How do you identify your Brick Walls? [closed]

Question

Ok.  I just went through my tree and identified where I have dead ends or brick walls through my 5th Great Grandparents (5GG).  Many of these profiles still need source development; which I have elsewhere but these are my dead ends on WikiTree.

I started with the dynamic tree and worked by Generation.  

So, for example, I started with my 1 Great Grandparents and looked for a + sign next to their name. If there was no + symbol, that meant this was the end of the line, my Brick Wall (this could really mean that I just have not looked for the next generation yet) and I entered that name in my Free Space Page: Michael Stills: Brick Walls I recorded what generation I was at as well (thanks to a comment by Sir William Arbuthnot).  

[Note: I played with the Ancestor List which does identify the missing generations but it was awkward to systematically check and record names.  The Dynamic Tree worked great.]

If there was a + symbol next to a name, I needed to click on that to open the next Generation to see if I had both Parents.

Some times I needed Parents, a Mother's Surnames, or Vitals, so I noted what I needed to get me started on the next generation.

Then I continued down the line until I went through all my 1 GG.  Once completed and recorded, I went back to the top and started down the next line with my 2GG repeating the process above.

Now I have a great list to work from. I will recheck for sourcing and share with others who may be interested in helping.  I went through my 5GG and now plan to supplement these names with sources and work on their biographies. 

I can also add them to the Family Brick Walls Categories where appropriate.  

I have discovered that it is around the 4GG and 5GG generation that I begin to regularly share profiles with other WikiTree users.  So I move from a focused personal approach being more open and Collaborative when sharing profiles.

I think this was a great way to create a To Do list and put myself in a great position collaborate with others not on WikiTree since WikiTree makes it easy to share our profiles on the web.

So, how do you identify all your Brick Walls?

Comments

How about using the fabulous app by Jamie Nelson?

 

https://apps.wikitree.com/apps/nelson3486/brickwalls/

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Thanks Ros, precisely why I closed the question.

Answer 1

I didn't know there was a category Family Brick Walls. Good to know ~ cheers Michael :)

I'm identifying all mine at the moment as I work through my to-do list. In bold next to my end-of-the-line profiles I'm putting *BRICKWALL* I'm getting quite a list. Your free space page is an excellent idea ~ I'm going to copy it!