How to find the motivation to carry on?

[Zakerias]

Its been about 5 years since I started looking into my family tree. I've learnt a great deal and found things I never thought I would but every time I go back to my tree now I seem to go around in circles. Every direct ancestor just feels like a dead end and it's really demotivating. I feel like I've exhausted every avenue of search for some lines and just feels like I'll be stuck in limbo forever.

How do others keep motivated to carry on? And is there anything else I can do to break this stalemate?

It might be worth mentioned that I've mainly used Ancestry.com, not sure if others could give hints. I have used FindMyPast before but only for a month or so.

[rosie99]

Have you done your DNA 

[Vance Mead]

You need to look at original sources. There are millions of records that are not online. You mentioned Ancestry and FindMyPast. What about wills, muster rolls, manorial records, legal records, and many more? Most of these records are not indexed and are not available online.

[Zaphod99]

"The truth is out there."

Zaph

[AllanUK]

Don't forget, if you have male ancestors born 1880s / 1890s then they may well have served in WW1 --- there are plenty of WW1 records on both Ancestry and Find My Past.

Keep your spirits up and take the advice in the replies to your post.

[coombs]

How far back have you gone before you feel you are hitting dead ends? Once you get back before circa 1800 it starts to get murkier, especially for ancestors with common surnames. Or the ancestors who reached the 1841 census but said "not born in county" of residence on the census, but died before the 1851 census, the first really useful census.

You can try the DNA route, and perhaps search for any poor law records as well as wills and manorial records. Also try tracing witnesses to marriages, who were often relatives but in many cases not always.

Sadly in some cases it can be almost impossible to trace back any further than what you have got. I have 3 ancestors who said "not born in county" of residence in 1841 and all died by 1851, one died just weeks before the 1851 census in late March. One of them was a Smith as well.

[oldfashionedgirl]

Hi Zakeriras,
I’m not sure if you’re in the UK and searching UK ancestors but if so try The British Newspaper Archive.

You can narrow it down to years and areas.

I spent many hours in lockdown trawling through old papers looking up people and addresses.
It’s such a fascinating social history and brings life to the names and dates.

I found interesting facts through intimations, adverts for home help, letters to the editor and reports of a break in.
I also found a very sad report of my husbands great grandfather who had been missing for a week in the 1930s
In today’s terms I think he was having a mental health crisis having just lost his son in a motorbike accident and was found wandering near the site.

Obviously the more unusual the name the better but it may just give you the breakthrough you need.

Good luck !

[oldohiohome]

Do descendants of your ancestors' siblings, your in-laws' families, your cousins' family on the side on which you aren't related to them. Do friends' families.

If you are in the U.S., are there other families who were from the same place and migrated to the same place as your families? Do them.

[Zefiro]

All the above are very good suggestions to keep the search going.
If it's really demotivating, you can consider taking a break from it all for a few months.
It's no good hitting the same brick wall over and over again. Sometimes it's just better to turn away from this wall and do something else. You might benefit from it in the end.

In French they have this saying: "Reculer pour mieux sauter."
Taking a few steps back to be able to jump further.
One day you'll be jumping over your brick wall instead of demolishing it by hitting it day in day out.