Resources
Perfect for Beginners and seasoned researchers alike.
Every genealogist encounters a brick wall — that frustrating point where records seem to disappear, clues run dry, and progress stalls.
The Brick Wall – Breaking Genealogy Barriers with AI
is your practical guide to moving past those obstacles with clarity, strategy, and confidence.
This is a practical workbook designed to guide genealogists through every stage of research. This hands-on workbook is organized with 14 focused sections covering the core areas of genealogical research. Each section explains the historical background of records, highlights common research problems, and — most importantly — reveals overlooked sources, creative search techniques, and new ways of thinking.
Rather than simply telling you where to look, this workbook teaches you how to think: to recognize hidden clues, to expand searches beyond the obvious, to approach problems like an archivist. Search more effectively and uncover records you may have overlooked.
This book also demonstrates how modern AI tools can assist with searching, translation, interpretation, analysis, and so more much.
The books greatest strength is timeless: the strategies, prompts, and frameworks, work whether or not you use AI. Because most brick walls are not the end of research.
They are simply the beginning of better questions.
Practical strategies for rethinking research problems, uncovering overlooked sources, and approaching genealogy with a more analytical mindset.
Episode 70 – Pamela Ellis, 13 April 2026
In this episode, we sit down with genealogist Pamela Ellis to explore the challenges every family historian faces—those frustrating “brick walls” where progress seems to stop. Drawing from her new book, The Brick Wall – Breaking Genealogy Barriers with AI, Pamela discusses how emerging AI tools can support (not replace) traditional research methods, helping genealogists break through barriers and make meaningful discoveries.
Pamela Ellis is a seasoned genealogist of twenty-five years. She graduated from Boston University’s Genealogy Certification course. One of her first sources of education was taking the National Genealogy Society (NGS) courses on DVD, and the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) in-house genealogy course. She has additionally attended numerous genealogy courses ranging from basic genealogical research to advanced researching. In 2015 she began teaching courses on genealogy. She is a proud member of twelve lineage societies including Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames of the 17th Century, Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, National Society of New England Women, and more. She has held numerous executive positions within genealogical and lineage societies including Past Honorary Regent to being the current Chaplain for her local DAR chapter and is a Register for 3 other lineage societies. She is a consultant at NSDAR continental Congress each year. Pamela recently published her first book, The Brick Wall – Breaking Genealogy Barriers with AI, available now on Amazon.
Brick Wall Genealogy 