Prompts, working tools, and the proposal framework for discovering, organizing, and analyzing family history. Methodological guidance only: nothing on this page touches a live genealogy database, and nothing here accesses real records or real DNA data.
Agent identity. The Genealogy Research Agent is designed to assist in discovering, organizing, and analyzing family history information. This agent excels at navigating genealogical records, developing research strategies, breaking through brick walls, analyzing DNA results, and creating comprehensive family narratives that connect individuals to their ancestral heritage.
Purpose (enhanced prompt). A highly skilled and advanced Genealogy Research Agent, proficient in uncovering detailed family histories, accurately interpreting complex DNA results, resolving challenging research issues, and crafting compelling, evidence-based family narratives. Capabilities encompass strategic navigation of historical archives, sophisticated DNA analytical methods, and expert-level documentation and citation practices.
Fill in what is known. The builder produces the full enhanced prompt from the source, with the research objective, known information, records already reviewed, and critical obstacles. Copy it into ChatGPT, Grok, or any model.
The shorter standard template from the source: goal, known information, time period, location, records searched, challenges, and the five things the agent must provide.
Both examples are the source's own worked examples, reproduced verbatim in substance. Loading one fills the standard prompt builder above and shows the output structure the agent is expected to produce.
Research goal: Identify the parents of John Smith, born approximately 1842 in County Cork, Ireland, who immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts around 1860.
Known information: John Smith appears in the 1870 US Census in Boston as age 28, occupation laborer. Marriage record from 1868 to Mary Kelly lists his parents as "James Smith and Anne". Death certificate from 1915 lists birthplace as "Ireland" with parents "unknown". His obituary mentions siblings Michael and Catherine but no parents. Family story says he came to America "after the famine" with a cousin.
Time period: 1840-1870. Location: County Cork, Ireland and Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Records already searched: US Census 1870-1910, Boston marriage record, death certificate, Catholic church records in Boston, basic Ancestry.com searches.
Specific challenges: Common name makes identification difficult. No specific town in Ireland identified. No immigration record found. Multiple John Smiths in Boston during this period.
Research goal: Determine how my DNA match "JaneD" (sharing 185 cM across 8 segments) connects to my family tree.
Known information: JaneD and I share 185 cM across 8 segments with the largest segment being 45 cM. JaneD's tree shows her ancestors primarily from Westphalia, Germany. My known German ancestors are from Bavaria, not Westphalia. We share matches with 3 other people who all have Schmidt ancestors. JaneD has tested her brother who shares 210 cM with me. I have tested my father who does NOT match JaneD (so connection is maternal). My maternal grandmother had unknown parentage but was believed to be of German descent.
Time period: 1850-1930. Location: Germany (Westphalia and Bavaria) and Pennsylvania, USA. Records already searched: Census records, basic vital records, shared matches on Ancestry, GEDmatch one-to-one comparisons.
Specific challenges: No obvious surname connections between our trees. My maternal grandmother's parentage is unknown. Language barrier for German records. Shared matches have limited trees.
Key deduction in the example: the father does not match JaneD, so the connection is maternal. The 185 cM value falls in two of the source's ranges; check it in the DNA lookup tool in section 6.
For either research request, the agent must provide:
Reference guidance from the source. No live connection to any of these platforms is involved.
Implements the source's algorithm exactly. Identify the most recent common ancestor (MRCA), count generations from person A to the MRCA (X) and from person B to the MRCA (Y). If X = Y: 1 is siblings, 2 is first cousins, 3 is second cousins, 4 is third cousins, and so on. If X differs from Y: the base relationship comes from the smaller of X and Y, and the person with fewer generations is |X - Y| generations "removed" from it.
Note: the source defines only the cousin ladder. For X = 1 with X different from Y, the algorithm returns "siblings N times removed". In standard genealogy that case is aunt/uncle or niece/nephew, which the source does not define. The calculator follows the source's algorithm and flags this case.
Shared cM ranges and likely relationships, as stated in the source (Shared cM Project ranges). Enter a shared cM value to see every range it falls in. Ranges overlap by design: a value near a boundary can match two ranges.
Probability formula from the source: P(relationship R | shared cM = X) = (frequency of X cM in relationship R) / (sum of frequencies of X cM across all relationships). Computing an actual probability needs the Shared cM Project frequency tables, which are not bundled here. This tool gives the range lookup, not a computed probability.
| Shared cM | Likely relationships |
|---|---|
| 3400+ | Parent/child |
| 2000-3400 | Full sibling, grandparent/grandchild |
| 1300-2000 | Half sibling, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew |
| 575-1300 | First cousin, great-grandparent, great-aunt/uncle |
| 215-650 | First cousin once removed, half first cousin |
| 75-360 | Second cousin, first cousin twice removed |
| 30-215 | Second cousin once removed, third cousin |
| 0-120 | Third cousin once removed, fourth cousin |
Census and vital records templates from the source. The "Load worked example" buttons reproduce the source's two worked examples character-for-character.
Generates a filled research log from the source's template, with all eleven fields.
The source's own reference links. They are links only; this page never fetches them.
Each builder fills its prompt from the source and produces copy-ready text with a share link.
The companion PDF, Genealogy Research Proposal Framework (50 pages), is a business framework for selling genealogy research as a service. Prepared for Brian Rowe by Jeramie Hicks / Neuruh, April 2025. It contains three versions of the same proposal plus the intake form, the Heritage Companion GPT template, the build stages, and the enhancements checklist. This section presents its structure faithfully, including where the versions disagree on price.
Before research begins, a brief intake process (call or questionnaire) identifies: existing knowledge or documents; known relatives, origins, or oral histories; gaps, mysteries, or special interests (military history, immigration); budget and desired deliverables (digital, print, media). In the V2 version this is a 10-15 minute consultation (Google Meet or Zoom) or a digital questionnaire (Notion or Google Forms), producing a custom client profile auto-synced via Zapier.
Automation option from the PDF: Zapier or Make.com creates a Google Doc or Notion page titled "Client Profile - [Client Name]", stores uploads in a folder named "Genealogy_[ClientName]", and emails the client a confirmation with next steps.
A private AI-powered assistant trained on one family's history. Deployable in under 5 minutes per client once the base template exists; under 30 minutes total per client including intake and file prep. Platform: ChatGPT Custom GPT Builder (ChatGPT Plus, $20/month), optionally Notion, Google Drive, Canva, Zapier.
Profile instructions (template version, verbatim): "You are a private family historian for the [Family Name] family. You are trained on detailed records, timelines, transcriptions, and biographical notes provided by Jeramie Hicks, a professional genealogist. Your role is to help family members explore their lineage, learn about historical events their ancestors lived through, answer questions about relatives, and even generate fictionalized-but-grounded letters or stories based on known data. You must be accurate, warm, and sensitive. If something is unknown, provide helpful advice or context for what can be explored further (DNA testing, census archives, church records, etc.). You are only allowed to speak about the [Family Name] data and history uploaded with this GPT. Do not invent generic answers. Use real data when possible. If the question is speculative, offer ideas or historical context with disclaimers."
The PDF's separate GPT Base Instance Setup Guide (Step 3) gives a different system instruction text: a private family historian and legacy assistant, warm and factual, specializing in U.S. and European genealogical periods 1700-1950, never fabricating family details, offering further research suggestions when uncertain. The two texts serve the same role; the demo follows the template version above and flags the setup-guide variant.
Files to upload per client: LastName_FamilyTree.pdf, LastName_AncestorBios.docx, LastName_Timeline.csv, LastName_LettersTranscribed.pdf, LastName_Locations.pdf, LastName_Questions.docx (optional). Optional: audio interviews, raw DNA match exports, labeled family photos.
Sample prompts for clients: "Tell me the story of my great-grandfather James Hull and his Civil War involvement." "Who were the first family members to arrive in America?" "What was happening in Georgia in 1861 when the Rea family lived there?" "Can you generate a fictional letter from my ancestor based on the data you have?" "What did my great-grandmother's daily life look like based on where she lived in 1900?" "Explain my family's migration path from Scotland to Kentucky to Missouri."
Advanced add-ons (no-code): voice narration or talking ancestor AI (ElevenLabs or D-ID); interactive family timeline viewer (Notion, Tiki-Toki, Timeline JS); photo Q and A companion (Google Drive or Notion); GPT-generated personalized storybooks (Canva).
Time and cost (template section): form intake and file prep 10-15 min; file upload and GPT build 5 min; story customization 10 min (optional); client handoff 2 min. Total under 30 minutes per client. Cost under $1 per build amortized. Charge: $99 to $399+ depending on features.
Pricing note: the template section says charge $99 to $399+ for the companion, while the V2 add-ons section prices the base package at $150+ with add-ons $50-300 each, and the framework v1 prices it at $99+. The demo follows the V2 figures in the proposal builder below and flags the $99 figures as the earlier version.
| Tier | Name | Turnaround | Price (V2) | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basic Lineage Trace | 5-7 business days | $250-$450 | 5 generations both sides, names, birth/marriage/death dates, locations, 3 teaser hints, 5-7 page PDF + GEDCOM, 2-4 hours expert review + AI research |
| 2 | Story Builder | 2-3 weeks | $750-$1,250 | All Tier 1 plus detailed bios, newspaper clippings, immigration records, custom timelines, 12-20 page PDF + GEDCOM, 10-15 hours |
| 3 | Legacy Book | 4-8 weeks | $2,750-$5,250 | All Tier 2 plus grave site mapping/photos, transcriptions, high-res visuals and maps, 50+ page soft/hardcover book + PDF, optional DNA interpretation $150-$300 |
| 4 | Time Capsule Project | 8-12 weeks | $8,000-$16,000+ | All Tier 3 plus virtual research trips, relative interviews, 5-15 min video documentary, photo restoration, custom GPT output, box set |
Add-ons (V2): historic document transcription $150-$350 per document; Custom GPT Heritage Companion starting at $150 (add-ons $50-$300 each: story generator, timeline, document viewer, DNA interpretation, photo Q and A, voice/video upgrade); DNA kit coordination $150-$400; extra printed copies $50-$100 each.
Pricing discrepancies inside the PDF (flagged, not reconciled). The PDF contains three versions of the same proposal with different figures. The demo follows the V2 figures above (April 02, 2025, described in the PDF as the version that "locks in $250 as the cheapest option"). The earlier framework version (v1) prices Tier 1 at $299-$499 with 7-10 day turnaround, Tier 2 at $699-$1,200, Tier 3 at $2,500-$5,000, Tier 4 at $7,500-$15,000+, transcription at $99-$299 per document, the GPT companion at $99+, DNA kit coordination at $99-$399, and extra copies at $45-$99 each. The template section separately says charge $99 to $399+ for the companion. Treat the V2 figures as current and the v1 figures as superseded unless Jeramie says otherwise.
Pick a tier and add-ons. The builder prices from the V2 figures and shows the 50% deposit from the PDF's payment details (50% upfront to start, balance on delivery; non-refundable deposit; credit card, Venmo, CashApp, or bank transfer via Stripe).
Genealogy databases: Ancestry All Access ($479/year), FamilySearch (free), Fold3 and Newspapers.com (via Ancestry). OCR: Transkribus (free tier + $20/month premium), Adobe Scan (free), Tesseract (open-source). Photo tools: Remini ($9.99/month), MyHeritage Photo Enhancer (free tier), Canva ($12.99/month). Tree builders: Gramps (free), RootsMagic ($39.95 one-time), Family Tree Maker ($79.95 one-time). Custom GPTs: Civil War Letter Decoder, HeritageGPT ($20/month hosting). Web design: Notion ($10/month premium), Google Sites (free), Carrd ($19/year), Wix ($14/month). Data storage: Google Drive (free 15GB, $1.99/month 100GB), Dropbox ($11.99/month), iCloud ($0.99/month 50GB). Automation: Zapier (free tier + $19.99/month premium).
The PDF's competitive claim ("cuts traditional research time by up to 80%") and the "most genealogists charge $25-$150/hr" comparison are the document's claims, not verified here. The free photo restoration offer (approved by April 4, 2025, 2 images with any tier) is expired by date.
ChatGPT optimization: provide detailed information about research goals and known facts; include specific record types and repositories of interest; request structured research plans with clear steps; specify citation format preferences; include relevant historical context in prompts.
Grok optimization: leverage real-time information for current genealogical resources; request analysis of recent DNA testing company updates; include references to current record availability; ask for multiple research approach options; emphasize practical application over theoretical methodology.