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Before You Go: How to Prepare for a Genealogy Research Trip

In case you haven’t heard … not everything is online! That may come as a shock to some of you. Sometimes you have to call, email, or even visit a repository to get what you need for your genealogy research.

My recent trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (GenFed) reminded me of how much preparation goes into visiting a repository. And it doesn’t have to be a national one. It can be your local courthouse.

In this blog, I’m going to give you some tips to help make your repository visit a success (even though I can’t guarantee you’ll find what you want).

My week at GenFed was amazing. Not only were the classes taught by some of the best in the business, but just being at the National Archives and walking the halls, was a thrill.

This was also the first in-person genealogy institute I’ve attended since Covid. Many institutes are now offered online or in a hybrid format, so spending a week learning and researching in person was a treat.

But before I ever got to Washington, I had work to do.

And that’s where a successful repository visit really begins.

How I Prepared for the National Archives

Many of my classmates and I were well prepared for a trip to the National Archives. We were instructed by the director in advance to come armed with what it was we wanted to find: military, land, pension, maps, etc.

For me, I wanted to locate the Civil War pension file of my 2x great-grandfather, John Dettinger. And I did! It was about an inch thick and when I was done photographing each page I had over 300 images to go through.

I also documented the Civil War medical file for my 2x great-grandfather, Andrew Bothel. I’ve written about him before in this blog post: One Of The Best Military Records In Genealogy Research. This file wasn’t as thick, but it contained valuable information for my research.

I didn’t want to leave my husband’s family out, so I found military cards for his Civil War ancestors. They were only 5-10 pages each, so they weren’t as rich, but I still wanted them.

Tips for Researching In-Person

Learn About the Repository

Are you traveling a great distance to get there or just across town? No matter where you go, know the hours of operation, parking, etc.

Find out whether you need an appointment or a researcher card and what identification you’ll need to bring. If you’re planning to spend the entire day, check whether there is somewhere to eat nearby and whether you’re allowed to leave and return. You don’t want to arrive after traveling several hours only to discover there was something you needed to do ahead of time.

All repositories have their own rules. The National Archives doesn’t allow pens, purses or even candy in the research room. Learn what rules you will have to follow before you get to where you’re going.

Make a Prioritized Research Plan

Making a plan starts with a good research question. Who or what are you researching? What records will answer that question? Whether you research in your bunny slippers in the middle of the night or at the National Archives, you have to know what it is you want to find.

Once you have your research question, make a list of the records you want to see and put them in priority order. Start with the records that are most important to your research question. Then have a second and even third choice ready. You may get through your list faster than expected, or the record at the top of your list may not be available.

Search Online Before You Go

You can’t expect to just wander in and research on the fly. Do some online preparation ahead of time. It would also be a shame if you wasted valuable time at the repository for something you can find online. The only alternative to this is if you just want to hold the original in your hands.

Don’t stop with a Google search or the large genealogy websites. Check the repository’s own website, online catalog, collection descriptions, and finding aids. A finding aid may tell you much more about a collection than you’ll get from simply searching for your ancestor’s name.

Record Information About the Record

Did you find an index online, but the original is sitting in a repository? That index will contain valuable information you need to find the record once you arrive. Better yet, email the repository beforehand and tell them what you’re looking for. In fact, many locations require you contact them in case the record is offsite and they need to bring it to you.

Write down call numbers, application numbers, certificate numbers, or anything that is of value. And don’t just write down enough information to retrieve the record. Write down enough to cite it later. Include the repository name, collection name, box or folder number, call number, record group, or whatever identifying information is provided. It’s much easier to capture that information while you’re there than to try to reconstruct it when you get home.

Recording What You Find

You will need a way to copy or record what you find. Many repositories allow phones or laptops, and even scanners. But find out ahead of time. Be prepared with a pencil and paper in case none of that is permitted and you have to do a transcription.

If you’re photographing records, have a system. Take a photograph of the box, folder, file label, or other identifying information before you start photographing the documents. If you move to a new folder or record, photograph its cover or identifying information before you continue. Those photos may not seem important while you’re standing in the research room, but they can be lifesavers when you’re home trying to figure out where image 237 came from.

Before you put the record away, check your images. Make sure they’re readable, in focus, and that you haven’t accidentally skipped a page. You don’t want to discover a blurry image after you’ve traveled hundreds of miles home.

Be Flexible and Respectful

Hours and days of operation can change without much prior notice. It doesn’t happen often, but you may need to be flexible with your time. Also, when you arrive the records you want may be on loan to someone else. Come armed with enough to do in case something goes sideways.

Also, and this goes without saying, be kind to the repository staff. They work hard making documents available for genealogists and they want to help. Treat them and the records with respect.

And don’t be afraid to ask questions. Repository staff may know about collections you haven’t considered or be able to help you understand how records are organized. Tell them what you’re researching rather than simply asking, “Do you have anything on John Smith?”

Finally

Preparation doesn’t mean knowing what you’ll find when you get to an in-person repository. It means arriving with enough knowledge to make the trip as successful as possible.

Make a plan for your visit, but don’t be afraid to change it. One record may lead you to another you hadn’t planned to look for. You may discover a collection you didn’t know existed. Or you may come away without finding what you hoped to find at all.

That’s genealogy.

And remember, not everything is online. Sometimes you really do have to get out of your bunny slippers.

💡Genalogy tip: Bring a portable charger. If you’re using your phone to photograph records, your battery can drain faster than you expect. You may not have access to an outlet near your research table, so bring a fully charged portable charger and the right cable. The last thing you want is to finally get your hands on the record you’ve been waiting for and have your phone die!

Need Help Planning Your Next Research Step?

A research coaching session can help you sort through what you already know, identify your next steps, and make a plan to move your genealogy research forward.

Learn More About Research Coaching

What Happens When a Genealogy Brick Wall Stays a Brick Wall

I recently worked with a client who faced a genealogy brick wall. He wanted to discover the parents of his 3x great-grandmother. We’ll call her Jane Doe. She was born in the early 1800s in Maine, married George Smith in 1835, and moved across several states before settling in Virginia before the 1850 census.

Well, I won’t sugarcoat it. By the end of my research, I had a good hypothesis but no answer. It happens, and it’s frustrating.

In this blog post, I’ll walk you through my research process and explain why the available records still didn’t provide a clear answer.

woman sitting in front of macbook being frustrated by her genealogy brick wall

No matter what problem a client brings to me, my research process is always the same. First, I start with a comprehensive research question, then list possible record sets/sources that could answer it.

Research Question

Starting with a research question keeps you focused and on task. For this project:

Who are the parents of Jane Doe, born about 1813 in Maine, who married George Smith in Portland in 1835?

This uniquely identifies who we are talking about and what I want to know.

Research Plan

Now that I have my question, it’s time to make a research plan. The two things that will help me do this are time and place. I need to know which records are available to help me determine parentage in Maine in the 1800s. At least, that’s where we’ll start.

First, I’ll check to see what records exist for Portland, Maine.

The FamilySearch Wiki is one of the first places I check when researching in a new location. It explains when different record types begin for a county or town.

FamilySearch Wiki for Cumberland County Maine (Portland)

This tells me when vital records, court records, probate records, land records, and census records first became available.

Since I’m looking for birth and marriage records in the early to mid-1800s, I already know I’m not likely to find them.

That means there will likely be no official birth record for Jane Doe, who was born around 1813. I also looked for a marriage record for Jane Doe and George Smith. While their FamilySearch profile gave a specific date, I did not find a marriage record for them.

So I immediately need to think about other record types that might identify her parents.

Expanding the Search to Other Records

One helpful tool is the FamilySearch United States Record Finder, which suggests alternative records when the most obvious ones don’t exist.

This is just one category of other possible records that can help answer questions like, who are the parents?

One other wrinkle: Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820, so always look at when boundaries were created around where your ancestors lived. You don’t want to waste your time looking in the wrong place!

With the research question and plan in place, the next step is to begin searching records that might reveal clues about Jane Doe’s family.

Looking for Early Clues

With no birth record available, I started searching for any references to Jane Doe or the Doe surname in early Portland records.

Other “Doe” Births

I found a copy of an early birth record for Thomas Doe, born in Portland on 15 January 1815, to parents Thomas and Esther Doe.

That raised an immediate question. Could Thomas Doe be a possible sibling of Jane Doe?

At this stage, it’s just a clue, but clues are what move research forward.

Newspapers

I searched The Portland Gazette, which was being printed during the time Jane would have been born.

Unfortunately, the newspaper did not publish birth announcements in 1813. A search for both Jane Doe and the surname Doe produced no results related to her birth.

City Directories

City directories often show who was living in a town at a particular time.

In the 1837 Portland City Directory, several Doe individuals appear:

Ephraim Doe
Thomas Doe
Ebenezer Doe

In the same directory, Jane’s husband also appears: George Smith, dealer in wood, living on Oxford Street.

Looking at earlier directories helps narrow the possibilities.

1834 Portland City Directory

Ebenezer Doe, notary public and Russian consular agent

1831 Portland City Directory

Martha Doe, widow

These entries suggest that the Doe surname was present in Portland during the years Jane would have grown up there. But the relationships between these individuals were not clear.

Census Records

I searched 1840 census records for anyone named Doe who may have had a female child born about 1813. My list included a few people, but none fit exactly right.

Investigating Possible Parents

One possible couple was Ebenezer Doe and Sarah Codman.

They married in Portland on 1 January 1811.

At first glance, this seemed promising. The marriage date is close to Jane’s estimated birth year.

But additional research showed:

Sarah died in 1820
Ebenezer died in 1823

More importantly, there is no evidence they had children.

Without children connected to them in other records, they cannot currently be considered Jane’s parents.

Following Naming Clues

Sometimes clues appear in later generations.

Jane Doe’s daughter, Mary Smith, named one of her sons:

Royal Jones

That unusual given name immediately caught my attention.

It raised the possibility of a connection to Esther Royal, the wife of Thomas Doe who married in 1808.

Thomas and Esther had a son born in Portland in 1815.

Could this family connect to Jane?

At this stage, it was still only a possibility.

A Possible Sibling Appears in Connecticut

Another clue appeared in the 1850 census.

A man named Captain Thomas Doe was living in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Several details stood out: he was born in Maine about 1818 and a sea captain.

However, there were almost no records for him before 1850 other than references to him joining ships as a sailor.

Still, this raised an interesting possibility.

Could Captain Thomas Doe be Jane Doe’s brother?

An Interesting Marriage Connection

The next generation produced another clue.

George Smith, the son of George and Jane Smith, married Mary Doe in Greenwich, Connecticut, on 14 June 1871.

Mary was the daughter of Captain Thomas Doe.

If Jane Doe and Captain Thomas Doe were siblings, they would be first cousins. While that may sound unusual today, cousin marriages were not uncommon in the 1800s.

Even more interesting, another daughter of Captain Thomas Doe married Alfred Knight.

Later, George Smith and Mary Doe named one of their sons:

Alfred Knight Smith

That kind of naming pattern often reflects close family relationships.

What the Evidence Suggests

After searching through:

census records
vital records
probate records
land records
newspapers
city directories

there is still no direct evidence identifying Jane Doe’s parents.

However, the strongest theory is that Jane Doe and Captain Thomas Doe were siblings, both born in Maine before Thomas eventually settled in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The naming patterns and the later marriage between their children support that idea.

But without a document that directly states their relationship, it remains a well-supported hypothesis rather than proven fact.

Finally Why This Genealogy Brick Wall Still Has No Answer

This project is a good reminder that not every research problem ends with a clear solution. Sometimes the records simply do not exist. Other times, they haven’t been discovered yet.

In this case, we ended with a strong theory but no definitive proof. And that is part of the reality of genealogy research. Every piece of evidence moves the story forward, even when the final answer is still waiting to be found.

💡Genealogy Tip

It’s especially important to slow down and take good notes when the evidence doesn’t directly point to an answer. Staying organized can be key to connecting the dots and making progress in your research.

If you enjoy seeing how real research problems unfold, I share genealogy tips, strategies, and case studies like this with my email readers. You can join below and I’ll also send you my guide to the first two steps in the genealogy research process.

When to Change Your Genealogy Research Plan (and What to Do Next)

I just finished filing my tax return. Not exactly what you expect to hear at the start of a genealogy post, right? But stay with me for a minute — it connects to family history research more than you might think.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know my husband and I used to be over-the-road truck drivers. I handled the bookkeeping. Every month I organized receipts and gave them to the accountant at tax time. I kept doing it that way out of habit, until I realized that system belonged to a different season of my life.

So I reorganized everything by tax category instead — same goal, different approach.

And that got me thinking about genealogy research.

Gray as a truck driver and Gray doing genealogy research at her desk. Image made by ChatGPT — Image made with ChatGPT

Every research session should start with a goal and a plan. Think of it as a roadmap. Maybe you’re looking for a marriage record, confirming a birth year, or simply tracking an ancestor through census records. You decide what you want to prove and which records are most likely to answer the question.

That structure keeps you focused.

But sometimes what you find changes everything.

A single unexpected detail can shift the direction of the entire project. The question isn’t whether to adjust, it’s how to adjust without losing your original purpose.

That’s exactly what happened when I was researching my husband’s great-grandfather, James C. Lunt.

James’s Story

I had already identified James Cammett Lunt as a direct ancestor. He was born in Portland, Maine, in 1858. As usual, I started placing him in every census record he could appear in.

He is with his family in 1860 and 1870.

1870 U.S. census, Cumberland County, Maine, population schedule, Portland Post Office, page 71 (penned), 231A (stamped); dwelling 511, family 571, James C. Lunt in James R. Lunt household; digital image, “1870 United States Census,” *Ancestry.com* (www.ancestry.com: accessed 12 February 2026).

Next came the 1880 census. He’s a bookstore clerk, still living with his family on 14 June 1880.

Then Ancestry handed me a surprise.

Also on 14 June 1880, James C. Lunt appears in Laramie, Wyoming, working as a cattle herder. I asked my husband if he knew anything about this… and yes, he’d heard stories about one of his ancestors trying his hand at being a cowboy before settling down.

So, how can James be enumerated on the same day in two different states, over 2,000 miles apart?

After checking the census instructions to the enumerators ( United States Census Bureau website), the situation made more sense. The census recorded where a person lived on 1 June 1880, not where they were when the enumerator arrived at their door. James could have been in Portland on June 1st and in Wyoming by June 14. This also supposes that the enumerator in Laramie didn’t follow the instructions (and that happened, too).

James C. Lunt was a cattle herder working for Fielder M. Phillips in Laramie, Wyoming. And he probably didn’t go alone because another man from Maine, Frank B. Leach, was there, too. Perhaps Frank and James knew each other, as Frank was also a clerk in Portland before this adventure.

What Next?

My goal was to find James C. Lunt in every census record throughout his life. With this new, interesting story staring me in the face, do I abandon the goal and start a new one, or do I put this on my “future research” list and keep going? Not every distraction deserves attention, but this one did.

But this wasn’t a distraction, it was intentional. Census records will still be there tomorrow, but since I’m after the stories of our ancestors, this one is too juicy not to follow up on.

So I pivoted.

I made a new research plan centered on Fielder M. Phillips and the group of New England men working on that ranch. As genealogists, we are also interested in the friends/family, associates, and neighbors of our ancestors…their FAN Club. You can read more about that HERE. Who was Fielder M. Phillips, and why were there men from many different states working for him? How did they get there, and why did they go?

How Do You Know When To Change Direction?

This part is personal.

If I had been one census away from completing James’s timeline, I probably would have finished that goal first. But since I was at the beginning of his adult life, the Wyoming story mattered more than the checklist.

The real skill is learning to recognize the difference between a chance to expand your research and a bright, shiny object. Most surprises can be put on the backburner for a while. Both others are worth putting your original research plan aside and working on something new. Intentionally.

Finish processing what you found in your plan (that means writing it up, too) and make a conscious decision to change direction. You’re not abandoning your goal, you’re expanding it.

Finally

Changing how I organized receipts reminded me of something important…my original goal didn’t change, but the journey did. I just put it aside for a bit to deliberately follow something more interesting.

And honestly, that’s where we find some of the best stories.

Genealogy tip: Just because you found your ancestor in a census, it doesn’t mean they won’t show up in another one in the same year. Look for everything!

Genealogy is easier when you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

If you’d like help deciding what your next research step should be (or want reassurance that you’re on the right track) I’m happy to take a look and talk it through with you.

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