Searching for names in old newspapers requires some ingenuity in order to be successful. Here are 3 techniques that if followed, will drastically increase your search results. In the “olden days,” newspaper publishers were quite frugal. They generally kept each issue to the same number of pages, whether they be 4, or 8, or other. Space was at a premium, with a desire to save ink and paper.
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Abbreviations
In census records, birth, marriage, and death indexes, as well as newspapers, you are likely to find abbreviations of people’s given or first names. So, when searching online, it is helpful to search with the abbreviation of that first name as well as the full first name. A recent search for “Thomas Johnson” in a known genealogy website yielded about 330,000 results. A subsequent search for “Thos Johnson” yielded 27,000 results. That is almost an additional 10% of records that should be reviewed. “Thos” is an abbreviation for Thomas.[1]
In old newspapers, abbreviations were used to save space. Abbreviations were used to shorten many words – the most notable being given names and addresses.
Your search index database is not smart enough to automatically search for the abbreviation of “Thos” for “Thomas”. The same issue applies when trying to interpret “ave” for the word “avenue” So if you are entering “335 14th Avenue” – if the search index includes “Ave” the search will not be successful. Therefore you must search both “335 14th Avenue” and “335 14th Ave” to get all possible results.
Given names can provide a great number of increased results by using abbreviations. Abbreviated given names yield as much as 50% more newspaper search results. Examples are “Wm” for William, “Jos” for Joseph, “Eliz” for Elizabeth, and “Robt” for Robert, to name a few.
So when developing your search criteria for both genealogy and newspaper searches, you need to include abbreviations in your repertoire.
Here is a list of common abbreviations that you should use in your searches.
| Eliz for Elizabeth | Capt for Captain |
| Wm for William | Pl for Place |
| Sgt for Sergeant | Co for Company |
| Ave for Avenue | Pres for President |
| Corp for Corporation | Ln for Lane |
| Jno for John | Col for Colonel |
| St for Street | Chas for Charles |
| NYC for New York City | Benj for Benjamin |
| Jos for Joseph | Cpl for Corporal |
| Jas for James | Geo for George |
| Margt for Margaret | Robt for Robert |
| Saml for Samuel | Thos for Thomas |
| Inc for Incorporated | Genl for General |
| Deb for Deborah | Danl for Daniel |
| Hy for Henry | Pvt for Private |
| CPO for Chief Petty Officer | Ens for Ensign |
| My for Mary | Theo for Theodore |
| Agt for Agent | Prop for Proprietor |
| Ag for Agnes | Alex for Alexander |
| Chr for Christian | Dy for Dorothy |
Nicknames
In many genealogically related documents (especially newspapers and census records), nicknames were frequently used, as those names were more often used than the “formal” given name of the person.
Your search index database is not smart enough, for example, to interpret ‘Sadie” for the formal given name of “Sarah”. Thus, you will need to use both names separately in your search criteria. So when developing your search criteria for both genealogy and newspaper searches, you need to include nicknames in your repertoire. Below is a list of about 60 common names and nicknames.
| Name | Nickname |
|---|---|
| Abigail, Tabitha | Abbie, Abby |
| Abraham | Abe, Abra |
| Alexander | Alec, Alex |
| Alexander | Sandy |
| Alice | Allie |
| Alice | Elsie |
| Antoinette, Henrietta | Nettie |
| Archibald | Arch, Archie |
| August | Gus |
| Augustus | Augie |
| Bartholomew | Bart, Bat |
| C/Katherine | Kitty |
| Caroline | Callie, Carrie |
| Charlotte | Lollie, Lottie |
| Christopher | Kit |
| Clarissa, Clarinda | Clara |
| Cornelius | Con |
| Cyrus | Cy |
| Dorothy | Dolly, Dot |
| Edith | Edie |
| Edwin, Edward | Ned |
| Eleanor, Ellen, Helen | Nellie |
| Elizabeth | Bess, Betsey |
| Florence | Flora, Flossie |
| Frances | Fanny, Frankie |
| Hamilton | Ham |
| Harold, Henry | Hal |
| Harriet | Hatty |
| Henrietta, Louetta | Etta |
| Henry | Hank |
| Henry | Harry |
| Hiram | Hy |
| Isaac | Ike |
| Jackson, John | Jack |
| Jacob | Jake |
| Janet, Virginia | Jenny |
| Jedidiah | Jed |
| Josiah, Cyrus | Si, Cy |
| Katherine, Kathleen | Kate, Kay |
| Malachi, Malcolm | Mal |
| Margaret | Meg, Maggie |
| Margaret | Peggy |
| Margaret, Margery | Madge |
| Martha | Mattie |
| Martha | Patsy |
| Martha, Mary, Amelia | Mollie |
| Martha, Patience | Patty |
| Mary | Mamie |
| Mary | Polly |
| Mary, Wilhelmina | Minnie |
| Mindwell, Wilhelmina | Mina |
| Nathaniel | Nat, Nate |
| Newton | Newt |
| Oliver | Ollie |
| Patrick | Paddy |
| Phineas | Finney |
| Richard | Dick |
| Sarah | Sadie, Sally |
| Thaddeus | Tad |
| Virgil | Virg |
| Wiley, William | Willie, Bill |
| Winifred, Edwina | Winnie |
Mrs. William Jones
Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, married women always went by their husbands name in old newspapers. So you are likely to find "Mildred Jones" as "Mrs. William Jones". Only if they were unmarried, a child, or a widow will their given name appear in the paper.
Thus, if you are looking for a married woman, likely the only way to find her is to search for "Mrs husbands first name husbands surname"
See also
Explore more about search techniques that will drastically improve your newspaper research results
- Getting the Scoop on Your Ancestors from Old Newspapers webinar by Moshe Etlis on Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- The Good News About Historical Newspapers webinar by Daniel Horowitz on Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Explore Your Ancestors’ Names in the MyHeritage ‘Newspaper Name Index’ webinar by James Beidler on Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Why I Love — and How to Use — the Newspaper Collections at MyHeritage webinar by Sunny Morton on Legacy Family Tree Webinars
References
- ↑ What is the abbreviation for Thomas?. Abbreviations.com