List of Brick Walls (National Institute)

Difficult Searches
I’m sure you know this is not going to be smooth sailing all the way. You will run into some problems at one point or another.

This form is useful when you have met what seems like a dead end (also known as a brick wall or a roadblock) for a certain ancestor. You have checked the obvious sources and they didn’t hold answers for you. Sometimes simply organizing your information in writing on one sheet of paper may make the problem situation clearer, and may suggest new avenues to explore.

If you need to write a letter to a distant place for a search or service, having all the information listed on one sheet will help you concentrate on your request.

Remember when you write somewhere for assistance, they are only interested in the facts and not a long drawn-out story. Keep your letters as short as possible, but at the same time giving all the information that is required.

This should make looking up your request easier and hopefully an answer will be forthcoming much faster.

Remember also to always include a self addressed stamped envelope for their reply. Most organizations have a simple rule: '''No Stamp, No Reply... '''

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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online courses offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. To learn more about these courses or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com]

We welcome updates and additions to this Wiki page.