10 Steps to Busting Your Brick Wall

About Course

We all have them. That one ancestor who simply refuses to be found. It’s the branch of the family tree we keep coming back to—much like the way a child can’t seem to stop poking at a loose tooth, even though it hurts.

They represent the glaring gap in an otherwise full tree, the missing piece of the puzzle. You find yourself wondering about them at odd moments of the day, trying to piece together what their life was like, where they came from, or where they vanished to. You obsess for months or evey years, hunting through obscure databases and tumbling down rabbit holes that lead to dead ends. You set the file aside out of sheer exhaustion, only to pull it back out a few weeks later to try all over again.

You aren’t crazy; you just need a better blueprint.

This course delivers a systematic, 10-step research process to finally crack the case of your missing ancestor. These are the exact strategies I’ve used time and time again to find my own elusive family lines—the ones I would have sworn were dropped here by a UFO rather than born like ordinary mortals.

This course is a repeatable roadmap that transforms you from a stuck researcher into a genealogical detective ready to smash through any brick wall.

Define your genealogy brick wall clearly so you can focus your research on the right question.
Create detailed timelines that reveal missing information, inconsistencies, and new research opportunities.
Evaluate and analyze the evidence you've already collected to uncover overlooked clues.
Search for new records using advanced research strategies that go beyond basic online searches.
Resolve conflicting evidence by applying sound genealogical research and evidence analysis techniques.
Use local and social history to understand your ancestors' lives and uncover records hidden by historical context.
Research collateral relatives—including siblings, cousins, and extended family—to generate new leads.
Apply the FAN Club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbours) method to identify connections that can break through difficult brick walls.
Leverage the genealogy community to crowdsource challenging research problems and benefit from the expertise of others.
Incorporate DNA evidence into your research to identify new relatives, confirm hypotheses, and discover previously unknown family connections.
Optional AI Lessons in each step: Use AI tools to transcribe historical documents, analyze evidence, brainstorm research strategies, and speed up your genealogy research without replacing traditional research methods.

Course Content

Step 1: Define Your Brick Wall

Introduction: Defining Your Brick Wall Problem
Identify Your Problem
4 Steps to Define Your Research Goal
Optional: Test Your Problem Statement with AI
Step 1: Define Your Brick Wall

Step 2: Create a Timeline

Step 3: Evaluate the Evidence

Step 4: Search for New Evidence

Step 5: Resolve Conflicts

Step 6: Social History Research

Step 7: Collateral Relatives

Step 8. Friends, Associates, and Neighbours

Step 9: Crowd Source the Problem

Step 10: Use DNA

Breaking Through Your Brick Wall — The Complete Approach

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10 Steps to Busting Your Brick Wall

About Course

What Will You Learn?