When you hit a brick wall in your research, new search strategies can help you move past it.

Get better search results

Sometimes, search results may not look relevant. When this happens, we recommend “playing around” with your search. Finding what works best is often just a matter of repeating a search with a few tweaks. See Refining Your Search to Improve Results to find a smaller pool of more relevant results.

Take an AncestryDNA test

DNA testing has become the go-to solution for longstanding roadblocks in family history research. When you take an AncestryDNA test, we search our global network of over 28 million AncestryDNA members to find people who share your DNA.

Your results will include a breakdown of your ancestral origins and a list of your relatives who've taken the test. Contact newfound family to share research, ask questions, and discover new ancestors based on the family trees of those relatives.

Buy an AncestryDNA kit

Solve mysteries through AncestryDNA matches

For the best chance of learning about your matches, fill out your family tree as best you can, make it public and attach it to your test, and have an Ancestry membership. For details about how to discover your relationship to your matches (and through them, to people who may not have taken an AncestryDNA test), see Discovering How You're Related to AncestryDNA Matches.

Create a research log

Research logs document where you've searched, the sources you’ve found, and the information you have and still need. To accompany your research log, create a list of unsuccessful searches and a list of places you'd like to search and what you'd like to find. Include comments about your search strategies, ideas, and questions you'd like to return to.

The more detailed your research log is, the easier it will be for you to stay organized and avoid duplicate searches and strategies. It may help to download our free research templates.

Expand your search

Branch out from census and vital records and view different record types (like school directories and church histories). The card catalog is useful for searching specific types of records.
Revisit records you've already found, looking for missed details or connections.
Whenever possible, view original documents; transcription errors are common with old records.
Explore non-internet sources, like local history and genealogy centers, gravesites, books, and family Bibles (many of which contain family information).
When you can’t locate information about someone, try searching for their siblings or other close family members instead. Records that include family members often include the person as well.
When looking for living people, try searching social media. Facebook, Instagram, X, and even LinkedIn can connect you with people who may be otherwise hard to find.
Try connecting with people who have overcome similar research issues to get clues for moving forward.
Talk to family members, especially people in older generations. Share the information you have and ask what they know.
Keep checking for information you’ve already tried to find; new records are added to the site daily.

Search alternate spellings

Wild cards are special symbols used in place of unknown letters in a word. They can be used in searches when you don't know the exact spelling.

The asterisk (*) and the question mark (?) are the two symbols used as wild cards. An asterisk (*) represents zero to five characters, and a question mark (?) represents one character.

For example, if you didn’t know whether a name was spelled “Nielson” or “Nielsen,” you could search for the name using a wild card where the unknown letter goes: “Niels?n.” For more information on searching alternate spellings, see Searching with Wild Cards.

Hire a genealogist

Every family tree is unique, and every research project is different. Our genealogy research services are customized to meet your specific needs, and each project is priced individually after speaking with us. Depending on the complexity of your research goals, pricing may start as low as $3,700 USD. Factors that could increase the cost beyond that include immigration research, DNA analysis, adoption and biological family research, and onsite international research. Get started with a research estimate.

Discover your Family Story with Expert Help

Have questions about your family tree? Curious about your DNA results? Stuck on a research roadblock? Our expert genealogists are ready to help. Connect one-on-one with a professional genealogist in a private, virtual coaching consultation.

In a private, 30-minute virtual session, you’ll get personalized guidance to:

Break through research barriers
Understand and apply your DNA results
Navigate complicated family lines
Make the most of Ancestry tools and resources

Book your private coaching session here: https://www.progenealogists.com/ancestry-advisor?s1001

Common brick walls

Names

Maiden names: Try checking marriage records. If you can't find their marriage record, try other court documents like divorce records, property disputes, name changes, or applications for child guardianship. National identification numbers may also provide clues (Social Security Numbers in the United States, Clave Única de Registro de Población (CURP) in Mexico, Birth Numbers in Norway, or Social Insurance Numbers in Canada). For more help, see Finding Maiden Names.
Middle names: Try searching by first and middle names; many people in history went by their middle names.
Common last names: Focus your research on the person in the family with the most uncommon first name to increase your chances of finding the right family.
Short last names: Surname spellings often change over time, and many short surnames used to be longer. For example, names ending in double letters (like “Ball”) often used to have an “e” at the end (“Balle”). Research the history of a short surname and search by any alternate spellings.
Aliases: It wasn't uncommon for people to use aliases in historical records. Search for middle names as last names, maiden names as last names, and nicknames as first names.

Geography

Search by town: Try searching using a fact other than a name. If your ancestors lived in a small town, search by the town name in the appropriate date range. Scan records that appear for new relatives.
Street names change: When multiple towns combined to become a single city, there were often duplicate street names, resulting in street names that had to be changed. Don’t assume that the Church Street listed on your ancestor’s record is the same in the same city today. To confirm street names, consult old maps from the region.
Local histories: Local histories are usually centered around major regional events. When droughts, floods, conflicts, diseases, or social influences caused migration, local histories often recorded where the people went.
Changing jurisdictions: Regional, county, state, provincial, and country lines change over time. When searching for old records, ensure you have the correct place name for the time in question.
Towns and occupations: Historically, certain towns have been associated with particular industries. If the trail of an ancestor has gone cold, consider researching the history of the person’s town. If the town specialized in one industry, your ancestor may have been a part of that industry (and may have moved as the industry moved).

Free resources

Ancestry's free index collections are Ancestry databases that can be searched free of charge.
Rootsweb is the oldest genealogical resource on the internet.
Cyndi's List is a categorized and cross-referenced index containing large lists of online genealogy resources.
FamilySearch is a genealogy website where you can search by surname, record type, and place.
Vitalrec.com provides information about which vital records (birth, marriage, and death records) exist for a given area and how to find them.
Immigrant Ships focuses on transcribing immigration records--primarily passenger lists.
USGenWeb Project is a genealogy site that provides historical insights and links to genealogy resources at the state and county level.
WorldGenWeb Project is a website that offers genealogical resources, insights, and some historical records.
National Archives and Records Administration is maintained by the U.S. government and houses millions of microfilmed records.
U.S. Census Office maintains a free directory linking to federal, state, and territorial censuses.