| Brick Wall Tips & Solutions [ Top ] Articles
Brick
Walls from A to Z: a clever list of 26 strategies to help including
developing a biography, chronology or thinking of extended family
Brick
Wall Research Tips: think creatively, be a detective, use a checklist
for each generation, and much more
Using Collateral Lines is
a valuable way to solve brick wall genealogy problems. Find the vital records, obituaries
or other records of siblings, cousins and more. Develop a detailed family timeline and
work to fill in gaps.
Cluster
Genealogy: research relatives such as siblings as well as others connected to
the person you seek in order to have a research break-through on one who seems to have
appeared out of thin air.
Cluster
Genealogy research also includes people such as neighbors and business
associates
Dead
End Genealogy Ideas: strategies to help you make further progress on a
family line, such as learning about an ancestor's other marriages
Solve
Genealogy Dead Ends by making sure to obtain every document available because
small details may open new lines of research, including name and age variations
Over
Your Brick Wall: learn a lot about the area the person lived,
what documents are available, gain a feel for his or her life, and more tips
Brick Wall
Research Tips: review all your notes on the ancestor in question and you may
spot a clue you missed the first time through, and try to find someone doing parallel
research who might help.
3
Brick-Wall Busters: tested strategies for getting past your dead-ends
Super
Secrets of Successful Genealogists: tips from the pros on getting past brick
walls or dead ends in your family research
Clarify
the Question: improve your family research in brick wall and other situations
by asking precise questions, writing detailed queries
Record
and Document Everything, even records searched that yielded no results.
Try
a Fresh Perspective: and be sure to check out family lines of cousins as
cousins often married.
Revisit
Neglected Lines: with so much new information being placed online, you need
to revisit a family line you may have set aside. Or reorganize your results and you may
see something new.
Start Over
and review a family line with a new eye, thinking of possible new sources to check
Try
Networking and New Sources plus a can do attitude to solve brick wall
challenges
Use Timelines &
Maps to visualize your ancestor's life, find holes in your knowledge and see
where to direct your research efforts
Why
You Can't Find Them: name changes and misspellings, with many examples
and strategies to get around this difficult dead end
Quaker
Records Helpful in solving a family brick wall genealogy problem, and alternative sources when
you've researched the obvious ones.
Guides &
Lessons [
Top ]
Hit a Brick
Wall? - Cyndi's List guide to brick wall solutions
Enhance
Research Skills: a series of 32 lessons to help you find missing family
information, with a "brick wall" section including:
· Common
dead ends: how to get around them
· Review
information you have for new leads
· Focus
on facts rather than on sources to help
you find less familiar sources with what you need
· Find
female ancestors - best sources
· View the bigger picture
including siblings,
cousins, neighbors, a whole village
Learn from
Examples
[ Top ]
Brickwall
Solutions: A Sampler: here are 10 stories of individuals who solved
their genealogical mystery and how they did it, with educated guesses, on-site research,
re-review of records, awareness of potential spelling differences, and more.
Search for Henrietta: a
genealogist outlines eight essential strategies for breaking down brick walls in one's
family, brick by brick - with examples of what a fresh look can yield in clues and search
ideas, and a look at what land records
can tell
Story of
Ellen: one genealogist decribes his long search for her, what he knows, and
strategies to try to see if he can find her -- such as chronologies and alternate
surname spellings, plus readers'
ideas
Finding Wm. L. Acuff's
Father: a researcher finds his ggg-grandfather in a court deposition after
many years of searching
Finding
William Cook and Wife: a journey that including trips to Salt Lake City and
Oklahoma
Finding
Mark's German Ancestors: while this article is five years old, it offers a
unique look at the value of poking around the Web and trying new approaches and following
new trails
Finding
Frederick Bruce: by collecting family information, studying history and
geography, and posting queries, this researcher found her ancestor was Martin Friedrich
Bruss, who was among Milwaukee's earliest Germans
Brick
Walls & Puzzle Pieces: an in-depth look at available records and how the
author overcame brick walls in his Kollros, Spiegel and O'Malley families, with detailed
documentation of what he did and how the puzzle pieces came together
Brick Wall in 19th
Century in North Carolina, with strategies for segmenting the problem and
going after each one -- and keeping an open mind
Genealogy Products [ Top ]
Visit our Genealogy Shop for family
history and genealogy books, software and other products today. Check out the sections for
German genealogy, Irish genealogy and much more.
Special Resources & Ideas [ Top ]
Brick
Wall Mailing List: Join this is a forum where you can post brickwalls, those
elusive ancestors that you can find nothing on. And find new solutions.
Afri-Geneas
Brick Wall Forum: for advanced genealogy researchers to post brick wall
problems and documentation
Share
Your Brick Wall Stories here and yours may be selected for assistance by
Megan
Discrepancy
Charts: organize conflicting data in chart form to better see inconsistencies
and determine what further research to do
Locating
Previous Overseas Home: a chapter in the free WikiBook on genealogy
Rootsweb Surname
List: post your surname and find others researching your name
Keep
an Eye on eBay for potential books or Bibles for your family or surname
Avoid
Genealogy Burnout due to the frustration of brick wall problems and use these
strategies to get re-energized and continue the hunt. |
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