I have brick walls in my family trees everywhere, they are a common thing. The best reciepe for a brick wall in your family tree are three major ingredients, determination, determination, and then more determination. It also helps to have some ibuprofen on hand or your favorite headache medicine, I assure you that you will get a spliting headache especially after you have struggled with a brick wall for months then attach what you think is the key and then you realize you have to start over after you have attached five generations to the wrong person. The wrong person means the wrong line of people. How do we solue these road blocks though. One thing that has worked for me is to wait for other people attached to the same person to bring in some of thier family information. Then you have a boost that kick starts the process. However this only works with someone that has a large family. I have one brick wall that I still have not solved. He is the father of my fathers mother.

The biggest obstacle I have found in tracing my lineage has been the destruction of archives and other documentary evidence in wars mostly. I have not been able to continue my research in some civil registry offices in the north of Spain because their information goes up to 1876 and not before that...so then you have to figure out what parish or church you should visit, etc.