Who is your most frustrating “brick wall” ancestor?

My 5 x great-grandfather (with a pretty common name) turns up in Middlesex in time to appear on the 1841 Census of England & Wales declaring himself ‘not born in this county’, but then dies not long afterwards leaving very little additional evidence, and there aren’t so many clues as to where he’s actually from. A possible breakthrough has appeared in recent months, but I need the time to head off to a few archives for a proper delve into the records to see if this might yield an answer!

Are you more of a methodical planner or a “follow the clues” researcher?

I think we have to be both. Having a well-considered plan helps you to think more expansively from the very start of your research, but it’s not about following it rigidly no matter what. Your plan should change and evolve if evidence comes to light which calls for a new perspective and a fresh task list.

If you could go back in time and ask one ancestor a question, who would it be—and what would you ask?

My great-great-great grandparents William and Ellen went through an acrimonious divorce in 1889…I’d like to talk to each of them and ask for their version of events. Wider research suggests that William was a very difficult character and I sense it wasn’t the easiest thing being married to him!

Why do genealogists often struggle with decision-making, even when they have plenty of evidence?

First of all: don’t despair if you feel like the decision-making is a struggle sometimes: it’s often one of the trickiest aspects of family history research. And since we build backwards in time, it’s pretty high-stakes: identify the wrong individual as your ancestor and you’ll be researching someone else’s ancestors from that point onwards!

Proof standards offer a great support, but even with those to guide us it still comes down to our own judgment. Uniting a large body of evidence and analysing it fully can be a difficult task. I’d recommend having a couple of good visualisation methods – whether that’s timelining, mind mapping, an evidence wall or something else entirely – and turning to those whenever you need to get your thoughts in order. This will help you to identify points of agreement and conflict in your evidence, see what you do (and don’t!) have, and support you in coming to a decision.

What will attendees be able to do by the end of your course that they could not do before?

The Six Hats method covers all the major steps in exploring evidence and coming to a decision: think of it rather like the “Swiss army knife” of the genealogy world, with an attachment for almost every situation.

We’ll explore both traditional and genetic genealogy research in the course, giving attendees a space to expand their skillset across the board. By the end of the course, we hope attendees will be adept at…

• seeking, deep-analysing and comparing evidence;
• generating fresh perspectives on their research to overcome a “brickwall”;
• understanding which research skills to apply and when;
• bringing creative approaches and visualisation to the fore when needed; and
• making confident decisions in their family history research.