The Brick Wall Solution Roadmap: The Genealogy Framework That Turns a Dead End Into a Next Step
If you've hit a point in your genealogy research where you're not sure what to do next, you are in very good company. Almost every genealogist reaches this place — a point where the path forward just isn't obvious and searching a little longer doesn't seem to be helping.
Here's something worth knowing: that feeling isn't a sign that you've done anything wrong. It's actually a sign that you've outgrown the approach most people start with — and that there's a different way to work through this.
If you started genealogy by getting online to search for records, you probably found that it worked beautifully at first. The early discoveries come quickly and it's genuinely exciting. A name goes into the search form, a record comes back, someone gets added to the tree. But at some point the easy finds run out — and the approach that got you this far stops working as well as it did.
What most people do at that point is search more. Try a different site. Look for a record they might have missed. That makes complete sense, because searching is what genealogy research looks like from the outside. It's what the platforms show you. It's what feels like forward motion.
What most people who started genealogy in the 21st century don't know — because it wasn't part of how they got started — is that searching is only part of the genealogy research process. There's a whole framework behind it that most researchers never see.
Why Searching Eventually Stops Being Enough
When you first start researching your family history online, searching works. You type in a name, you find a record, you add someone to your tree. The momentum carries you forward naturally.
But genealogy research gets harder as you go. The further back you reach, the fewer records exist — and the ones that do exist require more context to understand. At a certain point, just searching for the next record isn't enough. You need to know what to do with what you've already found.
Think of it like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Early on, you're finding edge pieces and obvious color blocks and the puzzle comes together quickly. But there comes a point where the easy pieces are in and you have to slow down — look at what's already on the table, think about what shape you're looking for, and make a deliberate choice about where to try next. Grabbing random pieces out of the box and hoping one of them fits isn't a strategy anymore.
That's the moment most genealogists hit their first real brick wall. And it's the moment when having a research framework changes everything.
What a Genealogy Research Framework Actually Is
The word "framework" might sound more technical than it is. In genealogy, a research framework is simply a structured set of steps that guides you through the research process in the right order — so you always know where you are and what to make sense of next.
Here's what many researchers who got started online never learned: genealogy has a research process. It always has. Professional genealogists and serious researchers have followed it for decades. It just never made it into the experience most of us had when we started by searching online — because the places we started were focused on helping us search, not on teaching us the process behind the searching.
The process isn't complicated. But it does involve more than searching. There are steps that happen before you search, and steps that happen after — and those steps are exactly where most researchers who feel stuck are missing the biggest opportunities.
The Brick Wall Solution Roadmap: The Framework Made Actionable
The Brick Wall Solution Roadmap is the framework I developed after more than 30 years of genealogy research and teaching. It takes the genealogy research process and turns it into six clear, repeatable steps — so instead of vague phases that are hard to follow, you have an actual sequence you can work through every time you sit down to research.
The Roadmap is designed specifically for the moment when you're stuck. But more than that, it's designed to show you that being stuck usually means one thing: there are steps in the process that haven't happened yet.
Not because you did anything wrong. Because the way most people get started today doesn't show them those steps exist.
The steps that most researchers skip aren't the searching steps. They're the steps that come before and after — the ones that tell you what you're actually looking for, what you've already found that you might not have fully understood yet, and what the results of your research actually mean. When those steps are missing, more searching just adds more material to an already confusing pile.
When those steps are present, searching becomes purposeful. You know why you're looking for something. You know what you'll do with it when you find it. And when you don't find it, you know what that tells you too.
For more on how the research process applies to brick walls specifically, see: How to Break Through Genealogy Brick Walls.
Want to see what the framework looks like?
The Brick Wall Solution Roadmap is free — and it comes with a multi-part email series that walks you through how to apply it to your own research, step by step.
What Changes When You Have a Framework
The difference a research framework makes isn't just about breaking through a specific brick wall. It changes how research feels — even before you've found the answer you're looking for.
- You have a starting point. Instead of staring at your research wondering where to begin, you know which step comes first.
- Being stuck means something specific. Instead of a vague sense that nothing is working, you can identify exactly where in the process you are — and what the next step actually is.
- Searching becomes purposeful. You're not looking for something because you haven't tried it yet. You're looking for something because the process has told you this is the right move right now.
- The framework repeats. Every brick wall you encounter from this point forward gets worked through the same process — which means you get better at using it every single time.
For more on approaching a brick wall before jumping to new records, see: How to Start Busting a Brick Wall Without New Research.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a genealogy brick wall?
A genealogy brick wall is a point in your research where the path forward isn't clear — the records seem to dry up, or an ancestor seems to disappear. Brick walls are extremely common and are not a sign that you've done anything wrong. They're usually a signal that the research is getting harder and that a more structured approach will help.
What is the Brick Wall Solution Roadmap?
The Brick Wall Solution Roadmap is a free framework developed by Jennifer Patterson Dondero of The Occasional Genealogist. It's a six-step repeatable process that makes the genealogy research process actionable — turning vague phases into clear steps you can follow every time you sit down to research. It's available as a free download along with an email series that walks you through how to apply it to your own brick wall.
Why isn't searching more records helping me break through my brick wall?
Because searching is only one part of the genealogy research process. If you started genealogy by getting online to search for records, you may not have been shown the other steps — the ones that happen before and after searching — and those are exactly where the most important work happens. More searching without those steps just adds more material without adding more clarity.
Who is the Brick Wall Solution Roadmap for?
It's for hobbyist genealogists who have hit a brick wall and aren't sure what to do next. You don't need to be an advanced researcher to use it — you just need to be genuinely stuck and open to a different approach. If you started genealogy in the 21st century by searching online and you've hit a wall that more searching isn't breaking, the Roadmap was built for this moment.
Is the genealogy research process something I should have already known about?
If you got started by searching online, probably not — because the platforms most people use to get started are focused on searching, not on teaching the process behind it. The research process that professional genealogists follow has always existed. It just rarely gets passed on through the channels most people use today to begin their family history research. Learning it now isn't catching up. It's moving forward.
What's the difference between a research framework and a tip list?
A tip list tells you things to try. A framework tells you where you are in the research process and what the right move is for your specific situation. Tip lists can be useful when you're looking for ideas. A framework is what helps you understand why you're stuck — and what to do about it in a way that actually moves your research forward.
Do I need any special tools or subscriptions to use the Roadmap?
No. The Brick Wall Solution Roadmap is a process framework — it works alongside whatever tools and resources you already use. It isn't tied to any particular website, software, or subscription service.
The Framework Was Always There — You Just Hadn't Found It Yet
Hitting a brick wall doesn't mean you've reached the end. It usually means you've reached the point where the research process becomes more important than the searching — and that's actually a good place to be, because it means there's a whole framework you haven't used yet.
The Brick Wall Solution Roadmap gives you that framework. Six repeatable steps that show you where you are, what you've already found that you might not have fully understood, and what to do next — every time you sit down to research, on every brick wall you'll ever face.
If you're ready to see what the process actually looks like, the Roadmap is free and it's waiting for you.
Ready to stop wondering what to try next?
