Brick Wall Checklist

Re-check what you have

• Re-read every document you already hold, word by word
• List every fact about the ancestor with its source
• Separate proven facts from assumptions and family stories
• Check that dates and ages are consistent across records
• Look for witnesses, sponsors and informants on documents

Search smarter

• Search with surname and place only, no first name
• Try phonetic spellings and handwriting misreadings
• Use wildcards (Sm*th, Joh?)
• Search by first name and birth year with no surname
• Widen date ranges to ±5 or ±10 years
• Try maiden names, married names and nicknames

Widen the circle

• Research siblings — their records may name the parents
• Research neighbours on census pages
• Trace the ancestor's children forward
• Look for in-laws and godparents
• Check who witnessed marriages and wills

Try new record types

• Newspapers (obituaries, notices, court reports)
• Electoral rolls and directories
• Land, rate and tax records
• Wills and probate
• Military, pension and medal records
• Church records beyond baptisms (burials, banns)
• Immigration, passenger and naturalisation records
• Cemetery and headstone transcriptions

Use DNA

• Sort DNA matches by shared surnames and places
• Group matches into clusters with shared-match tools
• Ask an older relative to test
• Upload raw data to other sites for extra matches
• Build quick trees for close matches to find common ancestors
• Contact matches with a short, friendly message