A doodloper (literally: dead walker) is a dead end, a term Dutch genealogists use for an ancestor for whom we haven’t found the parents yet. They are the end points in your family tree.
A doodloper is similar to the English term “brick wall ancestor,” but subtly different. “Brick wall” is generally used for ancestors who are seemingly impossible to find, even after a lot of research has been done. A doodloper can simply be an ancestor for whom you haven’t done much research yet; it’s the end of the line at this moment.
Is there a good English term for an ancestor for whom you haven’t found the parents yet, regardless of how much research you’ve done?
Dead end nature. Credits: Bert Kaufmann, Flickr (CC-BY-SA).
About Yvette Hoitink
Yvette, this is a wonderful word. I don’t know of an English equivalent, but personally I think most so-called “brick walls” fall into that category. I think there are very few true brick walls. Having broken through many long-standing “brick walls” for clients, I think that many times the search for direct evidence obscures indirect evidence that’s been there all along. I wish that more researchers would come to see a “brick wall” as an obstacle, not a permanent halt to the research. They are often surmountable.