NOTE: I accepted the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge headed by fellow genealogy blogger Amy Johnson Crow. The idea behind this challenge is that you will receive email prompts, a word or phrase, every week, and you find something about your research or family history to write about. Click HERE to read my first 52 Ancestors blog post in 2019.
I love it when things fall into place just as they are supposed to. I attended RootsTech 2025 last week. The very last session I attended was Using U.S. Church Records as a Brick Wall Strategy: Case Study presented by Sunny Morton.
In this session Sunny said that sometimes asking the right question to the right person can help break down brick walls. I must admit that when I think of breaking down brick walls, I always think of DNA connections, finding the all elusive family Bible, or a newly digitized record collection. I have never thought about asking a simple question.
Her example was that she asked in a family group chat, ‘where did Grandma go to church?’ From that question she received answers such as the location, someone’s memory of walking to Sunday school with her grandmother, and that she had gone to the same church most of her life. Sunny was then able to take those responses and look through church records to find out more personal information about her grandmother including that she had written an article for the church publication.
This session had some wonderful research strategies that I will be using in the very near future. But it also reminded me to continue to ask questions because you never know where the answer will lead me in my research.
Click HERE to read my 52 Ancestors – Brick Wall Blog from 2019
Click HERE to read my 52 Ancestors – Brick Wall Blog from 2023
Journey Through the Generations 
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