Steps to Confront a Challenge

We all have challenges in conducting genealogy research. Some of us may call them brick walls, those places in the family tree where we are stuck and cannot take our genealogy back another generation. 

These challenges may be caused by several reasons:

• record loss due to a natural disaster or war
• access to the records not being allowed
• our lack of knowledge about what records are available
• not understanding the records we have already found

To work through these challenges, I follow the following steps:

Review prior research. This includes reviewing each document I have previously found and ensuring I have squeezed out every bit of information from them. While I’m doing this, questions will come to mind. Record those questions. Resist the urge to go right to researching.

Create a timeline. As I review the documents I have, I create a timeline that includes the date of the event, the location, who else was present, and the source of the information. A timeline will show gaps in the research. Perhaps you have ten-year gaps between census records. 

Develop Research Questions. The gaps in the timeline or other information found in prior research will likely prompt future research. Here, I create research questions, making them specific to the person and place. These will be the beginning of any new research.

Develop Research Plans. Now is the time to think of resources that might answer the research questions developed above. The FamilySearch Wiki is the first place I check for possible resources to answer these questions. I also check the card catalog at Ancestry. I begin a research report for each research question. After writing the question at the top, I record what I know about that question, and then list the resources I will check, specifically listing the URL to the database or catalog entry that I will check. 

Record the results of the research. That research report will be the place where I record what I find or don’t find. Don’t forget to record negative findings. Recording these negative searches prevents you from searching again and again in the same resources. But sometimes knowing someone was not in a particular record set can tell you something. If they are not in one resource, it might mean they are in another.

The Genealogical Proof Standard’s five elements spell out this process that helps us solve tough problems. 

• First, do reasonably exhaustive research. Researching in a wide variety of sources helps us do this. 
• Second, record source citations. Every statement we write needs to be cited. 
• Third, we analyze and correlate the information we find and apply as evidence to answering the question. 
• Fourth, we resolve any conflict between evidence pieces. We cannot just dismiss evidence that doesn’t agree. We have to analyze and write about why we can dismiss it because of lack of corroboration or it’s from a poor source.
• Lastly, we write up our conclusions. Writing about the research and the research results is important. Writing also helps us see holes in our conclusion and the need for more research. Writing is also necessary if we do not have direct evidence. It might take a combination of indirect evidence to piece together the conclusion, which is one of the reasons we felt we had a brick wall. We had no evidence directly giving us the answer.

So, the next time you feel stuck, give these suggestions a try. It will jump-start your research and make progress in your next brick wall research.

#52Ancestors-Week 5: Challenge

This is my eighth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe.

I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family (https://mam-massouthernfamily.blogspot.com/) or My Trails into the Past (https://mytrailsintothepast.blogspot.com/). I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.