I am pretty sure anyone who has even dabbled in family history research probably knows this phrase and is well aware of the issues that a brick wall can solve. If you've not experienced a brick wall, consider yourself one of the lucky few. Some people have had brick walls for tens of years and they may never get solved. Others have more of a 2 foot wall that really just needs a little step stool, but eventually they make the plunge to the other side. Solving brick walls requires some out of the box thinking. Often times we're linear and stick to what we know the best. So think about the US Census records like they are your "box". Think of the time in-between census as "outside-the-box". What records exist in that time frame? In the period between 1910 and 1920 you have a few options. Think about military records. The War to end all wars (WWI), registered all men of age between 1917-1918. Not only were these young men listed, but they often listed employers, next of kin which were either parents or spouses, and sometimes siblings. There is more to know on these than just if they served and where they were living. Other resources might be City Directories. Many places have these preserved not only online but also in public libraries, genealogical societies and archives across the country. If yours isn't online, take a few hours and go to the nearest library and ask about what they may have or if they know someone who may have what you need. I've been known to scour a whole day by clicking through year after year of the same town and recording everyone with a given name - such as my Pristas/Prestis family in New Jersey. I entered each one into a spreadsheet file and as I found the same person repeatedly, I'd highlight them in a set color for that family. I may go into details about that sort of thing in a future blog post. Here in the US individual states had State Census records. These are highly under utilized for many reasons not the least of which is we just forget about them. New Jersey for instance has a 1915 State Census that might help. Many states had census that fell between the census, explore which might help you. Don't leave out Non-population schedules and tax records. In the census years, there were many surveys of businesses, farms and defectives. While these were the census years, if you find your person of interest on one you may have clues on where else to look. If you find someone was listed being blind or idiotic, maybe you might find a record of them in a facility other than their parents homes. Farm surveys indicate land and goods that someone produced. Tax records can fill in the time between census. This out of the box thinking can not only help you maybe pinpoint exactly when someone may have died - a city directory lists Mrs. Ethel Boyde (wid) - or when they may have left town, when they moved from one house to another, when they may have changed jobs, when their sons and daughters came of age and started working or moved out on their own.... there are so many things you can extract from them if you spend enough time looking at them. Don't be afraid to fill in the blanks for every year that a person was alive. It's possible to do and every day, more and more records become easily accessible to us. So get out there and Enjoy Your Adventures In Genealogy!
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AuthorMichele is an obsessed mother of 4 residing in North Alabama. Hobbies include long walks in the woods, on the beach and in strange cemeteries and libraries. Genealogy friends need only apply. Categories
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