Have you discovered a family history mystery that seems impossible to solve? You're not alone. Hitting a 'brickwall' in your family history research is something every family historian experiences. Every research 'road block' is different, but there are strategies we can all use to 'smash through' and discover what really happened to our ancestors all those years ago. Find out more in our in-depth guide to solving difficult family history research blocks - aka 'genealogy brickwalls'.
Everyone finds brickwalls in their family history. We might wish -'If only we could travel back in time, to ask our ancestors to untangle the branches of our family tree'. Unfortunately we can't do that. However, there are many ways we can piece together the puzzle and break through these research roadblocks, even if there might not initially seem to be a way. Read on to find out more.
Quick links:
- Why have you got a brickwall?
- Why can't you find someone in the birth, marriage and death indexes?
- Case study: how family historian Peter Day solved his brick wall - after 15 years!
- How to solve a family history puzzle: 7 steps to success
- Keep learning with Family Tree
Why have you got a brickwall?
It might well be that your brick wall issue is a genuine blockage with little hope of bypassing it; none of the records needed to resolve it may not have survived, for example.
However, more often than not it might also be the case that the tricky situation causing the obstacle on your tree has less to do with the records, and more to do with how you approach them.
Here are a few pointers that may help you reflect on the records, kickstart your research again, and see you overcoming that research problem:
1. Think carefully about how you have already searched the records, and ways in which you might be able to improve your search. For instance, have you experimented with dates or ages? Have you experimented with name spellings and tried wildcards, in case your ancestor's details in the records are slightly different to those you expect. Sometimes the details about an ancestor in a particular record set may not be exactly as you think they should have been recorded - by experimenting with your search terms and casting the search net that little wider you may be able to find their entry in the records.
TIP: Use wildcards - Searching with wildcards enables the use of specific symbols to denote alternative characters in a word. For instance, when searching in a database you may wish to search using a question mark ? in place of one character, or an asterisk in place of several characters. Keep an eye out for databases that allow the use of wildcard searching.
2. Expand your research beyond the usual go-to family history record collections. Make a list of all the possible record collections that may cover your time/place/topic of interest. You may find the crucial details you need in a more specialist record collection; finding new places in which to search can help you to progress your search, rather than continuously tramping the same, unsuccessful, research ground.
3. Consider what detail you are seeking? What else could provide the confirmation or clarity about a details that you need. Even if you can't find the precise record you initially were seeking, you may be able to find the fact you were seeking. For instance, if you can't find a death registration, try burials, memorial inscriptions, newspaper notices, National Probate Calendar entries etc. Focus on the facts you wish to find and think carefully about what sorts of other records may provide this evidence.
4. Learn about the record collections you are using. Are there any known gaps in the records? For instance, the collection may state that it spans 1800-1900 and covers England, but if the years you seek are missing or the records for the place you're after have been destroyed, that record collection won't help you. Learning about the record collection will help you, particularly in instances where you can't find the ancestor details you need.
Why can't you find someone in the birth, marriage and death indexes?
The birth, marriage and death records tend to be very comprehensive. However as they are national collections they are frequently searched - and, as such, the issue of not being able to find someone in the birth, marriage and death indexes crops fairly frequently.
Sometimes a record collection that should be complete, isn't. For instance, the General Register Office for England and Wales, which has recorded births, marriages and deaths since 1 July 1837, should be complete. The records are relatively recent in time, and they are intended to provide comprehensive coverage of every person born, married or died in England and Wales. Just sometimes, however, an entry from the local registers of births, marriages and deaths is omitted when the centralised General Register Office records are compiled.
How does this omission come about?
Since 1837, once a quarter (ie every three months) copies of the local registers of births, marriages and deaths were sent to the General Register Office for compilation. Inevitably sometimes errors were introduced, and some items were overlooked.
What's the solution, when you can't find someone in the General Register Office BMD indexes?
Look for Local Register Office records
- When you can't find a record in the General Register Office indexes, it is well worth looking locally and trying to find the record of the birth, marriage or death that you seek from the original superintendent registrar's office, rather than the GRO.
- A useful starting point is to visit the UKBMD website at www.ukbmd.org.uk/local_bmd, where you can identify whether local indexes for a particular area are available online.
- Alternatively contact the Local Register Office in question: see Find a register office or the FamilySearch maps tool (which provides details of, among many other things, the registration district for your place of interest).
- If so, records can then be duly ordered from the local body.
TAKEAWAY TIP! Sometimes you will need to try completely different record collections that will provide similar evidence for the details you seek. Doing so can help you navigate your research road block and continue with your research successfully.
Case study: how family historian Peter Day solved his brick wall - after 15 years!
It's always useful to see how fellow family historians solved their brickwalls. Peter Day finally solved a research problem after 15 years of trying! To help you solve your brickwall a little quicker than that, he shares his findings here.
'I built the Russell tree up as far as William 15 years or more ago, and then got stuck,' writes Peter.
'I’d re-visited several times, but with no progress, and no clues. This time I succeeded – by persistence, a new approach and striking lucky.' Peter was hunting for his clay pipe maker ancestor William Russell.
Tip 1: cast a wide net and search the web
Peter writes: ' I started with a general search on the Web. I soon found a useful-looking paper on the topic of clay tobacco pipes from an archaeological perspective. This paper from the mid-1970s focussed on tobacco pipes made in London.'
TAKEAWAY TIP! Simply Googling it can lead you to very specific information. Peter's archaeological leads provided him with information about clay pipe makers, one of whom was his ancestor - and gave his address... Peter: 'I now had a definite link between William Russell and Bristol.'
Tip 2: persistence pays, so keep delving
Some more delving turned up another work ‘Clay Tobacco-pipes, With Particular Reference to the Bristol Industry’. This proved to be a work of 1800+ pages, published by “Parks Canada, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs” (?!). Unsurprisingly, the only copy that I could locate was in Canada, and at £75 GBP + eye-watering postage and packing, I was looking for a more practical means of access.
TAKEAWAY TIP! Public libraries can often source material that us mortals cannot. They are an under-used resource for genealogy. In this case the Hertfordshire Library Service came up with a link to a freely downloadable copy.
Tip 3: timeline the dates
Peter looked carefully at the dates that he can uncovered so far. Peter writes: 'The dates jig-sawed neatly: William’s date of birth, estimated from the age at death in Wapping, was 1743. If we assume that William started his apprenticeship at age 14, as was the norm, then we also arrive at a DoB of 1743. I now knew that William Russell, tobacco-pipe maker of Wapping, was not born there, and that the endless hours that I had spent scouring images of parish registers from Wapping outwards had been wasted.'
TAKEAWAY TIP! Timelining dates helps you spot gaps, inconsistencies and duplicates in your information.
Tip 4: look for less usual names in the family
Peter writes: 'It transpires that William has a bother, Joel, a reasonable assumption to make for the moment. Whereas the name William Russell is as common as muck, and Edward Russell not far behind, Joel Russell is a rare name indeed.
'This helped enormously, because all I had to do was find a family headed by an Edward, with sons William and Joel who have dates of birth close to those suggested by the dates that they took up their apprenticeships. I looked for candidate families by starting the search with Joel Russell.'
TAKEAWAY TIP! Search for family members with less usual names, as they can be easier to identify with confidence.
How to solve a family history puzzle: 7 steps to success
- Brick wall step 1: Get to know your ancestors
- Brick wall step 2: Watch out for variations
- Brick wall step 3: Study a map
- Brick wall step 4: Discover your surname origins
- Brick wall step 5: Grow your tree online
- Brick wall step 6: Broaden your search
- Brick wall step 7: Archives and books
These simple seven steps will help you to break through a family tree brick wall…
Brick wall step 1. Get to know your ancestors
Spend some time looking carefully at the details that you do know, as this can help you spot family matches in unusual locations.
Brick wall step 2. Watch out for variations
Nowadays we are very precise about our personal details (such as the spelling of our names, our birthplace and our birthdays), but our ancestors may have been much more vague. Look out for similar entries, as they could provide leads.
Brick wall step 3. Study a map
Your ancestors may come from an area that you’re not familiar with. By looking at a map you can get to know the names of neighbouring towns and villages – which could be possible places that your ancestors moved to or from.
Brick wall step 4. Discover your surname origins
If the trail goes cold and you’re not sure where to look for your ancestors next, research their surname origins. Many surnames originate from a specific location – and so looking in such an area could increase your chances of finding your ancestors by that name.
Brick wall step 5. Grow your tree online
There are many online tree websites to choose from. The advantages are that many of them offer ‘tree-matching’ tools – which will link you to fellow family historians who may share your ancestors. They may already have solved the brick wall and be willing to help you.
Brick wall step 6. Broaden your search
If you can’t find your ancestors in the parish registers, for instance, perhaps try looking in the Nonconformist registers. Or if they’re not showing up in the census records, perhaps they went overseas so search for them in the passenger lists.
Brick wall step 7. Archives and books
The internet is a treasure-trove of information for family historians, but it doesn’t contain everything. If you can’t find the records you need online, you will need to look elsewhere. Record offices, archives and family history societies could be your next port of call.
Keep learning with Family Tree
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