In the genealogy world, we use the term “brick wall” when we seem to go as far as we can in finding a particular ancestor or branch.
I hope this isn’t too controversial a statement, but most of the brick walls we hit are ones that we inadvertently create.
There are legitimate reasons in hitting that wall, such as finding records. Sometimes, the documents we need are destroyed or missing. (By the way, most records from the Holocaust survived). For Jewish researchers, if we’re lucky enough and find the exact Eastern European shtetl or city our ancestors lived in, those records are almost never in English. Or it was too far back in time for records to be kept.
But often, the reasons we can’t find evidence is that either we don’t know where to look for documents or we’re unsure what evidence to believe when there are conflicts (i.e. family story vs. census record vs. birth record.)
But how do we find out about what we don’t know?
That’s where intentionally building our genealogical skills and knowledge can help dismantle those bricks.
How do we learn those skills and knowledge? Glad you asked.
In 2022, there is no lack of resources. In fact, that can be part of the challenge — navigating the wealth of resources. There are hundreds of them, with or without going online.
That’s why it is helpful to first create an Education Plan.
Education Plan
The majority of family historians are self-taught, but it’s often through trial and error. A simple truth is that we don’t know what we don’t know.
First, do an honest assessment of your skills and then list what skills or knowledge you lack. Are there resources you’ve heard of, but know much about? Do you know how to conduct effective online searches in databases? Do you know what resources exist where your ancestors lived? Do you have enough understanding of the immigration process and documents to find where and when you ancestors immigrated from and to? Do you know enough Hebrew to read gravestones?
These are the kinds of skills and knowledge you need to be an effective family researcher, and a plan to learn them can seriously up your game. So the Education Plan should address how you’re going to learn them, which resources you’ll use, and a timeline for doing that.
The resources
The first category generally doesn’t require a computer, although it can help.
Books: An often overlooked resource, there are thousands of books on genealogy, and the list grows every year. They include how-to books, specific and general resources, geographic and ethnic genealogy, DNA, methodology, published and unpublished family histories, and many more topics.
You can either buy them, or borrow them from the library. No matter the size of the library, they almost always have a genealogy section. E-books are another way to consume them.
Genealogy societies: It’s surprising how many people doing family history don’t about these groups. I was one of them — it took me 10 years to know they existed. Generally, they hold monthly meetings that are open to the public, and often put on hour-long presentations at their meeting, on a variety of topics.
You will certainly improve your skills and knowledge by attending, regardless of your level. And it’s a great place to talk with fellow genealogy enthusiasts without them rolling their eyes, as so often our family and friends do when we talk about our passion to find our ancestors.
Most societies charge $20-35 annual dues, and it’s one of the least expensive genealogy costs you’ll find.
Genealogical societies met in person, but like everyone else, they went to Zoom during the pandemic, and are mostly back to meeting in person. Many are doing hybrid meetings now, so you can attend in person or virtually.
The one likely most relevant to most readers is the Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado, based in Denver. It just did an excellent presentation on finding Jewish resources in the US, and members can view a recording online.
Most cities or counties have a local genealogy society. While they may not deal specifically with Jewish genealogy, they are valuable in learning many skills and finding resources. There are also state, regional, national and ethnic genealogical societies.
The Colorado Genealogical Society, also based in Denver, is the oldest one in the state, at almost 100 years old. To be clear, you don’t need to have ancestors in that area to belong or learn from the presentations.
Most members don’t have ancestors who came from the area.
I’ll be presenting a more in-depth presentation on this topic for the Longmont Genealogical Society in January.
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