• 500 Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems 
  A book by the Publishers of Family Chronicle Magazine.

• About.com Genealogy - Brick Walls - How to Get Through Them 

• Ancestry.com - Learning Center - Learn More 
  Thousands of FREE, searchable how-to articles from Ancestry.com publications such as Ancestry Magazine, the Ancestry Weekly Discovery and the Ancestry Monthly Update.
  • Explaining Your Brick Walls Can Bring Them Down 
  • Finding Your Own Genealogical Muse 
    Article by Drew Smith.
  • Follow Every Thread 
  • A Fresh Start on an Old Problem 
    Article by Juliana Smith.
  • Jumping to Conclusions 
    Article by Michael John Neill.
  • Jumpstart Your Research 
    Article by Juliana Smith.
  • A Problem Well Stated . . . 
    Article by Juliana Smith.

• Beyond the Index--Michael John Neill's Articles in the Ancestry Daily News 
  • Brick Walls from A to Z 
    Ideas for breaking down brick walls, with a suggestion from A to Z.
  • From Their Mouth to Your Computer Screen 
    Your ancestor's last name, first name, and other information, passed through many mouths, heads, hands, and fingers before appearing on your computer screen. This article discusses how all those passings could be causing you problems.
  • Is Your Brick Wall in Your Head? 
  • Problem Solving 
  • Problem Solving: An Example 
  • Their Parents Died Young, Now What? 

• Books We Own 
  Sometimes it is best to set aside your research problem and put your thoughts elsewhere for a while. Whenever I've done this I can always come back to the problem with a fresh set of eyes. Try volunteering to help others for a while instead. The Books We Own site is a great way to begin!

• Cyndi's Genealogy Home Page Construction Kit 
  Create your own web page in order to put up a list of your surnames and your research questions, problems & mysteries!

• Finding People 
  Phone Numbers, E-Mail Addresses, Mailing Addresses, Places, Etc.

• First Name Basis 
  To aid you in researching when all you know is the first name of a person. Focuses on unusual first names and women's first names when maiden names are unknown.

• Footnote.com - Free Trial 
  Search original historical documents free, digitized images available with fee-based membership. Records included are from The National Archives and Records Administration, the Pennsylvania Archives, FamilySearch, the Center for Research Libraries, and various local archives.
  • Project Blue Book - UFO Investigations 
    Original source: Project Blue Book, 1947-1969. NARA T1206. Records and case files relating to investigations, collected by the Office of Special Investigations, of sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

• Genealogy.com: Discrepancy Charts - Organizing the Inconclusive 
  Article by Michael John Neill.

• How To 
  Stop by the "How To" category on this site and read through multiple helpful articles on all sorts of research topics. Perhaps the answer is hidden in one of these online resources!

• Library of Congress 
  One visitor to my site suggested checking the Library of Congress to see if your ancestor had a biography or an autobiography written about him or her. Another visitor pointed out that you should specifically check with the genealogy section "which contains genealogies sent to the the LC, some of them merely typed, many not published."

• Looking 4 Kin Genealogy Message Board (The Original) - Brickwalls 
  Post your brickwalls in this forum. Be sure to visit the genealogy chat room when done posting your names.

• Mailing Lists 
  Join a mailing list for your specific surname or your research locality. Communicate regularly with others who are researching the same names or in the same areas and share ideas, hints, tips and advice.
  • ADVANCED-RESEARCH Mailing List 
    For the discussion and sharing of information regarding genealogy research techniques for the intermediate to advance researcher. Discussion topics will include techniques and methodologies used to resolve brick wall problems, as well as exploring the use of difficult original sources, such as tax rolls and similar types of documents. Archives: browse or search.
  • BRICKWALL Mailing List 
    For anyone who wants to post their "brickwalls", those most elusive ancestors you can find nothing on, and queries on where to go for further information.
  • GEN-PITFALLS Mailing List 
    For the exchange of information and suggestions concerning "genealogy pitfalls" encountered by all genealogy researchers. Archives: browse or search.
  • GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES Mailing List 
    for people whose family genealogies include "unsolved mysteries." Postings should include only mysterious disappearances or appearances, unsolved murders, questionable incarcerations, and other mysterious or unsolved events in an ancestor's life. Postings should not include "brick walls" since these would be repetitive of the content of other lists. Archives: browse or search.
  • UFO-ROOTS Mailing List 
    For those whose ancestors arrived from outer space to make connections with others sharing this problem, discuss their ancestry, and provide advice on possible avenues for further research. Archives: browse or search.

• Newsgroups 
  Read messages posted on genealogy newsgroups for your specific surname or your research locality. Communicate regularly with others who are researching the same names or in the same areas and share ideas, hints, tips and advice.

• Professional Researchers, Volunteers & Other Research Services 
  If all else fails you might consider hiring a professional researcher to do some of the work for you. I can't personally endorse any of the researchers on this page, so you must use your best judgement in obtaining their services. You might also try to "swap" volunteer services with others who need help in your areas of expertise or resources.

• Queries & Message Boards 
  Search through thousands of online queries by other researchers. Make up your own basic/generic query for each person you are working on and post it in as many spots as you can as you sift through other's queries. Stop by each of the USGenWeb pages for the counties you are researching in and look through their queries also.

• Researching Around Brick Walls: Using Collateral Lines in Genealogical Research 
  This how-to article explains collateral lines and how to use them effectively to expand genealogical information. From Pilgrims, Pioneers & Aliens, by Diana Smith.

• Search Engines 
  Use any of the search engines on this page to do a search on a specific surname, place name or keyword that you are interested in. Read the help files and the FAQ for each search engine and learn how they each work. Try different combinations of words & phrases to maximize your search results.

• Sources of Genealogical Information 
  "Have you reached a dead-end in your research? Have you looked in these records yet?!" A checklist of resources you shouldn't overlook in your research. From Joanne Rabun and the Gene Pool.

• Web Rings for Genealogy 
  Web rings are popping up on genealogy web sites all over the net. A "web ring" is a series of web sites connected to one another via a special link table set up for sites that fit a specific topic. There are several web rings for genealogy, covering everything from general genealogical web sites to the Civil War, Jewish genealogy and Reunion software users. When you see a web ring table on a site you can choose to follow the link to the next site on that ring, or you can skip ahead 5 links or you can choose a random link on the ring. Doesn't this sound like the type of thing you should do when you hit that brick wall in your research? It reminds me of randomly stopping your arm as you rewind a roll of microfilm and you spot your long-lost ancestor on the page in front of you!

• When Your Ox Is in the Ditch : Genealogical How-To Letters  
  A book by Vera McDowell.

Report a Broken Link / Update a Link