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5 Tips to Break Down Your Brick Wall



Originally posted at Lost Tree Project as a guest post February 2019.

 Eventually we all hit a brick wall.  My first brick wall was with Joseph Thomas {my husband's 3rd great grandfather} I spent months searching.  Brick walls can last weeks to months to years.  Below are some quick tips to help you break through that brick wall.

  1. Research another ancestor for a while and then go back to your brick wall .  You will see your brick wall ancestor with new eyes.
  2. Use a checklist to see if you missed any records.  {You can find my Evernote Research Checklist in my shared genealogy notebook.}
  3. Revisit your research.  Maybe you missed a piece of information in a document.  Maybe something seemed like it wasn't important but now that you have more information you find it is important.
  4. Learn something new.  It does not need to be genealogy related.  When you shift your thinking to something else and then go back to the brick wall you are likely to see your research problem in a different light.
  5. Take a break from your genealogy.  Read a book, watch your favorite TV show, binge on Netflix; do anything to shift your mind off of your genealogy brick wall.

Doing one or all of the 5 things above will help clear your head and allow you to see your genealogy research problems with a clearer head.

How do you break down your brick walls?

By Shannon Thomas
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  1. The Bigham FamilyFebruary 4, 2020 at 2:55 PM

    Thank you for this. Great ideas, that I can use to help with my brick walls.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shannon ThomasFebruary 6, 2020 at 11:23 PM

      Thank you so much for stopping by! Let me know if you break down any brick walls!

      Delete

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