Hit a brick wall in your genealogy research? Treat it like a cold case

On the police shows on TV, detectives are forever investigating and solving cold cases. They comb through notes and forensic tests, sometimes pulling in other investigators who can take a fresh look at old evidence.

That’s what you should be doing when you hit a genealogy brick wall: Treat it like a cold case.

Ask a friend — certainly one with genealogy research experience — to take a fresh look at what you have. Or you might hire a professional genealogist, who can provide some ideas of what else you could do. I always try to summarize in a memo where I stand on any research, as I have during the pandemic when I reinvestigate some cold cases in my tree. On my Barbee line, I came up with four families that could be related to my ancestress Phebe Barbee, who died in 1837 in Orange County, North Carolina. Now, I am trying the mitochondrial DNA test, as several of my distant cousins are direct descendants of her through the female line. Those results could produce some matches.

So, when you’re stuck in your research, try some new approaches to your own cold cases.

Ancestors’ nicknames

Recently, a communication from Family Tree Magazine stressed that we should record any nicknames of our male ancestors, as well as why and how they came by those nicknames. I know my grandfather, Joe Brooks, was really J.H. Brooks III, but was called “Junior” by my grandmother and other relatives, including a nephew who called him “Uncle Junior.” His father died before his grandfather, so he got the nickname to distinguish him from his grandfather. One south Alabama kin was nicknamed “Shoat” Nolan, shoat being a baby pig. Not sure why. His family had other unusual nicknames. Unfortunately, there is no one around to ask about them.

Sign the guestbook

A friend of mine always signs any guestbook at a library, archives, or historic place. Recently, on a trip to England, it paid off. He heard back from someone connected to his research.