Welcome to Tyrian Thistle

History isn’t just a collection of dates—it’s woven from the quiet, everyday lives of the people who came before us. But bringing those stories to light out of dusty courthouse basements and messy census lists can feel like an uphill battle.

My mission here is twofold: to share rich, human stories from our regional past, and to teach you how to use modern AI tools to accelerate your own family history research.

Whether you need help transcribing old estate records, organizing deep research notes, or learning how to use AI as a storytelling assistant to write your own family book, you’ll find step-by-step guides here to help you bust through your genealogical brick walls.

How This Space Works

I believe that historical knowledge and research skills belong to everyone. Because of that, 100% of the articles, research deep dives, and AI tutorials published here are completely free. There are no hard paywalls or locked tutorials.

Sifting through archival soil and testing out AI workflows takes a significant amount of time, tool subscriptions, and caffeine.

This publication runs entirely on a community-supported tip jar. If you find value in these stories and guides, you can choose a subscription tier that fits you best:

• The Free Tier: Receive every story and AI genealogy tutorial directly to your inbox. No pressure, ever. Just pull up a chair and enjoy the journey.

• The Coffee Tier: Buy me a monthly cup of coffee to keep the research engine running and cover archival document fees.

• The Patron Tier: Choose your own amount to deeply back the preservation of these local histories and modern research guides.

Thank you for reading along, exploring the past, and helping me keep these histories alive!