Brick wall busters - Seonaid Harvey (Senior Research Librarian - Auckland Central City Library)
• Make sure you are looking at original documents (or copies of original documents) Don’t rely on indexes.
• Names changes Example: Edith WARD > Edith Stevens BOOTHER > Edith Mary STEVENS > Edith Mary HARVEY. Nicknames Mary, Edie etc. Spelling/transcription errors
• Collateral Research. Research of family members you are not a direct descendant of. Siblings Cousins Aunts Uncles Nieceso Nephews In-Laws Ex-Spouseso Other Spouses Stepchildren Adopted Family Members Single people Example:- Edith WARD with great-aunty 1901 Census
. • FAN (Friends Associates Neighbours) network Research: Family of the Heart Affinity Relationships (relationships created by marriage?) Neighbours (census records etc).
• Timelines – Tables/spreadsheets Check for gaps to see what’s missing from your research. Look for documents to fill the gaps. Maybe newspapers can help fill that gap?
• Geography – Maps. Map out where your family lived – look for clues, determine why they may have moved from one area to another. Where else might they have gone.
• Evaluate what you have learned. Revisit research. Look again at documents. Make sure you’ve “killed off” people before you move on. Remember to look for Wills/probates for all family members.
• Have all the records really been destroyed in that fire/flood/disaster? Or maybe you just wait till that piece of evidence appears from out of the blue. Keep looking periodically. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of time
• Seek assistance from:
Libraries, museums, archives, family history societies, historical societies.
Check out and ask questions: Message boards, mailing lists, forums, newsletters,
magazines, books.
• Check other websites:
FamilySearch (free), Ancestry ($), Findmypast ($), MyHeritage ($), The Genealogist ($), ScotlandsPeople ($), Irish Genealogy (free), Roots Ireland ($), WikiTree (free).
NOTE: Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage, The Genealogist is available free within any uckland library. MyHeritage can also be accessed from home by logging into your
Auckland Libraries account online (as if you were ordering a book) and going to the
MyHeritage link on our website.
All 56 of Auckland Libraries are an affiliated FamilySearch library, which means we have
more access to more digitised Family Search records.
Auckland Libraries also has access to many historic newspapers online.