Effective Tips When Stuck on a Certain Family Member
Are you stuck on a family member and can’t get past them in your genealogy research? You want to push back in your family tree, but you just can’t move past this one family member. You feel certain that ancestor is out there with records about his/her life, but for the life of you, you can’t find them! Welcome to what we lovingly call a brick wall… Now, we know that eventually the information will surface, but that could take years, right? And during that time, here are some tips to help you do all that you can do to break that brick wall.
Review All of Your Information
I know you have probably already done this, but it doesn’t hurt to look again. In this way, you can look at it with clear eyes and an open perspective. It also helps to write down the questions that come up as you look again because you may have already searched for that information before. But reviewing your information is a good start.
Keep a Research Log to Get Unstuck
If you’re anything like me, then you know that you can’t keep all of the genealogy information in your head. So instead you write it down in a notebook or on any scrap piece of paper you have. You also keep your notes in your phone or on your computer. Well, that may have worked for you in the past, but I’m guessing that it’s not helping so much with your brick wall.
If you can keep a log of all of the places that you have searched whether you find something or not, then you can QUICKLY look at it again to see where you need to search next. But if half of the time your’re still searching for all of the notes you’ve taken on this one ancestor before you begin your search, then you’ve wasted a lot of precious time. I’ve learned the value of a research log even when I’m working on my own family.
Ask Living Relatives for More Information
Asking living relatives to tell you the family stories again or to see if there’s more information on a certain topic related to this ancestor, is important. A piece of information that is nothing to someone else may be valuable to you and your research. So even if they’ve told the story a million times, ask them again.
Use the FANS method When You’re Stuck
Sometimes we get so focused on finding our ancestor that we forget to look at his/her friends, associates, neighbors, or siblings. Census records may have them listed with extended family members. School yearbooks may have them sitting next to a friend. A business associate may mention them in a business minutes meeting. They may be mentioned at a sibling’s wedding or obituary. So when you see those records don’t pass over them thinking they’re not important. They just might have the next clue you need to find your ancestor.
Use Facebook Groups When You’re Stuck
If you don’t know it already, then collaborating with others to break down a brick wall is highly recommended. There are many genealogy groups for different locations, different topics, and different ethnic groups. I’ve used this method often because it gets results. Sometimes those results are negative, meaning that nobody found anything either, but I need those results, too! In addition, you may be able to help someone else by answering their posts.
Use FamilySearch Wiki When You’re Stuck
I love this Wiki! I go here often to learn about topics, to find more links to other sources, to use the genealogy word lists for foreign records, and other things. So maybe you need to learn some more things before you can break down your brick wall. You can then go to the appropriate link or document to get what you need.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the ways you can get unstuck from that certain family member. I know that each family tree is unique and that brick walls are not all the same. However, the tips that I shared can be used for multiple brick walls. If you’ve tried these tips and you’re still stuck, then it may be that the information isn’t available yet and you will have to wait for a little bit. Or it could mean that it’s time for an outside perspective. You can hire a professional to look at it or you can take it to your local family history center for their help.
In the meantime…good luck and happy hunting!
Tiffany
P.S. For more articles on these topics check out the links below…
brick wall, brick walls, facebook, facebook groups, family tree, familysearch wiki, FANS, research log