Brick Wall Protocol

Brick Wall Protocol is a family history research strategy for what to do when the usual searches stop giving you answers.

My interest in genealogy started as a kid, spending summers with my aunt visiting cemeteries, county recorders, libraries, and courthouses. Today, I’m an avid researcher with family roots spanning the Philippines, Volga Germans in Russia, Dutch ancestry, and more.

I work in local municipal government records. That background has shaped how I approach family history: Who created the record? Why was it created? Where would it be now? And what evidence might exist outside the obvious places?

Here you’ll find practical strategies for archives, courthouses, libraries, churches, newspapers, land records, cemeteries, family papers, and other overlooked sources.

Brick Wall Protocol is about changing the question, changing the repository, and finding the evidence hiding beyond the usual records.

Look beyond the usual records.