Researching your genealogical history or ancestry can be a difficult task, especially when sources of relevant information are scarce or hard to find. Genealogy research requires you to use analytical skills and various research methods, but sometimes even these aren’t enough to help you find the information you’re looking for. Don’t worry if it seems like you’re stuck, though; there are a lot of ways for you to find more sources of information.

One thing that you should remember is that your ancestors themselves aren’t the only people you should be researching. You could probably get a lot of helpful details about the people your ancestors are connected to, such as their family members and neighbors. These connections can provide a lot of information that can prove to be useful for your research. This practice is commonly referred to as cluster genealogy.

Using the cluster genealogy technique in your research means that you’ll have to look up information on your ancestors’ family members, friends, and neighbors, too. By expanding your search, you may be able to discover useful details on your ancestors. Census records, birth, marriage, and death records, along with land deeds, can be helpful in your research on these individuals.

Doing cluster genealogy research may also help you discover more relatives and ancestors that you can add to your family tree; neighbors may turn out to be relatives of the individuals already on your tree. By accumulating more records concerning the individual you’re researching, you also get more documents that you can use as proof or evidence to back up your ancestral connections.

Sometimes, even documents on the spouses of the relatives of the family members you’re researching can provide a wealth of information you’ll find useful. So if you think you’re at a dead end in your genealogy research, try using the cluster genealogy technique. It might point you to new research paths you previously didn’t see.