MyHeritage Scribe AI ~ A Very Helpful Family History Research Tool

I was doing some family history research today and had to write a blog post about the amazing Scribe AI research tool by MyHeritage.

I have used Scribe AI for several translations lately in my family history research. My maternal ancestry includes Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, and Spain. Unfortunately, I do not speak Spanish or Portuguese. I often use Google Translate to help me with documents in Spanish and Portuguese. Lately I have also used Scribe AI to help me with these types of documents.

As you can see from the screenshot above, Scribe AI not only translates documents, it also provides historical context, details mentioned, key findings, suggested next steps, and full text transcription located in the dropdown arrows next to the uploaded document.

The document at the top of this blog post is a Catholic baptismal register from Lisbon, Portugal. I uploaded it to Scribe AI. Scribe AI has been extremely helpful, not only with translation, but with understanding this type of document from Portugal.

Here is a screenshot of the historical context for this document.

It may be difficult to read, so here is Scribe AI's Historical Context for this document:

This document is a Catholic baptismal register (Assento de Baptismo) from the parish of Nossa Senhora do Socorro in Lisbon, Portugal, dated 1885. It officially records the birth and baptism of Constancia. Notably, the document features extensive marginal notes (averbamentos) added decades later. In Portuguese record-keeping, it was customary to update baptismal records with significant life events. These notes provide a comprehensive overview of Constancia's life, detailing her 1912 civil marriage, her husband's death in 1956, and her own passing in 1967. The record also highlights a common social aspect of the era, noting that her mother was an 'exposta' (foundling) raised by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa.

Wow, this is amazing information! Before I uploaded this document to Scribe AI, I was a bit confused about what the writing in the margin was about, but Scribe AI cleared that up for me.

It is exciting to know that Portuguese baptismal records can include other life events for ancestors  including details about their marriages and deaths.

Here is a screenshot for the Details Mentioned tab:

This is also amazingly helpful as it provides specific details from the document. After opening a tab, there is a "Copy to clipboard" button, which is great. Here is Scribe AI's information from the Details Mentioned tab:

Principal Individual:

• Name: Constancia (later recorded as Constancia Amelia Esteves)
• Role in Document: Subject of Baptism
• Birth: January 7, 1885, at 12:00 PM in the parish of Socorro, Lisbon, Portugal.
• Baptism: April 29, 1885, at 5:00 PM in the Parish Church of Nossa Senhora do Socorro, Lisbon.
• Marriage: Married Tomas da Silva (age 22, born in Fanhões, Loures) on August 11, 1912, at the 1st Civil Registry of Lisbon.
• Death: Died in Penha de França, Lisbon, on January 17 (registered March 31, 1967).

Parents:

• Father: Alberto Magno Esteves, fireman (bombeiro), born in the parish of Socorro.
• Mother: D. Amelia Esteves, a foundling (exposta) of the Misericórdia of Lisbon.
• Residence: Largo do Colleginho, No. 5, Socorro, Lisbon.

Grandparents:

• Paternal Grandparents: José Maria Esteves and Marianna Perpetua Esteves.
• Maternal Grandparents: Unknown (incógnita).

Spouse (from margin note):

• Name: Tomas da Silva
• Parents: Bernardo da Silva and Delmira Candida
• Death: August 12, 1956, in Socorro, Lisbon.

Godparents:

• Godfather: Eduardo José da Silva, married, upholsterer (estufador), resident at Rua dos Ganos.
• Godmother: Amelia Esteves, married, domestic worker, resident at Escadinha da Barroca.

The Key Findings tab provides a summary of the information as follows:

Here is Scribe AI's information from the Key Findings:

• The document is an 1885 baptismal record for Constancia, born January 7, 1885, in Lisbon, Portugal.
• Her father was a fireman, and her mother was a foundling from the Misericórdia of Lisbon.
• Marginal notes added later transform this single document into a lifelong biographical summary, recording her 1912 marriage to Tomas da Silva, his death in 1956, and her death in 1967.

The Suggested Next Steps tab is pretty amazing too.

Here are the suggested next steps:

• You should search MyHeritage for the 1912 civil marriage record of Constancia Amelia Esteves and Tomas da Silva in the 1st Civil Registry of Lisbon to uncover more details about their witnesses and residences.
• You can look for the baptismal record of the father, Alberto Magno Esteves, in the parish of Socorro to trace the paternal ancestry back to José Maria Esteves and Marianna Perpetua Esteves.
• Consider researching the archives of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa. Although the mother, Amelia Esteves, was a foundling, admission records (autos de exposição) sometimes contain clues left with the infant, such as notes or tokens.
• You should check the civil death registers for Constancia (1967, Penha de França) and Tomas da Silva (1956, Socorro) for additional genealogical clues, such as the informant's name, who might be a child or close relative.

I won't share all of the full text transcription or translation of this document from Scribe AI, but I will share the screenshots of those tabs. They don't include the full transcription or translation, however. But you can see that Scribe AI breaks down the text by left margin notes and the main text of the document. Pretty cool!

Full Text Transcription:

Translation:

I am incredibly impressed with the MyHeritage Scribe AI research tool. It has proved to be helpful in my family history research.

Have you tried the MyHeritage Scribe AI tool?

Thank for stopping by!

Jana

© 2026 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

My 14th Blogiversary

My fourteenth blogiversary was yesterday, April 5th.

I began this blog on April 5, 2012 after watching Lisa Louise Cook's live streamed February 2012 RootsTech presentation called Genealogy Podcasts and Blogs 101. I had never heard of genealogy blogs before and the thought of blogging about my ancestors had never even occurred to me before that time. I decided to be brave and jump into the genealogy blog pool and here I am today fourteen years later. I'm grateful to Lisa for her presentation and to RootsTech for live streaming it.

THANK YOU

Thank you to my wonderful readers for taking the time to read my posts and for leaving comments over the years. I appreciate your support very much!

BLOGGING YEAR IN REVIEW

Here are my posts from the last year (since my last blogiversary).

Phebe Waterman's Signature - April 30, 2025

An Exciting Ancestry Hint for Raymunda Villatoro Vasques - July 17, 2025

Family Memories ~ A Christmas Visit - December 21, 2025

Tip: Find All of Your Ancestors' Obituaries - February 3, 2026

Again, thank you for taking the time to read my posts!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2026 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Tip: Find All of Your Ancestors' Obituaries

This is a photo of my maternal 2nd great-grandmother, Cynthia Maria (Waterman) Webster.

Until March 2019 I did not know the cause of her death. And now I'm finally sharing this discovery here on my blog.

I love to find newspaper articles about my ancestors. I found three obituaries for Cynthia in different newspapers, but only one of them included her cause of death. Each of them contained different, but valuable information.

Before I share the obituary with Cynthia's cause of death, here are the other two obituaries I found.

This first obituary was printed in The Western News, Stockton, Kansas, on Thursday, 26 September 1895.¹

Transcript of this obituary:

                                                     Death of Mrs. Webster.

  Mrs. Cyntha [sic] M. Webster died at her home in Marysville, Kansas, at 9:40 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22. She had been lingering at death's door for several months, and at different times during that time her children had all been summoned to her bedside to see her pass away, but each time she would revive and linger yet a while. She was the mother of Fred E. Webster of this place, and Frank S. Webster, formerly of this place, but now of Wymore, Neb. She was aged 61 years, 4 months and 2 days.

Information gleaned from this obituary:

Name of Deceased: Mrs. Cyntha [sic] M. Webster

Place of Death: At her home in Marysville, Kansas

Time of Death: 9:40 a.m.

Date of Death: Sunday, September 22nd

Name and Residence of Sons: Fred E. Webster of Stockton, Kansas and Frank S. Webster formerly of Stockton but now of Wymore, Nebraska

Age at Death: 61 years, 4 months and 2 days

This obituary contains fantastic family history information about where Cynthia lived (Marysville) and where two of her sons lived as well. It also provides her date, place, and even time of death as well as her exact age at death. Her exact age at death was listed as 61 years, 4 months and 2 days.

In my research, I have seen different dates and years listed or calculated as her birthdate and/or her birth year ranging from May 20 or May 21 and 1834 to 1844. I love that this obituary was so exact with her age at her death. I wonder if either or both of her sons, Fred and/or Frank, provided information for this obituary. Using this exact age at death information, I used a helpful website called timeanddate.com to calculate her birthdate. The result was 20 May 1834.

This second obituary was printed in The Marshall County Democrat, Marysville, Kansas, on 27 September 1895.²

Transcript of this obituary:

  Died, in this city, Sept. 22d, Mrs. Cynthia M. Webster, in the 62d year of her age. Funeral from their residence Sept. 24th, and the remains were interred in the Marysville cemetery, followed by a large procession of their many friends.

Information gleaned from this obituary:

Name of Deceased: Mrs. Cynthia M. Webster

Place of Death: Marysville, Kansas

Date of Death: September 22nd

Age at Death: In her 62nd year

Date of Funeral: September 24th

Place of Burial: Marysville Cemetery

Again we find wonderful family history information in this second obituary. In addition to the same information provided in the first obituary, this one also includes Cynthia's funeral date and burial place.

And this third obituary was printed in the Marshall County News, Marysville, Kansas, on Friday, 27 September 1895.³ The is the obituary that included her cause of death.

Transcript of this obituary:

Mrs. Cynthia M. Webster wife of E. P. C. Webster died at their home in this city, Sept, 21st, after a long and painful illness, with dropsy. The funeral services were held Tuesday Sept. 23, and a large gathering of sorrowing friends followed the remains to their last resting place in the Marysville cemetery. The deceased was a daughter of Asher and Basheba Waterman, was born May 6, 1834, near Coolville, Athens county, Ohio, and and [sic] grew to womanhood at the same place. She married E. P. C. Webster July 25, 1858. She was the mother of six children, three sons and three daughters. The first child, a daughter, died at the age of three years. The other five are now grown men and women. She has been a christian from childhood; was cradled in the M. E. church and affiliated with the same until the last five pears [should be years]. Since her marriage, she and her family have lived in ten different neighborhoods and communities and everywhere she made hosts of friends and never knew of having an enemy; universally loved by all. She was a remarkable kind and loving mother and a kind, gentle, amiable wife. She filled a place in the hearts of her family that will forever be vacant. Peace to her memory.

What a beautiful obituary! Cynthia must have been a wonderful woman. Like the other two obituaries, this obituary is full of valuable family history information. However, the dates for Cynthia's birth, death, and funeral are incorrect. Her date of birth was actually 21 May 1834.⁴ And her date of death was 22 September 1895.⁵ And the obituary stated that her funeral was on Tuesday the 23rd of September 1895 but the 23rd was on a Monday, not on a Tuesday. It is likely that Cynthia's funeral was held on Tuesday, 24 September 1895, two days after her death.

Information gleaned from this obituary:

Name of Deceased: Cynthia M. Webster

Name of Spouse: E. P. C. Webster

Place of Death: At home in Marysville, Marshall County, Kansas

Date of Death: 21 September 1895 (should be 22 September 1895)

Cause of Death: Dropsy

Date of Funeral: Tuesday, 23 September 1895 (should be 24 September 1895)

Place of Burial: Marysville Cemetery

Father's Name: Asher Waterman

Mother's Name: Basheba [Bathsheba] Waterman

Date of Birth: 6 May 1834 (Should be 20 May 1834)

Place of Birth: Coolville, Athens, Ohio

Marriage Date: 25 July 1858

Number of Children: Six, three sons and three daughters

Church Affiliation: M. E. Church

Additional information in this obituary that is not included in the first two obituaries include the name of Cynthia's husband and their marriage date, Cynthia's cause of death, her parents' names, her date and place of birth, how many children she had including how many sons and daughters, and her church affiliation. All of this information is extremely valuable for family history research.

With this third obituary, I was able to learn that Cynthia's cause of death was dropsy. Dropsy is an older term, known today as edema.

I'm so glad that I didn't stop searching for obituaries after finding the first obituary for Cynthia. If I had stopped searching, I may not have discovered her cause of death. So what's the lesson here? We need to try and locate all obituaries and other documents that we can find about our ancestors to see if they have additional details about our ancestors' lives.

I'm so happy that I was able to finally discover Cynthia's cause of death.

What have you been able to discover through newspaper research about your ancestors?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2026 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

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1 "Cynthia M. Webster," obituary, The Western News (Stockton, Kansas), 26 September 1895, page 4, column 4; online digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/379433198/ : accessed 26 March 2019), Newspapers.com by Ancestry.^↩
2 "Cynthia M. Webster," obituary, Marshall County Democrat (Marysville, Kansas), 27 September 1895, page 8, column 1; online digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/290552521/ : accessed 26 March 2019), Newspapers.com by Ancestry.^↩
3 "Cynthia M. Webster," obituary, Marshall County News (Marysville, Kansas), 27 September 1895, page 5, column 4; online digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/290184469/ : accessed 26 March 2019), Newspapers.com by Ancestry.^↩
4 "USGenWeb, The Tombstone Transcription Project" database, Marysville City Cemetery (www.usgwtombstones.org/kansas/marysvillecitycem.txt : accessed 29 January 2026), C. Marie Webster.^↩
5 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 566.^↩

Family Memories ~ A Christmas Visit

My maternal grandparents, Debs Warren Webster and Willis (Quillin) Webster, were from Brazil. In the summer of 1952 their family immigrated to the United States of America. My mom was fourteen years old at the time they immigrated to the USA. They settled in Southern California. To learn more about their immigration story, click the The Debs Webster Family Immigration Story tab at the top of this blog.

When I was growing up, my maternal grandparents lived in Hacienda Heights, California. My family traveled to visit them quite a bit while I was growing up, and my grandparents would travel to visit us. It was fun and interesting when we'd get together. I remember hearing Portuguese spoken all around me. Unfortunately, I was never taught the language.

Since it's almost Christmas, I figured it was the perfect time to share some photos from when our family traveled to spend Christmas with my grandparents at their home in Hacienda Heights in 1969. 

This is a photo of my Grandpa Debs and Grandma Willis Webster at their house in Hacienda Heights, California. Technically, my Grandma Willis was my step-grandma. My mom's mother died when my mom was almost four years old and my Grandpa Debs married Willis when my mom was five years old. Willis was the only maternal grandma I knew. So to me she was just Grandma. And she was a wonderful grandmother!

Here's a photo of my parents, brothers, and myself with my grandparents.

  

After all the festivities it was time for our family to head back home. But before we left, Grandpa Debs took a couple more photos.

The first one is of my grandparents with my brothers and myself. I love what Grandpa Debs wrote on the top margin of this photo: "They Came For Christmas." I like to think that this little statement meant that our Christmas visit meant a lot to him.

Here's a photo of my parents, brothers, and myself posing in front of our little 1964 green Volkswagen Beetle. Again, my Grandpa Debs wrote a little something on the top margin of the photo. This time it was, "Bye Bye."

I miss my grandparents. They were so kind and loving. I also miss my parents, who were also kind and loving.

At this joyous time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2025 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

An Exciting Ancestry Hint for Raymunda Villatoro Vasques

A couple of years ago I clicked on a hint on my tree in Ancestry.com. I'm so glad I did because it turned out to be a very important hint. Of course, hints should be analyzed for accuracy. Thankfully, this hint was accurate.

The hint was for my maternal second great-grandmother, Raymunda Villatoro Vasques, who was from Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico.¹ The hint was this baptism record (below) for Adolfo Villatoro, which states that he was born on 27 September 1885, and was baptized in November 1885 at Tonala, Chiapas, Mexico.²

The baptism record states that Adolfo was the son of Raymunda Villatoro and that Adolfo's maternal grandparents were Demetrio Villatoro and Ysabel Vasquez. I know that this Raymunda Villatoro is my 2nd great-grandmother because the names of her parents in this record are the same as her known parents in other records I have.

I had no record or knowledge of Adolfo Villatoro before this hint, so this is an exciting discovery. Unfortunately, the baptism record does not include Adolfo's father's name. Hopefully I will be able to find records that include the name of Adolfo's father.

What exciting discoveries have you found through Ancestry hints?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2025 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

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1 "Chiapas, Mexico, Civil Registration Deaths, 1861-1987," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 October 2015), image 151 of 2067, entry for Raymunda Villatoro (Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico), November 1923; citing Chiapas Civil Registry State Archives, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, Academia Mexicana de Genealogia y Heraldica.^↩
2 "México, Chiapas, registros parroquiales y diocesanos, 1557-1978," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-3LWC-9?cc=1616412&wc=MCS8-CPX%3A123518301%2C123518302%2C123718501 : accessed 8 June 2022), image 1141 of 3013, entry for Adolfo Villatoro, September 1885; citing Parroquias Católicas, Chiapas (Catholic Church parishes, Chiapas).^↩