Brick Walls - We All Have Them

We all love to do our genealogy research. It's interesting. We learn a lot about other things in the process. All of a sudden we come to a grinding halt on at least one person we are researching and want to bang our heads against the "brick wall." Ouch. How do we get past that and why would we want too?

YouTube has some interesting videos to watch. Let me share one in particular with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33NcRbkm-eQ
"10 Top Tips for How to Bust Through Your Genealogy Brick Wall" from RootsTech2013 with Dave Obee through Genealogy Gems Podcast.
He takes a real case from a real person and shares some wonderful advice with her. Check it out and see if any of his tips help you. I've tried them all over a period of time with some of my "easier brick walls."
1 Create a timeline - every piece of concrete information that you have about the person.
2 Understand the geography - people moved around.
3 Find every possible record
4 Understand how records were created - sometimes people were missed on a census even though they were there.
5 Newspapers - read every local story
6 Tap into local knowledge - they know more about local sources and how to use them.
7 Go there, if you can, in person
8 Look for negative proof - this is a biggie if you are researching a common surname. Basically finding the right information through eliminating others.
9 Collaborate with other researchers - make sure to document information and ask questions about sources. Don't just copy what they have.
10 "oops, I think I missed one", but how about - use an expert for ideas and on-line resources.

The information given was related to some Canadian and American resources, but I think it is useful for any country.

If you've read any of my previous posts you already know I think timelines are very important and I've shared a few of them. At the moment I am researching how I can create them more effectively i.e. would an excel spreadsheet be better than a word document.
I used #6 - tap into local information - on a recent trip to Scotland and as a result I have a reliable source of information to visit on my next jaunt over "the puddle." The site has some on-line information available but most of their sources have to be seen in person and copied there.
#9 - collaborate with other researchers - happens to me often. e.g. I had some information about a distant cousin of my spouse, on one of my trees on Ancestry. A direct descendant saw what I had and contacted me to tell me more about that person, which helped me fix a mistake of my own making. She shared information about the spouse, other family and what one of her main original sources is.

Clarice Elizabeth Ann Palmer Obituary

The family, with great sadness, announce the passing of Clarice Elizabeth Anne (Lindsay) Palmer at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on August 13, 2018. Predeceased by her parents William and Clarice (Jackson) Lindsay, her husband Frederick Charles (Ted), sister Jean, brother Bill, brother-in-law Arthur (Hap) and sister-in-law Eileen. Elizabeth lived a life surrounded by loving family and friends here on Prince Edward Island, in Alberta and in her home province of Newfoundland. She will be remembered by many around the world through her association with the Rotary International Youth Exchange Program and hosting of International students studying at UPEI. Elizabeth will be especially remembered by friends Joan Rankin and Mary Follet, her 'Sam's' breakfast club, River Ridge friends and Edinburgh Drive neighborhood families. She lived a life of community involvement with Spring Park United Church, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Rotary International and Beta Sigma Phi, among others. Her passion for high school band music was matched by her passion for salt fish and brewis, picking berries, culinary adventures and family gatherings. She lived through war, the loss of her mother at an early age, finding love in Corner Brook, NL, the raising of 4 beautiful children, oh so many car ferries, service to her community, the early passing of her spouse then the ultimate joy of grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was happiest at the 'cabin' by the river, on the beach, at a picnic, planning the next pot of soup and with family around the table. Among those that will celebrate her life and continue her legacy are her sons Bob, Terry and Andrew, daughter Kim, adopted daughters and son Dana, Sherrill, Roberta and Lee, grandchildren Becky, Ben, Jeff, Ryan, Tamara, Morgan, Tyler, Jessica, Nathan, Aric, Vanessa, Danielle and Dylan and 12 beautiful great grandchildren. Her Newfoundland family Dave and Gwen Alcock, Bill and Marliese Janes-Alcock will very much miss her spirit and love. Resting at Belvedere Funeral Home for visitation Wednesday 4-7 p.m. The funeral service will be held at Spring Park United Church on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Interment later in People’s Cemetery, Charlottetown. Memorial donations may be made to the Spring Park United Church or the Rotary Club of Charlottetown. www.belvederefh.com 
Posted in www.theguardian.pe.ca on August 14, 2018

Elizabeth was the youngest child of my grandpa's oldest brother William. She helped me on a couple of occasions to unravel some of our family tree. I met her sister and brother-in-law, when I was a teenager, on one of their visits to Scotland. My dad has a photograph album dedicated to a visit my grandparents made to Newfoundland a few years before my great-uncle Will died. Elizabeth was a very late, but much loved baby, for her parents. Her siblings were about 20 and 15 when she was born, so quite an age gap. Being on Facebook has been a fun way for me to get to know her descendants, my cousins, better. My one regret is that we were not able to visit with her during her lifetime.

Returning to blogging

It's been a long time since I blogged. Family issues became more intense and time consuming. My youngest daughter had to deal with some severe health issues, with me as her primary round-the-clock caregiver. While I continued on doing genealogy as my "stress buster," blogging took a back seat.

I am now a grandma :) Two wonderful little girls who live nearby. The youngest has put us on a steep learning curve since she has Spina Bifida. She was on the receiving end of in-utero surgery to close up her spine. Only time will tell what her needs will be as she is still very much a young baby, born 6 weeks early. Big sister is very helpful and blossoming into her own wonderful interests.

I have made some visits to Scotland and had some interesting conversations with my dad about his army days etc. I'm also trying to get other family members to share stories with me.

It's been fun connecting with cousins in Australia, USA and Canada over the past wee while. That helped with some "unknown to me line" discoveries. Plenty of "where did they disappear too?" research has happened. New updates on internet sites has also furthered my research. One thing that has not changed - my furthest back direct lines. I'm still stuck with that so I have been researching other twigs and branches.

I'm looking forward to writing again and sharing my discoveries. I hope you will come along with me as I continue to learn about Our Scottish Heritage.

Carol H.