Your attitude is important. You must first believe that a problem can be solved. Generally, this attitude will evolve as you learn more, and have increasing success. Recall the problems you have solved in your past research. How did you solve each prior problem? Did you find a new record? Did you use a different spelling? Did you look in a different locality? You must believe that problems can be solved. There are now so many records that you can find information about virtually any person.

Emotional blocks These can be difficult to overcome because they require a change in attitude, which may take some time to learn. The following methods help to achieve this change: · accept that if you are looking for new, better ways of doing something, some mistakes are almost inevitable · remember that many great thinkers have been , ridiculed for what turned out to be great inventions eg the heavier-than-air flying machine

Analyze what you did right. This is one reason documentation is so important to solving problems--it lets you review where your journey has taken you.

Information that you found a few years ago may include names, dates or other details that now provide clues given new facts that you've since uncovered.

Organizing your files and reviewing your facts may uncover just the clue you're looking for.

It seems basic. But I can't stress enough how many brick walls are breached with information that the researcher already had tucked away in files, boxes or computer disks. Information that you found a few years ago may include names, dates or other details that now provide clues given new facts that you've since uncovered.

Many of us are guilty when transcribing information or recording notes of only including the facts we deem important at the time. You may have kept the names and dates from that old census record, but did you also keep track of other information such as years of marriage and country of parent's origin?

Or, perhaps, you misread a name or misinterpreted a relationship?

If you haven't already, be sure to go back to the original records, making complete copies and transcriptions and recording all clues - however unimportant they may seem right now.

Not only is careful documentation important learning how to document is crucial.

While education is a general price you need to pay, the first tactic is to gain more knowledge about the specific circumstances of the problem. When it comes to solving a specific problem, you need specific knowledge to help you evaluate information about that problem.

How many people live there? What are the geographic features?

When did your family live there? What was happening in the country’s history then?

What churches existed in that locality, at that time? Where are their records?

When was the locality settled? Who first (and later) came there? How did they arrive, and from where?

What records are available for this problem? Are there unique lists or other sources for just that village, town, district, province?

When you're stuck on a particular ancestor, a good strategy is to extend your search to family members and neighbors.

When you can't find a birth record for your ancestor that lists his/her parents, maybe you can locate one for a sibling.

Or, when you've lost a family between census years, try looking for their neighbors. You may be able to identify a migration pattern, or a mis-indexed census entry that way. Often referred to as "cluster genealogy," this research process can often get you past tough brick walls.

SIBLINGS, AUNTS, UNCLES & IN-LAWS

DON'T KNOW SIBLINGS

MARRIAGE RECORDS

CHECK CENSUS

MAIDEN NAME

Archives of Ontario

City of Toronto Archives

Toronto Reference Library

North York Central Library

Toronto Family History Centre

JOHN P. ROBARTS LIBRARY

Petro Jacyk Resource Centre

St. Vladimir Institute Library

DISCOVER YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

FAMILYSEARCH

FAMILYSEARCH LABS

FAMILYSEARCH LABS RECORD SEARCH

FAMILYSEARCH RESEARCH WIKI

NEW FAMILYSEARCH

RECORDS UPDATE

TECH TIPS

CANADA

PROVINCES

AMERICAN

UKRAINE

POLAND

EUROPE

CYNDI'S LIST

FAMILY GENEALOGY & HISTORY INTERNET EDUCATION DIRECTORY

LINKPENDIUM

MARY'S GENEALOGY TREASURES

PROGENEALOGISTS

THE OLIVE TREE GENEALOGY

ALLTHEWEB

ALTAVISTA

ASK.COM

GENSOURCE I FOUND IT

ENTIRE WEB

FAMILY FINDER

GENEANET

GIGABLAST

KEYBOARDR

MOCAVA

PIPL

STARTPAGE

WEBCRAWLER

YAHOO

ZABASEARCH

AMAZON BOOKS

GOOGLE BOOKS

HIGGINSON BOOK CO.

CHAPTERS INDIGO.CA

ONLINE HISTORY & GENEALOGY LIBRARY

PROJECT GUTENBERG

THE DESPERATE GENEALOGIST'S IDEA BOOK

WILLIS MONIE BOOKS

WORLD CAT

FAMILYTREE MAGAZINE

GENEALOGYINTIME MAGAZINE

EASTMAN'S ONLINE NEWSLETTER

FAMILY RESEARCH

ANCESTRY INSIDER

GLOBAL GAZETTE

FAMILY CHRONICLE MAGAZINE

INDIANA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

GENEALOGY MAGAZINE

Brick Walls are problems looking for a solution. Problem-solving techniques are all about overcoming Brick Walls

OVERCOMING BRICKWALL PROBLEMS

Problem Solving Skills – Start Here!

Problem-Solving Skills

6 Ways to Enhance Your Problem Solving Skills

Problem Solving Techniques

Problem Solving Skills

Problem solving-from Wikipedia

Problem Solving Strategies

creativity & thinking skills

The skills of problem solving

For genealogists, education is never-ending.Each research situation is a new problem.Therefore, we must always be learning new things. Every TUGG meeting is an educational opportunity.

FAMILY HISTORY IN THE CLASSROOM

TEACHING FAMILY HISTORY

TEACHING GENEALOGY

TEACHING GENEALOGY TO KIDS

TEACHING GENEALOGY

GENEALOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

GENEAWEBINERS

GENEALOGY.COM LEARNING CENTER

NATIONAL GENEALOGY SOCIETY

PROGRAMS IN GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH

LEARNING CENTER GENEALOGY COURSES

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

FREE ONLINE COURSES

FAMILY TREE UNIVERSITY

BOSTON U GENEALOGY PROGRAM

Fresh eyes can often see beyond brick walls

What is your theory of why there is a problem? Try bouncing your theories off other researchers.

Check with TUGG members, or membersof other historical or genealogical societies.

Be sure to include what you already know,as well as what you'd like to know and whichtactics you've already tried.

POST QUERIES TO LISTS

ANCESTRY MESSAGE BOARDS

GENEALOGY FORUM

GENFORM SURNAMES

HERITAGE.COM FORUMS

ROOTSWEB LEGACY SOFTWARE

ROOTSWEB MESSAGE BOARDS

Do an article about your Brick Wall and submit itto various genealogical publications.

Along with TUGG, there is the OGS and others.

Check out the many Conferences held by groups, such as theEast European Genealogical Society,Federation of Eastern European Genealogical Societies,Polish genealogical societies in the USA,The Jewish Genealogical Society of CanadaProvincial Genealogical Societies

You could waste hours of precious time searching for recordsin the wrong place. By expanding research for records of thosechanging Raions can provide many new clues.

Raions/Powaits, Oblast and Ukraine’s boundaries have movedmany times through the years, so It is also important to knowwhere those boundaries were at the time your ancestor livedin the area.

Look for books and historic resourcesfor Ukraine and Poland

GROUP MIGRATION

INTERMARRIAGE

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

NEIGHBORING FAMILY

CENSUS RECORDS

Family history is, to some degree local history

Your ancestors cannot be adequately researched outside of thehistorical and geographical context of their location and time period.

An acquaintance with the geography and political historyof the area can prove Invaluable in determining:— what records were kept— where copies may be found— and in which format they exist.

Are you looking at Boychuk, when youshould be looking at Boyachuk?

Maria, Marya, Marija, Marea

My fairly innocuous Onyschuk surname can also be spelled:Onisscscak, Oniszczak, Onysczak, Onyszcak, Onyszczak,Oniczuk, Onyszczek, Oneszczak, Oneschuk, Oneszczuk,Onischuk, Onlsczuk, Onlszcsuk, Oniszczuk, Onosczak,Onusciak, Onuszcsak, Onuszczak, Onischczuk,, Onyshchuk,Onyszczuk, Onysczczuk, Onysczuk, Onychuk or Onyshuk

Many brick walls are built from incorrect data. Your sources may be leading you in the wrong direction through their inaccuracy.

Published sources often contain transcription errors, while even original documents may contain misinformation, whether purposefully or accidentally given.

Try to find at least three records to verify any facts that you already know and judge the quality of your data based on the weight of the evidence.

A reasonably exhaustive search for all pertinent information A complete and accurate citation to the source of each item used Analysis of the collected information's quality as evidence Resolution of any contradictory or conflicting evidence Document the conclusion that is best supported by the evidence