A genealogy brick wall often feels like a shortage of records. Just as often, the problem is that the research question has become too broad to tell you what evidence matters.
“Find more about John Wilson” is a subject. It is not yet a research question.
A useful question identifies the person and the exact fact you are trying to establish. For example:
Who were the parents of the John Wilson who married Ellen Price in Montgomery County, Ohio, on 14 September 1871?
That sentence gives the case a boundary. You can now judge whether a record helps answer the current question instead of saving anything that happens to mention a similar name.
1. Identify the person before asking about the event
Names rarely identify one historical person by themselves. Strengthen the target with a cluster of details already supported by evidence:
- spouse or children;
- occupation;
- residence;
- a dated event;
- religion or congregation where relevant;
- repeated associates;
- an address, township, county, or other useful place detail.
A common name such as William Brown becomes more researchable when the question identifies the carpenter living with wife Margaret and children Robert and Alice in a particular township in 1880.
The objective is not to cram the whole biography into one sentence. Include enough detail that another careful researcher could tell which person you mean.
2. Ask one question at a time
A brick wall can quietly contain several different problems:
- Where was the person born?
- Who were the parents?
- When did the family migrate?
- Was the nearby household related?
- Is the person in an earlier census actually the same individual?
Trying to solve all of these at once makes every vaguely relevant record feel important.
Choose the question that should come first. Sometimes it is not the answer you ultimately want. If you cannot identify Margaret Kelly’s parents but have evidence that Patrick Kelly may have been her brother, the better first question may be whether Patrick really was her brother. His records may then create a route to the parentage question.
3. Remove assumptions from the wording
Compare these questions:
- When did Jacob Miller immigrate from Germany?
- What evidence establishes Jacob Miller’s birthplace and immigration history?
The first assumes both a German birthplace and immigration. If either belief came from an unsourced tree, the research question has already chosen an answer.
Use neutral wording that leaves room for the evidence to surprise you.
Likewise, instead of asking why somebody “lied” about an age, ask what explains the differences in the recorded ages. Possible explanations can include reporting error, rounding, different informants, deliberate age change, or two people being confused.
4. Decide what would count as solved
Before searching, state the standard you are trying to reach.
One unsourced online tree is not enough simply because it is precise. Several trees repeating the same claim may still trace back to one unsupported source. A death certificate naming parents may be useful while still needing comparison with earlier or independent evidence.
A practical standard is a conclusion supported by evidence that survives comparison with the other relevant evidence and does not depend on a hidden assumption.
5. Write the case sheet
For the current brick wall, record:
- target person;
- how you distinguish this person from others with the same or similar name;
- exact research question;
- approximate period;
- known locations;
- what would count as a satisfactory answer;
- the assumption most likely to be wrong.
Then complete this sentence:
I am trying to determine ______ about ______, the person identifiable by ______.
If the first blank is “anything I can find,” the question is still too broad.
What to do next
Once the question is precise, rebuild the evidence you already have before searching again. A chronological evidence timeline can expose the first real gap or transition. If several records disagree, preserve the conflict rather than cleaning it away; the guide to conflicting genealogy records shows how.
The book Break Through Your Genealogy Brick Wall uses the same principle as the first stage of its 12-stage case cycle: DEFINE the exact question before deciding what to search next.