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Episode Overview

Hittin’ the Bricks with Kathleen is the genealogy podcast that features your questions and her answers, helping researchers uncover overlooked records and stronger research strategies. In this episode, host Kathleen Brandt answers listener questions focused on three high-impact genealogy sources that can quickly break through stubborn brick walls: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) records, Virginia Revolutionary War bounty land grants, and Ireland’s newly free 1926 census.

Kathleen explains where to search, what clues researchers often miss, and how to connect these records to broader family stories involving migration, military service, inheritance, and identity.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn

•  Why CCC records are valuable for Depression-era genealogy research 
•  How Revolutionary War bounty land files extend far beyond the first certificate 
•  What makes the 1926 Irish Census important for Irish family history 
•  How supporting records reveal widows, heirs, migration patterns, and community ties 
•  Why original files often contain clues omitted from abstracts and indexes 

Topics Covered

•  Civilian Conservation Corps records and Depression-era family research 
•  CCC applications and clues about parents, schooling, work history, and migration 
•  Researching CCC records through newspapers, local societies, state archives, and National Park Service collections 
•  Virginia Revolutionary War bounty land digitization 
•  Common mistakes in bounty land research 
•  Warrants, surveys, plat maps, patents, tax lists, deeds, probate, and wills 
•  Why abstract books are not enough for complete genealogy research 
•  Ireland’s free 1926 Census and Irish genealogy research 
•  Linking Irish census records to passenger lists, naturalization records, and church documents 

Episode Discussion & Key Moments

Kathleen walks listeners through three record groups that frequently contain overlooked genealogical evidence. The episode begins with CCC records, explaining how applications and related files reveal personal details about family structure, education, employment, and migration during the Great Depression.

The conversation then shifts to Virginia Revolutionary War bounty land grants, where Kathleen explains why researchers should never stop at the initial certificate. Supporting documents—including surveys, deeds, probate files, and tax lists—often identify widows, heirs, neighbors, and land relationships that deepen family reconstruction.

Finally, Kathleen explores the release of Ireland’s 1926 Census, discussing how researchers can connect census findings with U.S. immigration records, naturalization paperwork, and church records to build more complete Irish family histories.

Key questions examined include:

•  What records are researchers most likely to overlook? 
•  Why do original files matter more than abstracts? 
•  How can one record group lead to multiple generations of evidence? 

Resources & Research Tools Mentioned

• National Archives of Ireland 1926 Census
•  Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) applications and records 
•  Newspapers and local historical societies 
•  State archives and National Park Service collections 
•  Virginia Revolutionary War bounty land records 
•  Plat maps, tax lists, deeds, probate, and wills 
•  Ireland’s 1926 Census 
•  Passenger lists, naturalization records, and church registers 

Why This Episode Matters

Many genealogy breakthroughs come from looking beyond indexes and pulling the full record set surrounding an ancestor. This episode demonstrates how layered research across military, land, labor, and immigration records creates stronger and more accurate family histories.

About the Podcast

Hittin’ the Bricks with Kathleen is the genealogy podcast that features your questions and her answers, helping listeners navigate historical records, research challenges, and overlooked sources to uncover deeper family stories.

Support the show

Be sure to bookmark linktr.ee/hittinthebricks  for your one stop access to Kathleen Brandt, the host of Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen. And, visit us on YouTube: @HTBKRB with Kathleen John and Chewey video recorded specials. 

Hittin' the Bricks is produced through the not-for-profit, 501c3 TracingAncestors.org.