Review: Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques by George G. Morgan & Drew Smith

Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques by George G. Morgan & Drew Smith, McGraw Hill Education, 2014, 206 p.

            Most of us have encountered a brick wall at one point in our genealogical research.  If you’re like me, you may even have more than one dead end branch on your family tree.  George G.. Morgan and Drew Smith of  “The Genealogy Guys” podcasts, have addressed this most frustrating aspect of family history research.  What do you do when you can’t make a breakthrough and your ancestors just don’t seem to want to be found?

            This easy-to-read and concise guidebook is divided into nine chapters.  In Chapter 1 readers are asked to “Examine the Brick Wall in Detail.”  You might be saying right now, “But I’ve done that already!”  And the authors would probably counter with, “Have you?”  They suggest important details in genealogy are often ignored or overlooked.  By revisiting your research and thinking about the problem differently, especially by paying particular attention to those previously un-noted facts, you may be able to develop a research strategy that will uncover new documents. 

            While the first two chapters of the book discuss head-on research that may help you uncover the documents you need, the rest of the book takes a more innovative, out-of-the-box approach.  If you can’t go through your brick wall, the authors recommend trying to go around it.  That means looking at your ancestor’s siblings, cousins, neighbours, co-workers, and associates to build a greater understanding of their community and of their lives.  Other chapters talk about discussing the problem with other genealogists, using crowdsourcing to coax out more details, and applying technological solutions to the problem, including DNA testing.  I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of the technological solutions.  Two of my brick walls were recently blown to bits after 25 years of research when two different distant cousins from separate lines submitted their DNA tests to the same testing centre as I did.  While it took some time to unravel our roots, we were able to locate the documents to prove our relationships, all thanks to DNA technology. 

            If you’re still unable to master your particular genealogy problem, the authors provide additional strategies on how to find a demolition expert (a.k.a. Professional Genealogist) to help you, and even discuss the benefits of putting aside the problem temporarily to recharge and regroup.

            Drew and Morgan’s advanced, structured approach to genealogical research may be just the help you need to bring down those metaphorical brick walls.