Solving Tough Research Problems—Overcoming Brick Walls: Difference between revisions

Your attitude about tough family history research problems has a big impact on your chances of success. Whether you think you can, or whether you think you cannot—you are right! Develop a relentless “track-‘em-down” attitude pursuing and analyzing all sources.¹ Never give up on the problem, and never give up searching for new ideas and ways of researching the problem. Hunt down the answers no matter what it takes.

== '''A Few Common Causes of Tough Research Problems and Their Solutions''''''<br />''' ==

{| class="[object Object]"

| 1. Unproductive attitude.''''''

| 3. Inadequate research documentation.''''''

| Document and organize AS YOU GO.³''''''

| 4. Stagnant thinking on the problem.''''''

| 5. Failure to put an ancestor in community context.⁵  ''''''

| Trap the answer to the question in a web of associates and neighbors on both sides of the county boundary line.⁶''''''

| 6. Arbitrary research strategies.''''''

| 7. Researcher ignorance.<br /><br />

| Keep asking why the records show what they show (or do not show) and what that implies. Continue your genealogical education the rest of your life.<br /><br />

''''''

3.  '''''Focus on one question at a time.'''''  Pick ONE event (for example, John Doe’s birth) and search until you find it. Stick with it. Gather anything you find on the family and associates, but concentrate on the event you selected. Do not change focus until you either find it or exhaust '''all''' possibilities trying.

 

4. '''''Look for alternate spellings and nicknames.'''''  Some ancestors are listed by nicknames (Polly for Mary, Bob for Robert), by a middle name, or by initials. Also search for alternate spellings. Clerks misspell names all the time, and indexers have difficulty reading them. Think phonetically. For lists of possible spelling substitutes see pages 331 and 336 of Kory L. Meyerink, ed., [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=719674&disp=Printed+sources&columns=*,0,0 ''Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records'']. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1998). [FHL book 016.9293 P96m]. Failure to find a some quirky versions of the individual's name is a red flag that you probably are not being imaginative enough during your searches.

5. '''''Do not trust indexes''''''' (that do not answer the main question)''. If he ''should be'' in the index ''but is not'', search the record page-by-page until you find him. Even if you do find him in the index, thumb through the records for places they missed him in the index until you answer the research question.⁸

8. '''''Start with a well-documented family group record.''''' Compile a family group with a [[Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes)|source footnote]] for '''''every''''' source that mentions the family. [[Adding a Custom Event to a PAF Family Group Record|Show '''''every''' ''event]] for '''''every''''' family member (not just birth, marriage and death events), including census, migration, military service, jury duty, acquisition or sale of land, and wills. This family group record becomes a road map of clues to suggest further places to research.

9. '''''[[Research Logs|Research logs]].'''''  Keep good ''research logs'' for each family.⁹ List the objective of each of your searches, for example, list John Doe’s name and the type of event (birth, marriage, or death). List every record you plan to search BEFORE you search it. If you do not find what you seek, write “nil” on the log so you know you have already searched there and do not need to repeat that search. Too many “nils” show you should search elsewhere. If you DO find it, summarize what you found (person and event). Also list letters you write, phone calls, and Internet searches and results on your ''research log.''

10. '''''[[Document AS YOU GO!|Document and organize AS YOU GO]].'''''¹⁰  When you search a document but it has no information about your ancestor, his kin, or his neighbors, write "nil" in the results field. If you DO find something, do the following before you look for any more documents (or lay your head on your pillow):

11. '''''Search worldwide indexes for John Doe'''''''''''s family name.''''' For a list of worldwide database indexes use the links at the end of the Wiki article "[[Major Databases for Beginning United States Research|Major Databases for United States Research.]]"

12. '''''Look for John Doe'''''''''''s death documents.'''''  Look for obituaries, church burials, church bell tolling lists, funeral sermon eulogies, funeral home records, funeral cards, tombstones, sexton’s records, insurance, pensions, Social Security, death certificates, family Bibles, wills, estate papers, and land sales papers.

13. '''''Local histories, biographies, and genealogies.'''''  Town and county histories often have biographical information about citizens. Look in the Family History Library Catalog [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=localitysearch&columns=*,0,0 Place Search] under [STATE], [COUNTY] – HISTORY for counties, or [STATE], [COUNTY], [TOWN] – HISTORY for town histories. Repeat for the topic BIOGRAPHY and again for GENEALOGY.

18. '''''Substitute record types.'''''  Stay focused on one question, but change the record type you search to find the answer. See the “[[United States Record Selection Table|Record Selection Table]]” on the Wiki (or just before the "Map of the United States" in the [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/Guide/Usout.asp#map_of_the_united_states ''United States Research Outline'']) to identify alternative record types you could use to find answers to your genealogical question.

19.  '''''Use research outlines as a checklist.'''''  The Family History Library’s state &amp; national research outlines describe record types useful for those places. Search EVERY record type. Research outlines are on the Internet at [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp?Page=./research/type/Research_Outline.asp&ActiveTab=Type www.familysearch.org/eng/search/rg/research/type/research_outline.asp]

20. '''''Switch jurisdictions.'''''  If the answer you want isn’t found in county records, then search at the town, state, and national levels for similar records. Write or search catalogs for larger or smaller jurisdictions of the organization.

24. '''''Find John Doe'''''''''''s children.'''''  Thoroughly research the children to find clues about the parents.

25. '''''Research neighbors and relatives.'''''  People move in groups. The neighbor often came from the same place as your ancestor. Plat your ancestor's land, and run the deeds of each neighbor. Find out who the witnesses on documents are.¹⁴ Study a family in community context. Study people in the area with the same surname, and with different surnames in the same house. Identify census neighbors at least 12 before/after. Near a county/state line, study families over the line. Comb the area for same first names, origins, or jobs.¹⁵

28. '''''Study migration patterns.'''''  Rivers and mountains channeled migration trails into predictable patterns. When you know where a family settled, you can often infer where they came from. First settlers often named their new town after the place they left behind.

29. '''''Try to disprove uncertain connections.'''''  Use a process of elimination to find ancestors. If a person died too early, lived too long, or lived in the wrong place, he isn’t yours. Drop people from the list by finding their death records (or by finding them in records after your person died). Always attempt to disprove what you think is the last remaining link too. Test new information by comparing it with what you already know.

30. '''''Listen to your feelings.'''''  Use inspiration and intuition wisely as a guide to your research.

31. '''''Get an education.'''''  '''Read''' how-to genealogy books for John Doe’s state and nation. Study histories of  John Doe’s town, county, and state. Subscribe to periodicals of local genealogical societies where John Doe lived. Subscribe to Internet e-mail lists (listserv) for the area where John Doe settled, his ethnic group, or religion. For example, “Collaborate with Others” at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Share/Collaborate/frameset_share.asp. Read case studies in magazines like ''[http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=39597&disp=National+Genealogical+Society+quarterly&columns=*,0,0 National Genealogical Society Quarterly]'' to learn how to solve tough problems and give you hope. '''Take classes''', attend lectures, join in computer “chat” sessions, and go to [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/Education/frameset_education.asp genealogical conferences] about the area where the family settled, their ethnic group and religion, and about genealogical research methods. '''Travel''' to the places where John Doe’s family lived to see cemeteries, neighbors, old folks, archives, libraries, churches, genealogical and historical societies, and learn about the local way of life.

32. '''''Get help.'''''  Do genealogical good deeds in hopes that others will someday help you. Write to and join local genealogical and historical societies for help. Place queries in their newsletters.  Write to small-town newspaper editors and place a query in their newspapers. Place queries at genealogical web sites on the Internet and repeat from time to time until you get results. If the surname is unusual, telephone people with the same name.  Nationwide telephone directories are available on the Internet. Leave a message in a Zip-Lock bag flag by a grave just before Memorial Day. [[Hiring a Professional Genealogist|Hire a professional genealogist]]. Pray for help. Submit ancestors for ordinances.

33. '''''Share.'''''  Give in order to receive. Contribute to the Family History Library’s ''Pedigree Resource File'' (“Preserve Your Genealogy” at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Share/Preserve/frameset_preserve.asp), to Family Tree Makers’s ''[http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/wftonline/ World Family Tree Pedigrees]'', to the [http://www.everton.com/b/magazine.html ''Everton's Genealogical Helper Magazine'']’s Computer Roots Cellar, to Keith A.  Johnson’s ''[http://members.ozemail.com.au/~grdxxx/ Genealogical Research Directory],'' and to family group sheet exchanges advertised in ''Everton's Genealogical Helper Magazine''. Send a copy of John Doe’s family history (include your address) to each county library and to each state and county genealogical society where John Doe lived. Publish an article on the family in their local genealogical periodical. Register your address in directories of members of genealogical Internet web sites and submit your genealogy to their libraries. Put your genealogy on a web page and register your site with major search engines and lists. Other researchers will start to contact you and share added details.