and Hights and while this could be a coincidence, it's  something I want to keep in mind especially since there are many of them among my family's DNA matches from our paternal side.

Source
Franklin Co. North Carolina Wills, Inventories, 1804-1812, Vol C, p 180, Division of Negroes Harbert Hight estate;  images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-JZND-9 : accessed 16 Oct 2025), IGN 4755060, image 383-4 of 630.

My 23&me Ancestry Composition Update

 Today I checked out my updated Ancestry Composition at 23&me.  No real surprises.  I have loads of Colonial American ancestry on both sides of my family.  Still, it's entertaining to see what locations my ancestors may have lived.

Petition for Settlement: Estate of William Cook

Newspaper notice 27th Dec 1845 of the Greensborough Patriot(NC)

State of North Carolina, Moore County.
Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions October Term, 1845.

Joseph, adm'r
of William Cook
vs.
David Cook & others               Petition for settlement

In this case it appearing to the satisfaction of the
Court that David Cook, Lydia Norvell, Martha and Coaly Hornsley, William P. Cook, defendants in this case, are not inhabitants of this State-- it is therefore ordered by the Court that publication be made as to them for six weeks in the Greensborough Patriot, for them to appear at the next term of this Court on the Fourth Monday of January, 1846, at the Court House in Carthage, and plead, answer or demur to the petition filed in this case or the same will be taken pro confesso and set for hearing, and heard ex parte as to them.

Witness, Alexander C. Curry, Clerk of our said Court at office the 4th Monday of October, A.D. 1845.
A.C. Curry, Clerk

More on the Bedford Co TN and Franklin Co NC connections

The Fall 2025 edition of the Bedford County Tennessee Quarterly is out and has an article about Revolutionary Veterans who were in Bedford County.  I was happy to see such a listing.  The article mentioned my 4th Great Grandfather, William Harrison noting that the info for his listing came from Texas DAR Roster.  I am baffled by the year of death they are showing  as 1816 so I'm trying to find the listing in the Texas DAR.  I found several who had joined under his service but they were all showing 1833 as the date of death.  There has been some confusion whether the month was Jan. or Jun., his year of death is 1833(given in widow, Elvira's pension file.)   William Harrison is enumerated in the 1830 census in Bedford Co. TN's  District 9 surrounded by family.  He is mentioned on the 1835 listing of pensioners but as having died in 1833.  His listing is under Rutherford County but the age would imply that it is him since he was born about 1749.  Rutherford County was over the county line just north of where he was in 1830. Since this was from a file

WILLIAM HARRISON

RUTHERFORD COUNTY
LIEUTENANT
NORTH CAROLINA CONT'L LINE
$240.00 ANNUAL ALLOWANCE
$2,424.66 AMOUNT RECEIVED
OCTOBER 6, 1820 PENSION STARTED
AGE 84
DIED JUNE 22, 1833

Source:  http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/statewide/military/warof1812/pensions/pen1835.txt

The is a deed between Thomas Callen and Jackson Lile in Bedford County TN Deed Book FF page 159 in October of 1834 that mentions Harrison in the land description in reference to a nearby tract. Specifically it says "beginning at a Black Oak & Dogwood near South of the place old man Harrison lived & died."  I'd really like to get this all figured out and find out where he is buried as well.

It's also worth noting that Jackson Lyle/Lile mentioned in the deed likely is connected to the Jackson Lyle who was in the Franklin Co NC Tax lists.

I need to look further into the females within the families as their might be a connection. Also need to work the deeds for Franklin Co NC.

Sources:  

Bedford County Tennessee Deeds v. EE-GG Sep 1834-Apr 1838,  images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK6-13CW-W : accessed 16 September 2025), IGN 8150803,  image 361 of 819; citing Bedford County TN Deed Book FF page 160.

Carolyn Smotherman, “Revolutionary War Veterans in Bedford County, Tennessee,” The Bedford County Historical Quarterly 51, no. 3 (2025): 80–91.

My Memories of Living in Charlotte, Tennessee in the mid-1970s

I don't have a lot of memories from my childhood.  I probably used a good bit of that space to store 1980s song lyrics. When I started first grade in the fall of 1974, my family was renting a home from Ray and Rebecca Taylor on Liberty Road in Charlotte, Tennessee. At that time, kindergarten was not required, so I went directly into first grade.

The house we rented no longer exists. It was torn down around 1976 when the Taylors built their new home farther back on the same lot. The property is now addressed as 1171 Liberty Road. The older home sat to the right of the driveway near the front of the property, shaded by a few trees.

I remember several details about that place. A drain or gully ran along the yard, carrying off wash water. Wild apricots grew there, and my family planted a small garden to the right of the house. I loved running through the garden rows. Feral cats roamed the property—we named them Sluggo, Nancy, and Rare-Back. To the left of the driveway stood a tree with moss at its base. I used the moss to build tiny towns and lawns, with acorns serving as cars.

Because the house was surrounded by fields, ticks were a constant problem. We also heard mice and flying squirrels stirring around in the attic.

I was in Ms. Rachel Weaver’s first grade class at Charlotte Elementary, where Bill Caldwell served as principal. I rode Mr. Petty’s bus to school—possibly bus number 37.

In the fall of 1975, we moved from Charlotte to a house in the Spanish Oaks subdivision located in the Pomona community. At the time, I was in Mrs. Elliot’s second grade class at Charlotte Elementary. Since Pomona was then part of the Burns school district, I transferred to Mrs. C Richardson’s 2nd grade class at Burns Elementary. In that class they used a color coded reading program which I think was called SRA. I really loved these. 

About two years later, the school district lines were redrawn, and Pomona was placed in the Dickson district. From that point on, I attended Dickson Elementary, James E. Sullivan Middle School, Dickson Junior High School, and Dickson County Senior High. We remained in Spanish Oaks until the fall of 1986. 

W G Cook Rutherford Co TN--District 10 1912-1944

This is part of my research of William Green Cook, my great-grandfather, that I have published to my Ancestry Tree and is included in his Gallery. This is a listing from the Tax books of Rutherford Co TN for the years 1912-1944. Since anyone who is not a subscriber can't see it despite it being a PUBLIC tree, I'm publishing a copy of it here on my blog for others who are interested in the Wm Green Cook & Jane Bell King family.  I blogged about the process I used to create it several years back.  You can find that post HERE

W G Cook Rutherford Co TN--District 10  1912-1944

Year	North	South	East	West	Acres	Value
1912	Childress	Curren	Childress	Tucker	40	$150
1913	Childress	Curren	Childress	Tucker	40	$150
1914	Haynes	Curren	Thomas	Tucker	40	$150
1915
1916
1917	Haynes	Curren	Farris	Tucker	44	$200
1918	Haynes	Cowan	Farris	Tucker	44	$200
1919	Haynes	Cowan	Farris	Tucker	44	$200
1920	Haynes	Curren	Farris	Mangrum	44	$550(sic)
1921	Haynes	Coursey	Tmis	Mangrum	44	$250
1922	Haynes	Coursey	(blank)	Mangrum	44	$250
1923	Haynes	Currin	Thomas	Mangrum	44	$250
1924	Haynes	Curren	Thomas	Mangrum	44	$250
1925	Road Haynes	Curren Road	Thomas Thomas	Haynes Mangrum	40 4	$200 $50
1926	Road Haynes	Currin Road	Thomas Thomas	Haynes Mangrum	40 4	$200 $50
1927	Road Haynes	Curren Road	Thomas Thomas	Haynes Mangrum	40 4	$200 $50
1928	Road Haynes	Curren Road	Thomas Thomas	Haynes Mangrum	40 4	$200 $25 ) $225
1929	Road	Nance	Thomas	Haynes	44	$225
1930	(blank)	(blank)	(blank)	(blank)	44	$225
1931	Road Hayes(sic)	Nance Road	Thomas Thomas	Haynes Mangrum	44	$225
1932	Road Haynes	Nance Road	Thomas Thomas	Haynes Mangrum	44	$225
1933	Road Haynes	Nance Road	Thomas Thomas	Haynes Mangrum	6 38	$200
1934	Road Haynes	Nance Road	Thomas Thomas	Haynes Mangrum	6 38	$200
1935	Road Haynes	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Haynes	38 6	$200
1936	Road Haynes	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Haynes	38 6	$200
1937	Road Haynes	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Haynes	38 6	$200
1938	Road Haynes	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Haynes	38 6	$200
1939	Road Thomas	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Thomas	38 6	$200
1940	Road Thomas	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Thomas	38 6	$200
1941	Road Scott	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Scott	38 6	$200
1942	Road Scott	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Scott	38 6	$200
1943	Road Scott	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Scott	33(sic) 6	$200
1944	Road Scott	Nance Road	Road Mangrum	Mangrum Scott	33 6	$200

Notes & observations:

1915,1916 No tax books were found for these years

1918-1920 Cowan should be Currin verified with a check of the district that shows no Cowans Abe Currin shows Cook as his north bordering neighbor..

1920:  Property value likely $250 and not 550.

1921 & 1922:  Coursey should be Currin verified by checking Abe Currin’s entry

1921:  Tmis should be Thomas as the Ida Thomas Heirs are listed with Cook as their west bordering property.

1943 & 1944:  Not sure why the land acreage changed for these years.  The value remained the same.Possible typo? In the tax book?

Sources:

Rutherford Co TN Tax Books

Description-----------------------Film------IGN

Tax books District 1-25 1912-1913 421410 8663749  

Tax books District 1-25 1914, 1917 421411 8663750

Tax books District 1-25 1918-1919 431412 8663751

Tax books District 1-25 1920-1921 431413 8663752

Tax books District 1-25 1922-1923 431414 8663753

Tax books District 1-25 1924 431415 8663754

Tax books District 1-25 1925 431416 8663755

Tax books District 1-25 1926 431417 8663756

Tax books District 1-25 1927 431418 8663757

Tax books District 1-25 1928-1929 431419 8452271

Tax books District 1-25 1930-1931 431420 8663758

Tax books District 1-25 1932 431421 8663759

Tax books District 1-25 1933 431422 8663760

Tax books District 1-25 1934 431423 8663761

Tax books District 1-25 1935 431424 8663762

Tax books District 1-25 1936-1937 431425 8663763

Tax books District 1-25 1938-1939 431426 8663764

Tax books District 1-25 1940-1941 431427 8663765

Tax books District 1-25 1942-1943 431428 8663766

Tax books District 1-25 1944-1945 431429 8663767