My Top 8 Brick Wall Ancestors - Mom's Side

Image courtesy of GenealogyInTime Magazine www.genealogyintime.com

Last week, I posted My Top 10 Brick Walls - Dad's Side. This week, I was going to post the top ten brick walls from my mom's side, but I could only find eight. Mom is three-quarters Dutch-Frisian, and there are amazingly good resources from the Netherlands online. She is one-quarter English, with  many well-researched New England Puritan and Pilgrim lines. I've posted seven brick walls from her ancestry, and one from her step-father's. And I won't complain that I don't have a full set of ten brick walls!

Do YOU have the answers to my brick walls?

1. When did Trijntje Gerrits "Katherine" (DOLSTRA) VALK immigrate to the United States? The 1900 Federal Census says 1888 and I find her in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan in 1889, but can't find her on passenger lists. In 1880, she was living in Westernijkerk, Ferwerderadeel, Friesland, the Netherlands.

2. Was my ancestor, Berber Sjoerds DeJONG (1858 - 1934), the same individual known as Berber Tjeerds de JONG (b. 1856), daughter of Tjeerd Thijzes de JONG and Jitske Douwes SOEPBOER of Groningen and Friesland, the Netherlands? My research plan is listed in a document file here.

3. When did Wijbren Joukes WIERSMA of Wonseradeel, Friesland, the Netherlands immigrate to the United States? I have a range of 1882 to 1884, but have yet to find him on a passenger list.

4. Who were the parents of Amelia CURTIS? She was b. 11 March 1772 in Spencertown, Connecticut; married Joel STRONG 14 January 1787 in Kent, Litchfield Co., Connecticut; and d. 6 July 1842 in Candor, Tioga Co., New York.

5. Who were the parents of Henry JACOBS (1797 - 1876) of Westchester and Tioga Counties, New York?

6. Was FRISBIE the maiden name of Huldah (1793 - 1875), wife of Henry JACOBS? Her grandson was Charles Frisbie STRONG, and we've often wondered where that middle name (a New England family surname) came from.

7. Who were William Parker WRIGHT's parents? He was b. 19 February 1830 in Minisink, Orange Co., New York; m. c. 1850 to Ann Elizabeth ROCKWELL; and d. 6 November 1915 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan. Family records state his parents were Peter WRIGHT and Mary CLARK, but I've also found a David WRIGHT with a Mary CLARK. And how does that Parker middle name fit in? Is it a family surname?

8. This man is a step-ancestor on my mom's side: when and where did Melle "Millard" BOS (BUSH) die? He emigrated from Bierum, Groningen, the Netherlands in 1879. In 1887, his last child was born in Ottawa Co., Michigan; and in 1889, his widow remarried in Lamont, Ottawa Co., Michigan.

My Top 10 Brick Walls - Dad's Side

Image courtesy of GenealogyInTime Magazine www.genealogyintime.com

Several people have been posting their Top 10 Brick Wall Ancestors, so I decided to do so as well. The trouble was, when I started looking through my family tree, I realized I had a lot more than ten (don't we all?). So this post is about my top ten brick wall ancestors on my dad's side. Which, of course, means there'll be a post on the ones on my mom's side.

I've written about some of these folks before, but not all of them. Those that have previous blog posts have been linked. Do YOU have the answers to my brick walls?

My Top 10 Brick Walls - Dad's Side

1. Are the parents of Joseph Josiah ROBBINS (1820 - 1905)--of Oceana Co., Michigan, McKean Co., Pennsylvania, Tioga Co., Pennsylvania, and Otsego Co., New York--George Washington ROBBINS and Abigail HICKS?

2. Nelson H. PECK (b. c. 1819; d. 15 Apr 1849, probably in Potter Co., Pennsylvania) - when and where was he born, where did he die, what was his cause of death, and who were his parents? There are a lot of PECKs in Potter County, Pennsylvania around the time he lived there...but how do they connect?

3. Who were William KIMBALL's parents? He was b. c. 1806 in Vermont, moved to Cuyahoga Co., Ohio; and later removed to Kalamazoo and Newaygo Counties in Michigan.

4. Who were Cynthia PHILLIPS' parents? She was b. 10 May 1802 in Sharon, Litchfield Co., Connecticut; m. Ezra DICKINSON 12 November 1820 in Trumbull Co., Ohio; and d. 21 March 1852 in Hicksville, Defiance Co., Ohio after giving birth to 12 children.

5. Who are Richard WILKINSON's parents? He was b. c. 1815 in Yorkshire England; and m. Mary LAMOREAUX/TERRY before 1842, probably in York Co., Ontario. When and where did he die? He was last noted on the 1881 Canadian Census in Whitchurch, York Co., Ontario; and in 1891, his wife is a widow. He does not appear in the death records.

6. Why do we have two surnames for Mary LAMOREAUX or TERRY? Was she adopted? Who were her parents? Was she born (c. 1818) in Ontario or New Brunswick (I have both locations as birthplaces, from various documents).

7. When and where did John Henry SAYERS and his wife, Mary CAHOON, die? They are last found on the 1871 Canadian census in Cavan Twp., Durham Co., Ontario. They don't appear in the Ontario death records, nor the Michigan ones (a number of their children emigrated to Western Michigan around 1880-1881).

8. Were Stephen YORK and Amy FRANKLIN of the Town of Clarence, Erie Co., New York the parents of Jeremiah Franklin YORK (1791 - 1876)? I'm 99% sure that they were. I just need to find that one document with the evidence.

9. James W. BARBER (1841 - 1912) of England, Bruce Co., Ontario, and Lapeer and Genesee Counties, Michigan: Who were his parents?

10. Were William CLEVELAND and Lydia SHAW of China Twp., St. Clair Co., Michigan the parents of Clarissa CLEVELAND (c. 1832 - 1877)?

Madness Monday: Attempting to Find Online Naturalization Records for James W. BARBER

In both the 1900 and the 1910 U.S. Federal Censuses, my 2nd-great-grandfather and brickwall ancestor James W. BARBER is listed as being a naturalized citizen. So if he was indeed naturalized, it's likely that it occurred by 1900.

Since James lived in Michigan from the time he immigrated from Canada (c. 1876) until his death in 1912, I need to look for a Michigan naturalization record.The state of Michigan has online naturalization records indexes for the following counties here: Allegan, Alpena, Antrim, Barry, Bay, Chippewa, Clare, Clinton, Crawford, Delta, Dickinson, Eaton, Genesee, Grand Traverse, Huron, Iosco, Iron, Isabella, Kalamazoo, Kent, Lake, Lapeer, Lenawee, Mackinac, Macomb, Marquette, Mason, Newaygo, Oakland, Ontonagon, Otsego, Ottawa, St. Clair and Sanilac.There is also an online index to naturalization papers of the U.S. Circuit Court, Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit), 1837 - 1903 and the Iosco County naturalization index, 1885 - 1910 available on Ancestry, with the later database being free to search for non-subscribers. Furthermore, the website for Tuscola County at the American Local History Network lists a naturalization index for 1850 - 1880. All this information was gathered at Joe Beine's Online Searchable Naturalization Indexes and Records page.

Because I've been able to find James living in Lapeer, Oakland, Genesee, and Ingham Counties, I searched for him at the state of Michigan site in the first three counties mentioned. No luck. I also searched the Detroit index on Ancestry. Still no luck. I went back to the Michigan state site and searched Clinton, Macomb and St. Clair Counties, since they border or are near the counties I know James lived in. Nada. I returned to Ancestry and took a look at all their naturalization databases, running James's name through each one. Nothing.

I think it's time to look for a naturalization record offline. That will be the subject of my next Madness Monday post.


This Madness Monday series featuring my brickwall ancestor, James W. BARBER (1841 - 1912) has been written to highlight and analyze all records of this individual with the hope that I can eventually uncover information that will lead to his specific birthplace and the names of his parents and any siblings he may have had. Other posts on this topic include:

The Death Certificate of James W. BARBER

Madness Monday Post Delayed

Update on James W. BARBER's Death Certificate

The Obituary of James W. BARBER
Cemetery Records of James W. BARBER
James W. BARBER in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census
The Death Notice of James W. BARBER's son, Orlando
Update to James W. BARBER in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census
James W. BARBER in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census

My Brickwall Ancestor: Berber "Barbara" J. (DeJONG) VALK (1858 - 1934)

On January 5th of this year, I posted an article, "Who Are Our Brickwall Ancestors, and Why Aren't We Blogging About Them Regularly?" which was widely received. I fully intended to write about one of my brickwall ancestors, Levi Edward McLALLIN, during the month of January. However, that month I received his Civil War Veteran's pension file from the National Archives, which provided a great wealth of information that I am still digesting and analyzing. Therefore, he is off my Brickwall Ancestors list for the time being. I now introduce February's Brickwall Ancestor:

I'm extremely fortunate that I can trace so many of my ancestral lines back many generations, the result, I suppose, of having so much Dutch and New England ancestry centered in locations where good vital records were kept from early times. My most recent brickwall--"recent" meaning how near in time to this present generation--is one of my maternal great-great-grandmothers, Berber "Barbara" J. DeJONG. On my ahnentafel (ancestor report), she appears as number 25, being my mother's father's father's mother. This is what I wish to know about her: I would like to know exactly where she was born, to confirm the names of her parents and any siblings she may have had, and discover the story of that family unit. I suspect that because I cannot find much information that her parents may have died young, or some other event occurred that made her appear to be an "orphan" ancestor, with no history, so to speak, until she immigrates with my great-great-grandfather, marries, and has children.

Here is what I know:

Berber J. DeJONG was born 9 April 1858 in the Netherlands. This information comes from her death certificate, which states she died 1 June 1934 at the age of 76 years 1 month, 23 days [1], as well as from the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, which states her month and year of birth as April 1858 and her birthplace as the Netherlands [2]. Her age and birthplace listed in the 1910, 1920, and 1930 Federal Censuses are consistent with this information [3, 4, 5], and her children's various vital and census records all give her birthplace as the Netherlands or "Holland".

She immigrated from the Netherlands with her fiance, Tjamme "James" Wiegers VALK, arriving from the port of Amsterdam at New York City on the ship, Surrey, on 2 June 1882. They were steerage passengers and their names appear as "B. Dejong" and "Tj. de Val" respectively.[6] Tjamme was from the village of Marrum, municipality of Ferwerderadeel, the Province of Friesland. There are many people with the surname DeJONG listed in various Ferwerderadeel databases, but none seem to fit Berber's family.[7] She married Tjamme on 21 June 1882 in Rock Island Co., Illinois.[8] Both the immigration and marriage information are consistent with the Valk oral family history. However, some minor details do not comply. Supposedly, this couple knew each other before immigration, were engaged, and married on board ship by the captain (nothing on the passenger list confirms this). The oral family history goes on with the statement that the couple had to be married again once they reached shore, and that the Dutch community in Rock Island gave them a housewarming or some other type of bridal shower to celebrate their marriage.

On 29 May 1883, Barbara gave birth to a daughter, Chaterina T. VALK in Rock Island. [9] Chaterina was likely named for James' mother, Trijntje "Katherine" (DOLSTRA) VALK. This is interesting, because in the Dutch culture, the first daughter was usually named for the maternal grandmother. Katherine played an important role in James and Barbara's household, as we shall later see. This is my first piece of information that makes me suspect something had happened to Barbara's parents by this time or that she was alienated from the family in some way. The middle initial "T" likely stood for Tjammes, as the Dutch naming system included patronyms (Chaterina Tjammes--daughter of Tjamme--VALK). On 5 June 1883, little Chaterina died. [10]

On 5 November 1884 another daughter was born, also named Chaterina and nicknamed Tryntje. This baby was born in South Rock Island, and was the only Illinois-born child of James and Barbara to have her birth officially recorded by the local government. James' occupation is listed as a day laborer, key to the point that he never appears once in the city directories for Rock Island during the four-year period they lived there. Day laborers and immigrants often did not appear in early city directories. [11, 12]

My great-grandfather, William Tjammes VALK and his twin sister Jennie D. James VALK, were born 6 August 1886 in Rock Island. [13] Of the eight children Barbara gave birth to, William was the first one to survive childhood. The "D" in Jennie's name may have stood for DOLSTRA, her paternal grandmother's maiden name. Within the next eight months, the family moved to Holland, Ottawa Co., Michigan, where Jennie died on 19 April 1887. [14, 15] The family moved yet again, to Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan, where Barbara gave birth to another daughter, Jennie James VALK, on 29 December 1888. [16] Jennie was the first daughter to survive childhood. The 1889-1890 city directory listed the family's address as 534 Turner (now located near the I-196/State Highway 131 interchange). [17] Jennie's birth was followed by another daughter, Geertje James VALK, on 2 May 1890, the last of the three Valk children who attained adulthood. [18, 19]

Possible house or house location of the Valk family in 1890. From Google Maps.

At this time, the family was living on the south side of Quimby Street in Grand Rapids, just a few houses west of the intersection of Quimby and Union Avenue, and just south of the location of the present-day Kent Country Club. [20] On 12 April 1891, tragedy struck their household as their oldest daughter, little Chaterina, age 6, died of drowning. [21, 22] I have no details; perhaps I can request a search of The Grand Rapids Press and The Grand Rapids Herald for that time frame to see if there was any article about it.

By the time another daughter, Chaterina "Catherine" VALK, born 17 February 1895 came along, the family was renting a house at 534 North Ionia Street [23, 24, 25]. This was James and Barbara's third and final attempt at naming a girl for James's mother. This baby also died, on 4 July 1895, from summer complaint (diarrhea; usually in infants, caused by spoiled milk). [26, 27] (There are no longer any homes on this part of Ionia Street, as it flanks the main arterial in town, Division Street, just off the off-ramp of I-196/Gerald Ford Parkway.)

The following summer, a son--the last child born to the VALKs--was born on 30 June 1896. His name was recorded as "Tammie J. VALK" in the family Bible [28], although the correct spelling would have been "Tjamme". Although he was obviously named for his father, instead of anglicizing his name to James, it was recorded as Thomas (probably an incorrect assumption by the English-speaking county clerk) on his death record. The Fourth of July could never have been a truly happy event for this immigrant family, since not only had their last Chaterina died on that date, but so did little Tjamme, in 1897. [29, 30]

The Valk Family. C. 1915 - 1918, probably in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan. Original believed to be believed to be privately held by John Hanson Heidema, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Little Silver, New Jersey, 2000. [Note: This photograph depicts James, Barbara, their daughters and sons-in-law; son William is missing. Perhaps he is the photographer.]

Tjamme Wiegers and Berber J. (DeJONG) VALK. Bef. 1922. Original believed to be privately held by John Hanson Heidema, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Little Silver, New Jersey, 2000. [Note: This photo was probably taken when James had been hospitalized for jaundice, as he appears to be wearing some sort of hospital gown.]

Berber J. (DeJONG) VALK with grandson Gerritt John HEIDEMA, Jr. C. 1919, Kent County, Michigan. Original believed to be privately held by John Hanson Heidema, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Little Silver, New Jersey, 2000.

On 6 July 1901, a newspaper article in The Grand Rapids Press's real estate section mentioned that James had bought four acres at 1315 West Leonard in Walker Township (now a part of the City of Grand Rapids) for $1300. [31] It was this small farm that would be the Valk family's final home. On 12 May 1912, James's mother Trijntje passed away. [32, 33] Ten years later, James himself died on 15 May 1922. [34] Barbara herself lived to the age of 76, dying 1 June 1934 of valvular heart disease and dropsy. [35]

Grave of Berber J. (DeJONG) VALK, Greenwood Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Original privately held by Miriam Robbins Midkiff [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington. 2009.

Neither her obituary [36] or probate records [37] list any other family members besides her three surviving children. Her death certificate states her father's name as "Sjerd De Jonge" [sic - correct Dutch spelling should be "Sjoerd"]. [38] Understanding the way the Dutch named their children for their parents and siblings, it is very likely that Barbara's mother's name was a Dutch or Frisian variation of the English "Jennie," such as Janna, Janetje, or Janke. We know that there were three attempts by James and Barbara to name a daughter after his mother (Trijntje, Chaterina, Katherine, etc.). Gertrude (Geertje) was probably named after the only other known woman in the family, James' maternal aunt, Grietje Gerrits (DOLSTRA) DeVRIES. Thus, the two attempts to name a daughter Jennie probably stem from the desire to honor Barbara's mother or other female relative. Barbara's middle initial, J, probably also is a reference to her mother, as Dutch people usually used their patronym (in this case being Sjoerds) as a middle name.

In my attempt to find out more about Barbara's roots, I've researched three online database websites: Genlias (the Dutch National Archives), Tresoar (the Friesland Provincial Archives) and Efskip Terdoarpen (a personal genealogy project highlighting the resources of the municipality of Ferwerderadeel, where the Valk family lived for several generations prior to immigration). I have found a Berber deJONG born 28 May 1858 to Klaas Jitzes deJONG and Jacobje Uiltjes HETTINGA in the Tresoar index, but investigating this family closely leads me to believe quite confidently that this is not my Barbara. Because I have not been successful finding Barbara or her family in Friesland resources, I wonder if she came from the neighboring province of Groningen, which also had many people of Frisian ethnicity living there. Groningen online resources are not as proliferate as the ones from Friesland, so I should probably research microfilmed ones, although I'm not certain where to start. Perhaps church records in Grand Rapids will yield some clues, too. If anyone can give me specific ideas for research, I will be most appreciative!

This post was incredibly difficult to write, due to its length, as well as the organization, analysis and citation of records. I certainly don't expect it to be of interest to anyone other than family members, or perhaps those with experience working with Dutch records. However, it was a good exercise in carefully examining what I do and do not have and putting it into an orderly timeline.

Sources:
1. Michigan Department of Health, death certificate 1260 (1934), Barbara Valk; Division of Vital Statistics, Lansing.

2. "1900 United States Federal Census," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 November 2008), entry for Barbaril Faulk, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

3. "1910 United States Federal Census," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed16 November 2008), entry for Barbara Valk, Walker Township, Kent County, Michigan.

4. "1920 United States Federal Census," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 15 November 2008), entry for Barber Valk, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

5. "1930 United States Federal Census," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 18 April 2007), entry for Barbara Valk, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

6. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 February 2009), entries for Tj. de Val and B. deJong, arrived 2 June 1882, Surrey.

7. van der Ploeg, Catharinus, "Familienamen/Surnames" database, Stichting Erfskip Terpdoarpen (http://www.erfskipterpdoarpen.nl/: accessed 16 February 2009), entries for DeJong surname.

8. Rock Island County, Illinois, "Index to marriage registers, 1834-1925; marriage registers, 1833-1924," liber D, pg. 160, record no. 11976, James Falk & Miss Barbara DeYong entry; County Clerk, City of Rock Island. FHL microfilm 1,428,580, item 6. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

9. Trijntje Gerrits (Dolstra) Valk Family Bible Records, 1883 - 1897, Bijbel, dat is De Gansche Heilige Schrift (Amsterdam and Haarlem: De Nederlandsche Bijbel-Compagnie, 1870); privately held by Elizabeth (Hanson) Heidema (deceased 2001), [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Clifford Lake, Michigan, 2000. The family records are written in Dutch, presumably by TrijntjeValk. It appears that the provenance of this Bible can be traced from Elizabeth Heidema to her mother-in-law, Jennie James (Valk) Heidema VanderWal, to her mother, Trijntje Valk, the original owner.

10. Ibid.

11. Rock Island County, Illinois, "Births, stillbirths, and established or delayed births, 1875-1978," liber 2, pg. 115, record no. 1478, Catrina Faulk entry; County Clerk, City of Rock Island. FHL microfilm 1,428,685, item 2. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

12. "Rock Island and Moline, Illinois Directories, 1882-92" database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 February 2009), entries for Valk, Faulk, and related surnames using Soundex feature.

13. Trijntje Gerrits (Dolstra) Valk Family Bible Records, 1883 - 1897.

14. Ibid.

15. "Michigan Death Records, 1867 - 1967" database, FamilySearch Record Search (http://pilot.familysearch.org: accessed 28 February 2009), entry for Jennie Valk.

16. Trijntje Gerrits (Dolstra) Valk Family Bible Records, 1883 - 1897.

17. "Grand Rapids City Directories, 1889-90" database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 28 February 2009), entry for James Valk, 1889.

18. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Birth Records, Book 8: 255, Gertrude Valk, 1890. City Clerk's Office, Grand Rapids.

19. Trijntje Gerrits (Dolstra) Valk Family Bible Records, 1883 - 1897.

20."Grand Rapids City Directories, 1889-90" database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 28 February 2009), entry for James Valk, 1890.

21. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Death Records, Book 3: 291, Tryntje Valk, 1891. City Clerk's Office, Grand Rapids.

22. Trijntje Gerrits (Dolstra) Valk Family Bible Records, 1883 - 1897.

23. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Birth Records, Book 10: 375, Catherine Valk, 1895. City Clerk's Office, Grand Rapids.

24. Trijntje Gerrits (Dolstra) Valk Family Bible Records, 1883 - 1897.

25. "1900 United States Federal Census," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 November 2008), entry for Barbaril Faulk, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

26. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Death Records, Book 4: 184, Catherine Valk, 1895. City Clerk's Office, Grand Rapids.

27. Trijntje Gerrits (Dolstra) Valk Family Bible Records, 1883 - 1897.

28. Ibid.

29. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Death Records, Book 4: 306, Thomas Valk, 1897. City Clerk's Office, Grand Rapids.

30. Trijntje Gerrits (Dolstra) Valk Family Bible Records, 1883 - 1897.

31. ---, “For Small Homes There is a Demand in South and East Ends. Prices Grow Stiff and Real Estate Market is in a Healthy Condition. There Were Several Large Transfers Placed on Record This Past Week,” The Grand Rapids (Michigan) Press, 6 July 1901, pg. 3, col. 3 – 4; digital image, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 7 January 2009), Historical Newspapers.

32. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Death Records, Book 8: 118, Kathrine Valk, 1922. City Clerk's Office, Grand Rapids.

33. Michigan Department of Health, death certificate 4481 (1912), Kathrine Valk; Division of Vital Statistics, Lansing.

34. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Death Records, Book 11: 191, James Valk, 1922. City Clerk's Office, Grand Rapids.

35. Michigan Department of Health, death certificate 1260 (1934), Barbara Valk; Division of Vital Statistics, Lansing.

36. ---, “Obituary,” The Grand Rapids (Michigan) Press, 2 June 1934, pg. 18, unknown column.

37. Kent County, Michigan , Will Book 911: 195, Barbara Valk; Office of the County Probate Court Clerk, Grand Rapids.

38. Michigan death certificate 1260 (1934), Barbara Valk.

Who Are Our Brickwall Ancestors, and Why Aren't We Blogging About Them Regularly?

Tombstone Tuesday. Wordless Wednesday. The carnivals. Memes and challenges. As a group, we Genea-Bloggers are pretty good about posting our ancestral stories and photographs on a regular basis. BUT...why aren't we blogging on a regular basis about our brickwall ancestors?

Oh, I realize that many of us have mentioned them in passing. We'll write about someone and say "He/she is my brickwall ancestor," but we won't give very many details.

What if we were to blog about them on a regular basis? Maybe not every week, like Tombstone Tuesday or Wordless Wednesday, but once or twice a month. Not in carnival style, because that would mean a lot of work for one person to put it all together. We wouldn't have to designate a certain day of the week or date of the month. It would just be nice if we could all commit to writing a detailed post once or twice a month about a brick wall ancestor, and include the following:

1. A title of "My Brickwall Ancestor: [Name], [dates, if known]"

2. List what we want to know: "I want to discover solid evidence of who Levi E. McCLELLAN's parents and siblings were, and when and where he died and was buried."

3. A chronological list (timeline) of known information. For instance:

1850 Federal Census - living in China Twp., St. Clair Co., Michigan as the head of the household. Levi "McCLENAN," age 27, laborer, born in New York.

The following were also living with him:

Probable wife Clary McCLENAN [Clarissa Mary CLEVELAND], age 18, born New York

Unknown household member Elizabeth FISH, age 14, born Canada

Probable mother Rachel McCLENAN, age 53, widow, born Ohio

Probable niece Emy McCLENAN, age 5, born Ohio, attended school within the year

Probable brother Rubin [sic - Reuben] McCLENAN age 28, laborer, born Ohio

I could then go on to list other census information (1860, 1870, 1880 Federal Census; he's deceased in 1890 Union Veterans Census) or documents (1862 Enlistment in Co. C, 27th Michigan Infantry; 1866 Civil War Veteran's Pension Index Card; 1880 Detroit City Directory) in which I've found Levi, in chronological order and with details.

4. List positive and negative searches in detail. Obviously, any information in the timeline would be from a positive search. But we could list where we've searched and found no information, or our attempts to trace collateral lines. In this example, I would say the following:

I've attempted to obtain Levi's death record (I know he was deceased by the time the 1890 Union Veteran's Census was taken) in the following places, with no results:

Michigan State Death Records 1867 - 1897 on FamilySearch's Record Search, using Levi as a first name and McClellan, McLellan, McCollum, McClenan, McLennan as surnames. I've also used the "Exact & close match" and "Exact, close & partial" filters. I've searched for deaths for all Levis in Michigan between 1880, when he was last known to be alive, and 1890, as well as all those with the initial L.

I would then go on to tell how I've searched online obituary and cemetery transcriptions for the area.

5. List any possible resources you can think of that you haven't checked. In the above example, I've ordered Levi's Civil War Pension Record, which I hope will provide me with more information. You can also list your suspicions. In the same Army company in which Levi served during the Civil War, there was a man named William J. McCLELLAN. I would then describe my attempts to find out more about this individual, whom I suspect is a brother or cousin to Levi.

As a Genea-Blogging community, we would agree to post helpful comments to each other's Brickwall Ancestor columns, but refrain from vague recommendations. In other words, the following would not be helpful: "Miriam, have you checked [name of resource, database or website]?" Obviously, my post will list what I have or have not checked! I would hope that you would instead say, "Miriam, I know about this [name of resource, database or website], and I've checked [this information] for you. Here are the results."

Yes, this is a lot of work. It means we need to be organized! But think about this: How many times have you told yourself that you'd give anything to break down a particular brickwall? Anything? Invest time organizing, analyzing, checking our sources, and writing about our challenging ancestors? Hunt down every detail to death until we know we've come to the very end of what we know to do? And (yikes!) keep track of our searches? But isn't this what doing quality research is all about?

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak brought genealogy synergy to a whole new level with her Unclaimed Persons project. Why aren't we tapping into it? It occurred to me--after consulting with Henk van Kampen about Dutch resources, Anna-Karin about my Swedish line, and Janet Iles about resources for Markham Twp, York Co., Ontario, plus having Colleen McHugh find and send me the above-mentioned 1850 census record for Levi--that we have some fabulous research skills and knowledge to learn from and share with each other! We need to be utilizing these! Wouldn't it just be fabulous if we could knock down a bunch of brickwalls in 2009? I hope you'll join me.