Genealogy Chat

I have lost the will to carry on have so many brick walls feel disheartened , have not done anything on my Tree for 2 weeks , does anybody else feel this way ?? is it a phase do hope so.

Val, don't give up, get yourself a nice drink sit back and relax, after a while you may get a brainwave on how to attack your brickwall next. Still got trouble stick the details on here and see if anyone can help Ken p.s. I haven't been able to get past my wall for nearly 2 years but would still believe the answer is just round the corner

2 years you must be very patient , I feel quite sad because I was really getting into this , boring everybody with my news ,but have had a few wrong birth certs and got fed up as I was so sure they were the right ones . thanks for your reply if you can carry on with that brick wall so can I, good luck

Val, Dont give up! I have been searching for my missing Schoolmaster,(Great Grandfather) for around 10-12 years now. Just as i'm about to cave in something or someone connects and spurs me on again, and now we have sites & people on sites such as this one, it's becoming soooo much easier. Leave your 'brick wall' for a whlie and concentrate on another,and who knows what might turn up. Good hunting! Dolly.

thanks for that Dolly I think I have given up too easily the trouble is a lot of mine were immigrants and its so hard finding out much I live such a long way away from any decent record offices too so it is mostly done online. I think I will have a Hot Chocolate and some biccies and try again tomorrow thanks good night and good luck.

Hi Valerie, I have my brick walls too and yes they are frustrating. I live in NZ and have been searching around in the Lambeth/Newington area of SRY/LDN. Totally 'lost' my WALLIS family on the 1861 and finally found them listed under WALTER - took a lot of time but a huge 'buzz' when I did find them. Look at your brick walls positively mate, they are just there to challenge you and like many others you will eventually knock them over and find what you are looking for. Keep plenty of chokkie bikkies on hand! Hugs Sherryl

Val, we are all the same! BUT things do turn up. Go back to when you started and look over all the bits you have collected together. You will be surprised that you will find things that you can investigate and which may lead to more info for you. What is your brick wall at present? I have spent over 2 years looking for the marriage of my GGPx4 - I had got no more info until a month or so ago and someone suggested looking for settlement certificates. Now I found one and although it only takes me back 7 years to 1763 when GGpx4 moved from one parish to another, it does give me more clues, like they had no children with them at that time but their 4th child was born 1770, so now I shall look for the first three in the parish they moved to. Also, I now have a good idea of their marriage date because of that cert. Things do come together if you keep thinking and looking at the stuff you already have. Good luck.

Thanks very much for all your replies you have given me renewed hope , I shall have another go after Dinner.and good luck with all your searches

Valerie, Thanks so much for putting on this thread. I am feeling the same as you and just feel like throwing in the towel but after reading the replies to your thread it has given me new hope. Going to look at all my old notebooks in the hope I have missed something. Jean x.

Glad im not the only one, Ive been a bit fed up with my tree lately as well, and know how you are feeling ive resorted to playing games on the computer or trying to start the book on my family tree. As im playing the games I sit thinking about the relatives hoping something will come into mind. I agree with you all, no cant give up there must be something around the corner the question is which corner? Yvonne

Don't force it if you don't want to do it. Your ancestors aren't going anywhere. Eventually you'll stop feeling despondant, by which time you'll be fresh enough to go over everything and spot previously overlooked leads.

Valerie... don't get disheartened. As you can see from the replies you have recieved, many of us hit brick walls and become a little disenchanted with tracing out families (or parts of the family). I have never been able to trace one part of my tree, because my dads mother refuses to be found - apart from her marriage certificate, there is nothing. However, last year I found out her real name - and I know theres a member of my family who has traced this line. Apart from this, I have managed to trace EVERY line of my family tree back to 1799 or beyond - and when you consider that I am agoraphobic and have never left my house to research anything, its quite a mean feat! ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE when you put your heart and mind into it... even if you have to take the longer road to find the answers. For one brick wall, I had to find brothers and sisters... and then cousins to trace back one person - but I found her in the end. One thing I have discovered when tracing my family... never think logically - they didn't ;) lol Good luck, Cha.

Hi Val I too hit a brick wall with one branch of my family and for about 2 years I gave up searching, then I read a tip suggesting putting a name search on Google and I then found someone else who was researching the same family, all I did was type in the name I was looking for,followed by the word genealogy UK and came up with a website with the name I was looking for, it might be worth a try. Don't worry about the brick walls we all come across them, ssometimes it'ts best to forget your research for a while and then go back to it with a fresh mind. Good luck with your research. Rosemary

And it makes it even more sweeter when you do find them!

Well I am glad this post has helped some to realise we all get fed up sometimes, I suppose the heats got to me a bit too hot by far,I only worry that I will die before I have done enough its alright when you are young you have all the time in the world I hope, but I am on the wrong side of 60 and do get a bit desperate I wont find out enough, I did not start till last year wish I had started long ago. while I had living rellies that could have helped a lot, I advise anyone thinking about it dont think do it NOW, thanks all for your kind words and a lot of luck in your searches

Val, have you sorted out a computer course yet?

why Totally did I say I was going to??? or have you got the wrong Val

Oops, sorry, better take more of the pills again! This getting old business certainly knocks the memory doesnt it!!!

Nothing wrong with my memory,, do I know you???

Perhaps nothing wrong with yours - I meant mine. I suppose you dont know me, I have done a few look ups for you I believe. Sorry, wrong person re the computer course.