You'll find many interesting articles in the June-July issue of Ginealas, IGSI's e-Newsletter, including this story from Co-President Donna Jones:

Our June brick wall webinar is on one of my favorite topics. The panel will present case studies that have been submitted to them. This is an opportunity to learn from experienced researchers about methodology, record sources, and suggested next steps, such as taking a fresh look at your research.

I have a number of brick walls with my Irish and German ancestors. One brick wall was the result of my inexperience and stubbornness. Although this article is about my German ancestors, it is applicable to any ethnicity of family history research.

When I became interested in researching my family history, I reached out to older family members, but no one knew where in Germany or Ireland they were from. I made several critical mistakes that led me down a path of frustration.

I diligently went to the Ohio State Archives, accessing records on microfilm. I would get a headache every time the microfilm whizzed by on the screen. I found the 1880 Ohio census, which indicated that my second greatgrandparents, John and Theresa Brod, were from Bavaria. I thought that census records were a primary source of accurate information. I also found records from the Protestant church that they attended in Ohio.

I assumed that John and Theresa were Protestants in Germany because they attended a Protestant church in Ohio. I did not realize the importance of maps and that the Protestant church in 1868 was near their house, whereas the Catholic church was 10 miles away. If you did not attend Joe Hunter’s March webinar, “Using Google Earth Pro,” I highly recommend it. This knowledge would have helped me recognize that the proximity of a church would have been a factor.

At one point, I met someone who was also researching her German ancestors, and she volunteered to help. She found the Hamburg departing passenger list for a Therese Hittel, my ancestor’s maiden name. This record matched the immigration year in the censuses and the date of birth on Theresa’s death record. This Therese was from Rostock in Mecklenburg. The researcher told me Mecklenburg was primarily Protestant. Here is where my stubbornness came into play: this was not my Theresa because she was from Bavaria.

Eventually, I posted my information on a Bavarian Facebook group. A member living in Bavaria wrote that there were very few Protestant churches in Bavaria. Another kind person was at the archive in Wurzburg   and found a Catholic baptism record for Johann  Brod (image at right). The date of birth matched the date on his death record.

At some point, I realized that I needed to increase my knowledge and research skills. I joined a state genealogical society, attended classes, read books, and took a course in reading old German handwriting. When  I started researching my Irish ancestors, I joined IGSI. I eventually found more documentation substantiating that John was Catholic and from Marktheidenfeld, Bavaria. Theresa was Protestant and was from Rostock, Mecklenburg.