A Running Record

Recognizing and organizing certain themes, topics, and subjects can be the secret weapon needed to break down many of those brick walls.  What brings people together as a group at one point in time, or in one place in time, or in one why in time, may help the genealogist to put an end to one of those pesky red brick things standing in the way.

Themes can be something laid down by cultures or social groups which bond them to one another.  Perhaps religion, political party, or social group may remove them from one area and go to another.
For my own family, the Baptist movement in early colonial Virginia helped me follow my family from one area in Virginia, to the wilderness of Kentucky.  They became known as the "Traveling Church" becoming a topic of interest in early Kentucky history.

Perhaps it might be a topic like the "Theory of Divine Right" of kings.  Who did the family fight for or against.  This topic became an important subject during the English Civil War period (1638-1649).  Understanding and organizing this concept helped me recognize, and group together my own JONES family during this period of history.

Likewise, a subject can be anything that might effect thought or consciousness bringing into to action an individual or group of individuals.  What subjects make the group united in action.  Placing Mary, Queen of Scots, on the English throne was one such subject that united a small group of men, including my own family.

Keeping a running record of these themes, topics, and subjects as one goes about their own tree climbing may help solve many questions which seem to get in the way.  For me this was done in a series of notebooks which became the record of discoveries on these items.  Piece by piece, these became the thread to weave a rope over many of those brick walls.

For those interest, I have started a blog on my collection of notebooks.  These list the themes, topics, or subjects that I have collected during the past 52 years of genealogy.  The list can be found at http://tjgresearchnotebooks.blogspot.com.  You can search for topics/subjects using the search space given.

Name That Topic

The Brick Wall Protocol has been written to try and help those genealogist who are stuck before one of those road blocks.  Sooner or later it will happen if you climb trees long enough.  I thought it might be helpful to give those who have been reading these post a place to share a topic that is important to them.  This may be a question, a document, a resource, an archive, etc. that has been helpful or useful in their own tree climbing.  There may be a method or technique that has been helpful.  It just may be a question about the brick wall you are now facing.

If any reader has a topic or question that has been important to them, please place in the comment section of this post.  Perhaps this may then begin a conversation among us, we might call the demolition derby. Any drivers out there?

Using This Blog

This makes the 48th post for The Brickwall Protocol since August 6, 2011. I thought it might be helpful to try and outline the blog for those who are just beginning to use the content. It is designed to help those serious genealogists who face the "Brick Wall". It is not for the faint hearted, and requires a great deal of work to complete the methods described within.

The first section is the actual protocol as written in 1989. It represents ideas produced from more than 50 years of tree climbing and brick wall destruction. [Having the surname JONES will produce a large number of brick walls!] Each post is identified by the label BWP(#). This tag shows that the post has content that was published in the original form. It guides the genealogist "step by step" in the concepts, methods, and tools, which I have found to be helpful during my own JONES tree climbing. These are numbered BWP(1) through BWP (14). This will also help find a post in sequence, and follow the posts in order of concepts.

Starting with BWP(15), there are post which give additional information and helps designed to supplement the first section. Additional helps are given which were not part of the original publication. BWP(16) gives an example of my own work.

BWP(17) discusses a family coding system method and BWP(34).

BWP(19) shows a method using "squares and circles" for research design.

Other topics which have been helpful:

BWP(20)- Genealogy and Geography
BWP(21)- Making Maps and BWP(22) Maps from History and BWP(23) Name That Creek.

Social roles in the context of history: BWP(24)

Understanding history: BWP(25), BWP(28), BWP(30), BWP(31) and BWP(33).

Your own research: BWP(34), BWP(35), BWP(36), and BWP(37).

The BWP labeling stops after BWP(37). After this post of October 31, 2011, the titles introduce themselves. Some are intended to be helps, such as "Clarify Dates"[Nov. 9, 2001] to a little bit of humor, such as "For The Serious Genealogist"[Nov. 16, 2011].

Some topics presented:

Clarify Dates- Nov. 9, 2011.
"Letters Patent" A 12 Step Process- November 23, 2011.
Conceptualize Content - December 5, 2011.
Poor to Peerage: Becoming an Adult 1650 England- December 16, 2011.
Yearly Income per Head 1688 England, Part(1) and Part (2)- Dec. 31, 2011 and Jan. 7, 2012.
Spelling Words- Jan. 12, 2012.

I hope this outline will help the reader use this blog successfully in your own tree climbing.