Break Down Those Brick Walls

How many times have you been stuck on an ancestor, unable to get back any further in your search? You’ve searched for years for parents or an exact birth location without success. I’m pretty sure we’ve all reached that place, that formidable brick wall, many times in our genealogy research.

Let's assume you have not been able to find your great-great grandmother's maiden name. You know her first name is Mary but there is no notation of her former surname on the records you’ve found.

You’ve done all the right things. You’ve looked for her son Henry, your great-grandfather in all the usual record sources – in marriage records, birth records and obituaries. You searched for the family in census records. You searched church records, vital registrations, and newspapers for obituaries. You’ve concentrated on great-grandfather Henry and great-great grandmother Mary because those are your direct ancestors.

Great-grandpa Henry’s marriage record showed his mother with her married name. There was no help there. You found his death registration and viewed it in anticipation. But sadly the informant (great-great grandpa's second wife) didn't know her mother-in-law’s maiden name.

Henry’s obituary was no help. Neither was his mother Mary’s. Obituaries for both great-grandpa and his mother were interesting but there was no mention of her maiden name or her parents. What to do now?

It’s time to start researching Henry’s siblings!

Why search siblings? You're only interested in YOUR ancestor, right? WRONG!

Remember that your ancestor and his siblings shared the same parents, and those parents are your next generation back. That’s right – the generation you’re looking for. Somewhere in a sibling record may very well be Great-grandmother Mary’s maiden name, the names of her parents, and a great deal more. You will never know until you start looking.

Look for great great grandpa's youngest sister's marriage record. Look for his brothers' death records. Research each sibling in turn as if they were your direct ancestors, and follow the standard genealogical research methods. Find every document you can on each sibling.

Researching and tracking siblings, finding their marriages, children, deaths and all other details about their lives can provide you with those long-sought answers to your brickwall.

A bonus is that you will have a much better idea of great-grandpa Henry’s family and their lives. He will be more alive for you and you will have an intimate sense of him as a real person not just a name and a few dates on your Pedigree Chart. You may be quite surprised at the interesting facts you’ll find on his siblings. When I searched my great-grandfather Stephen Peer’s family, I discovered that his brother Harmen Peer was the first base jumper in North America.  Further research led me to my great-grandfather’s cousin Stephen Peer who was a tightrope walker and who died walking his tightrope over Niagara Falls.  What great stories to add to story-telling time with my grandchildren!

Here’s an example of another benefit to researching an entire family. After more than 30 years of researching my Peer family, I had gathered so much information on the five sons of the immigrant ancestor that I compiled it all into six volumes of books on the Peer family in North America which other descendants can purchase and which my children and grandchildren are being given this Christmas.  So my research is being shared and interested descendants may find some answers to their own personal brickwalls!

So remember – search those siblings. Don’t overlook turning any stone available to you in your hunt for your own ancestor.

There are four Brick Wall classes in the Legacy Family Tree Webinar Library. Start learning today!

Lorine McGinnis Schulze is a Canadian genealogist who has been involved with genealogy and history for more than thirty years. In 1996 Lorine created the Olive Tree Genealogy website and its companion blog. Lorine is the author of many published genealogical and historical articles and books.