Gentracerdog here, with some suggestions on "picking up the scent" when the trail goes cold in your family history research.  On my About Me page, I explain how my eBay username came to be.  Briefly, I am a genealogy buff and arrived at the name "gentracerdog" because I love tracing the generations of my family tree - in other words, sniffing out the trail of my ancestors!  So, why take advice from me?  As a seven-year veteran of family history research, my suggestions may save you a lot of time and frustration.

As you may know, your local family history centers (FHC) have lots of information and skilled volunteers.  Each LDS/Mormon church has a FHC available for anyone, of any faith, to make use of.  For a nominal charge ($5 or less) you can order microfilm rolls to be delivered to the local FHC so that you can view them on a machine there.  This is a great option if you are on a tight budget, or not ready to visit the main LDS library in Salt Lake City.  By visiting the LDS website and typing in your ancestor's surname in the search box, you can find documents which may contain information about your predecessors.  Print out a copy of the ones you would like to order and take them to the local FHC.  The volunteer staff will be able to help you complete the process of ordering films.

If you know the cultural makeup of your family history, try seeing what you can find in the nonfiction section at the public library.  For instance, if your ancestors were Irish, look in the world history section of the library.  I've found clues in the indexes of books I didn't think would have anything of value.  You see, your ancestor may have known or worked with someone famous.  Maybe they knew someone who knew someone, etc.  For example, one of my mother's ancestors served alongside Sir Isaac Newton in Ireland.  They were both on the board of officers who regulated the weight, size and content of Irish coins.  Find a clue about my ancestor in a book about the history of Irish money - who would have thought that could happen?

The possibilities are numerous, so turn over those proverbial rocks and look under them!  In addition to land records, birth and death certificates, old photos and letters, be on the lookout for clues in book indexes, old newspapers, historical society updates, and other clues along the trail.