Top 5 Genealogy Brick Wall Busters

Top 5 Genealogy Brick Wall Busters ​

We’ve all been there; there always seems to be that one ancestor (or many) whose records run dry and that just seem to fall off the face of the earth in one’s family tree.  What do you do when you come across the dreaded genealogy brick wall? Do you get frustrated? Do you spend tons of money on possible records and professional research help? Do you start searching aimlessly? Do your brick walls seem to last for years on end?  Your brick walls may not really be brick walls at all; it may be HOW you search, that you’re missing key clues, and that you’re not using ALL your resources. I have quite a few “brick wall" busters, but these are my top 5 tried and true ways of breaking through them.

​1. Descendancy Research

• Complete

2. Collateral Research

• Complete

3. No Name Search

• No surname
• No given name
• Both no surname and given name, if needed
• Location or nearby locations and approximate age only

4. DNA

• Matches
• Group into as many groups as needed to get to your brick wall generation
  • Weed out all other known lines/groups  
• Find common surnames in unknown group
• Find common ancestral couple in unknown group
  • Build quick dirty tree
  • Descendancy research
  • Collateral research
  • Etc.

5. Think Outside the Box

• Hiding from something?
• Purposeful name change?
• New identity?
• Double life?
• Family secrets?
• This list could go on forever 😉

More Genealogy Tips:
Find more brick wall tips under the Genealogy Brick Wall Cases category, research tips under the Genealogy Research Tips category, and quick tips under the Genealogy Quick Tips category!


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