Prompt of the Day – From Obituary Text to Structured Evidence and Research Steps

This prompt assumes you have: 

• At least one obituary or death‑related newspaper item (transcribed or reliable OCR). 
• - Optionally, a short factual summary from other sources (census, vital, grave, probate) for the same person, which improves the conflict‑checking step.  

Paste the prompt into your AI assistant, then paste: 

1. the obituary text (and any closely related death/funeral items), and 
2.  your brief existing fact summary, if you have one.   <prompt> 

 I will provide: 

 1) The full text (or a reliable transcription) of one or more historical newspaper items related to a person’s death. These may include an obituary, funeral notice, death notice, accident report, or funeral write‑up. Each item will include its date, place, and newspaper title if I know them. 

 2) (Optional but preferred) A short factual summary of what I already know about this person from non‑newspaper sources (for example, census entries, vital records, grave marker, or probate), including at least approximate birth and death dates, spouse, and known children.  

 Please complete the following tasks in clearly labeled sections.  

 1. People and relationships table (from the obituary only) 

 From the newspaper text, identify every person mentioned. 

 Create a table with one row per person and columns for: 

   - Name as written in the article. 

   - Standardized name (if obvious; otherwise repeat as written). 

   - Stated relationship to the deceased (for example, spouse, child, sibling, parent, in‑law, friend, minister, pallbearer); if not stated, write “not stated.” 

   - Role in the article (for example, deceased, survivor, pallbearer, officiant, employer, doctor). 

   - Residence or place associated with this person if mentioned (town, county, state). 

 Do not invent relationships; record only what the obituary states or clearly implies (for example, “son,” “wife of,” “brother”).  

 2. Event and place timeline from the obituary 

 List each specific event or fact about the deceased that the newspaper text states. 

 For each row, include: 

   - Event type (for example, birth, marriage, move, employment, illness, accident, death, funeral, burial). 

   - Approximate date as given or implied (for example, exact date, month and year, or “about X years ago”). 

   - Place (town, county, state, country) as written. 

   - A very short description or quotation of the relevant phrase from the obituary. 

 If the obituary mentions vague periods (for example, “lived here for 30 years”), include that and note it as approximate.  

 3. Comparison with my existing facts (if I provided them) 

 Using my separate fact summary (if provided), compare the obituary’s information to what I already have from other sources. 

 Create two bullet lists: 

   - Agreements: details where the obituary matches my existing facts (for example, same approximate birth year, same spouse, same residence at death). 

   - Conflicts or discrepancies: details where the obituary differs (for example, different birth year by several years, extra child not in census, different birthplace). 

 For each conflict, briefly explain the difference without trying to resolve it. 

 If I did not provide a separate fact summary, skip this step or say so.  

 4. Factual summary of the death and immediate context 

 Write a concise, fact‑focused summary in 6–10 sentences describing: 

   - The deceased’s identity (name, approximate age or birth year, residence, occupation if given). 

   - The basic circumstances of death (date or approximate date, place, cause if stated). 

   - Key surviving relatives named (spouse, children, parents, siblings) and any mentioned residences. 

   - Funeral and burial details (date, place, officiant, cemetery) if provided. 

 Stick strictly to what is in the obituary; do not add in facts from other sources in this section.  

 5. Observations and hypotheses for genealogical use 

 Provide two short bullet lists: 

   - Observations (5–10 bullets): items of clear genealogical value from the obituary (for example, “Lists all surviving children and where they live,” “Names a specific church or cemetery,” “Mentions years in a particular town or employer”). 

   - Hypotheses (4–8 bullets): questions or possible interpretations that should be tested (for example, “The mention of a town may indicate earlier residence,” “An extra child might represent a step‑child or child from a prior marriage”). 

 Label hypotheses clearly as ideas to test with other records.  

 6. Research‑step checklist driven by the obituary 

 Based on the obituary alone (and my fact summary if provided), outline 10–15 specific follow‑up research steps. 

 For each step, include: 

   - The question to answer (for example, “Confirm the full list of children,” “Verify the stated birthplace,” “Find the marriage date”). 

   - The recommended record types and likely jurisdictions (for example, civil vital records, church registers, cemetery and sexton records, probate files, land and tax records, city directories, additional newspaper searches, local histories). 

   - The specific obituary clue that prompted this step (for example, a place name, employer, organization, or relative’s residence).  

 Important constraints: 

 - Do not invent people, dates, places, or relationships beyond what the obituary states or what I have in my separate fact summary. 

 - Where the obituary is vague or contradictory, mark it as such instead of “fixing” it. 

 - Preserve at least one version of every name and place exactly as it appears in the newspaper text.  

 I will now paste the obituary text (and any related death‑notice items), followed by my existing fact summary if I have one.

</prompt>  

Once you run this: 

- You get a ready‑made people/relationship table, event timeline, and succinct factual summary. 

- Conflicts with your prior research are clearly flagged instead of buried in prose. 

- You walk away with a focused research‑step checklist built directly from the obituary’s clues.