The brick wall is the ultimate challenge for any researcher, professional or novice; and we all have a few walls that we try to scale from time to time. We just know that somehow, somewhere, there is a vital clue that will cause the whole wall to come crashing down.What do you do when you have exhausted all of your resources? You simply look again - but from a different angle. When researching we can become very tunnel-visioned and fail to see the clues that are close at hand. We get stuck thinking that what we think we know is the whole truth. Perhaps it is, but chances are there are a few details that may have been skewed through time and telling.
"Great-Grandma was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and met Great-Grandpa there. They fell in love, married, moved to Detroit, raised 5 children, and lived in the same house for 50 years. We were told that there was a sixth child, but can't find any records. We also can't find anything on Great-Grandma or her family in Windsor beyond her marriage record. Help!"
Work the scenario, but don’t make it a fact until you have concrete evidence. Where was the family living at the time? Check death/burial records, church records, and cemeteries located near their residence. Check the cemetery where Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa were eventually buried.Look at your brick wall from all different angles. Don't be afraid to explore a different scenario from the original version of the story. Consider everything, assume nothing.. When it becomes too frustrating set it aside for awhile. With the rate of records being added to various sites each day, if the clues aren't there yet, they will be shortly.Click here to receive help from an expert with the brick walls in your genealogy research.