From Indiana to Kansas

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Turning an Ancestor’s Story into Song

Have you ever thought about turning an ancestor's life story into a song?

I've been experimenting with using artificial intelligence to tell family stories in different ways. My latest experiment took the story of my relative, James Marshall Ricketts, from a collection of genealogical records to a song—and eventually to a YouTube video!

It Started with a Biography

My first step was to provide ChatGPT with a RootsMagic narrative report for James Marshall Ricketts and ask it to write a biography.

James was born on November 28, 1847, in Clinton County, Indiana. As a teenager, he enlisted in Company K of the 7th Indiana Cavalry during the Civil War. After his discharge in 1865, he returned to Indiana and married Rachel Elmeda Christy on July 12, 1866.

James and Rachel began raising their family in Indiana before moving to Woodson County, Kansas, where James purchased land in 1879. He spent much of the remainder of his life farming in Kansas.

James died on November 28, 1920—his 73rd birthday.

His life provided plenty of material for a song: a childhood in Indiana, military service during the Civil War, marriage, children, and a move west to Kansas.

Turning His Story into Lyrics

After working with ChatGPT on the biography, I decided to try something different.

I asked:

Using the PDF file that was attached to this chat, write song lyrics about James Marshall Ricketts.

ChatGPT created a folk/country-style ballad titled From Indiana to Kansas: The Ballad of James Marshall Ricketts.

The chorus captures the major events of his life:

From Indiana out to Kansas, Through the changing years he came, A soldier, farmer, husband, father, James Marshall was his name.

The lyrics also incorporated a favorite detail from my research: an August 1907 newspaper article describing a surprise visit from James's brother Louis, who traveled from Indiana to Kansas by train.

That little newspaper article helped transform the song from a simple list of dates and places into a family story.

Of course, song lyrics aren't genealogical proof. They are a creative interpretation of the information found in the records.

Giving the Lyrics a Voice with Suno

With the lyrics written, I turned to Suno, an AI music creation tool.

I supplied the lyrics from ChatGPT and used Suno to create a song.

Suddenly, the story of James Marshall Ricketts wasn't just words on a page. It had become music!

Creating the Video with Canva

Next, I needed an image to accompany the song.

I asked ChatGPT to create a 16:9 image without using any pictures or illustrations of people.

The resulting artwork incorporated elements of James's life, including Indiana, Kansas, his Civil War service, and farming.

Artwork: From Indiana to Kansas — The Ballad of James Marshall Ricketts

I then used Canva to combine the image with the song created in Suno, producing a video that could be shared on YouTube.

Watch: From Indiana to Kansas




A New Way to Share Family History

This project combined several tools:

  • RootsMagic: The genealogical records and narrative report that provided the facts.

  • ChatGPT: The biography, song lyrics, and accompanying artwork.

  • Suno: The music.

  • Canva: The video combining the song and artwork.

  • YouTube: A place to share the finished creation.

What I particularly like about this process is that the genealogy remains the foundation. The records supplied the story, while the AI tools helped me present it in a different format.

Will a song replace a carefully researched biography? Absolutely not!

But could it introduce a younger family member to an ancestor they might otherwise never read about? Perhaps.

And that is what makes this experiment worthwhile to me.

Have you ever used music, video, or another creative format to share an ancestor's story? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

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