Mind Map Gallery Brick Wall Strategies

Brick Wall Strategies

This is a mind map talking about brick wall strategies.

Edited at 2020-09-25 12:56:49

Lisa Anderson

Brick Wall Strategies

Lisa Anderson

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Outline

BRICK WALL STRATEGIES

ATTITUDE IS KEY

ATTITUDE IMPROVES WITH SUCCESS

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

IF THERE ARE RECORDS-THEY ARE FINDABLE

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.

REVIEW WHAT YOU HAVE

OLD INFO. MAY PROVIDE CLUES

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.

ORGANIZE FILES

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

REVIEW FACTS

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.

GO BACK TO ORIGINAL SOURCE

MAY NOT HAVE RECORDED ENOUGH

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?

MAY HAVE MISREAD NAME

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

MISINTERPRETED A RELATIONSHIP

WHAT SEEMED UNIMPORTANT - NOW IS IMPORTANT

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.

WHY CAREFUL DOCUMENTATION IS SO IMPORTANT

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

KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROBLEM

SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES OF PROBLEM

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.

WHERE IS IT LOCATED

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

TIME PERIOD

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

RELIGION

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

HISTORY

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

WHAT RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE

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

BROADEN SEARCH

ASK FAMILY & NEIGHBOURS

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

CHECK SIBLINGS RECORDS

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

CHECK NEIGHBOURS IN CENSUS

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.

COLLATERAL LINES

SIBLINGS, AUNTS, UNCLES & IN-LAWS

DON'T KNOW SIBLINGS

lf you don’t know the names of your ancestor’s siblings, you can often find them In census records, wills, probate records and obituaries.

MARRIAGE RECORDS

Early marriage records were often skimpy on details, but later marriages of siblings may contain further Information such as birthplaces and parents’ names.

CHECK CENSUS

Elderly or widowed parents may be found listed in the census with a sibling’s family.

MAIDEN NAME

The informant who provided the information for your ancestor’s death certificate may not have known their mother s maiden name, but a sibling’s certificate may yield further clues.

SOURCES

LIBRARIES

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

FAMILY SEARCH

DISCOVER YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

FAMILYSEARCH

FAMILYSEARCH LABS

FAMILYSEARCH LABS RECORD SEARCH

FAMILYSEARCH RESEARCH WIKI

NEW FAMILYSEARCH

RECORDS UPDATE

TECH TIPS