Newspaper records are articles, columns, and advertisements used in genealogical research. Newspapers provide genealogically relevant information that can include vital record information or a mention of a person’s name in relation to a group or event.
Types of newspapers
Various types of newspapers publish genealogically relevant information. These include:
- City
- County
- Regional
- Academic
- Political
- Organization
- Religious
- Ethnic
Familiar newspapers are city or regional newspapers; however, consider the community that the newspaper reports on. In the case of recent immigrants or those who prefer to read what is happening in their homeland, they may choose to read a foreign-language newspaper published in their new home country. Entities like schools and organizations print newspapers to spread news quickly and frequently. Understanding what our ancestors were a part of may provide additional types of available newspapers to search.
Newspaper articles
The time period of the newspaper influences what types of articles can be found. The first modern newspapers began publishing at the beginning of the 17th century. Early newspapers are limited in what they report about individuals, such as birth or marriage notices. It wasn't until the latter 19th century that articles and obituaries included more groups, such as women. Even the more popular genealogical-focused article, the obituary, focuses primarily on higher-income or well-known men until the latter 19th century. This means that careful reading of an ancestor's newspaper is necessary to determine what articles were published and whose names were printed.
Types of articles useful for genealogical research
- Birth Notices
- Engagement and Marriage Notices
- Marriage License List
- Obituaries
- Funeral home notices
- Anniversaries
- Reunions
- Trial Coverage
- Advertisements
- Probate Notices
- Legal Notices
- Lists of Court Cases
- Letter to the Editor
- Tax Lists
- Land Transactions
- "Gossip" Columns
- Runaway Slave Ads
- Shipping News
Information found in a newspaper article should be combined with original records, when possible, to verify the information. For example, a newspaper probate notice can be used to find a will or probate action in court records. A couple’s name in a marriage license list does not verify a marriage. Research in marriage record certificates must be done to determine if the license was used to marry the couple. Newspaper articles can provide pertinent genealogical information, but the information may not be accurate. Obituaries do not include the name of the person who wrote or provided the information. In addition, they usually are brief and complimentary, so the information may not be accurate.
Searching for newspapers by geographic location
Newspapers from around the world, like the United States, France, and the Netherlands, can be found on MyHeritage.
United States newspapers
MyHeritage offers newspaper collections from the following US states:
French newspapers
MyHeritage has a collection of French newspapers and periodicals that span from 1644 to 2000 that contains 46 million records. The collection includes a compendium of newspapers that were published in various cities and towns in France, along with some additional titles from French territories and colonies.
Dutch newspapers
MyHeritage offers a collection of newspapers and periodicals from the Netherlands, consisting of over 1.7 million records. The collection primarily features newspapers published in different Dutch cities and towns between 1900 and 1948, with some titles from Dutch territories and Dutch communities in the United States also included.
Accessing newspapers
Newspapers can be accessed as a paper copy (typically bound like a book), microform, or digitized. Not all newspapers are digitized, and not all historical newspapers are extant (still exist).
Digitized newspapers can be found in the following resources, among others:
- Genealogy websites like MyHeritage, which offers 2.3 billion newspaper records with collections from all over the United States and around the world
- Digitized newspaper subscription websites
- State historical digitized newspaper websites
- University digital collections
- Library digital collections
Each website has its own collection that may not include all dates a newspaper was published or all of the newspapers for a specific area. Two websites may have the same digitized newspaper title, but they may differ on what dates their collection includes.
One way to determine the newspapers for a location is to use a finding aid. For example, when researching the United States, the Library of Congress Chronicling America website, US Newspapers Directory 1690-Present is searchable by location, title, and keyword. The card catalog entry for the newspaper title includes libraries that hold the newspaper, but those holdings may not be digitized. The digitized version of this collection is available on MyHeritage for records between the years 1791-1963.
Not all newspapers still exist. Some may have been destroyed or were not archived. Once you determine the newspaper's name for your research area, consult library catalogs like WorldCat and websites for possible copies.
Researching newspapers
Paper and Microform Copies
The researcher may have two choices when newspapers are only available in paper or microform. Seek out an index of the newspaper or search page by page for articles. In some cases, newspaper indexes can be found as card files or databases in local libraries (or the repository that archives that particular newspaper title) or published in a book.
When using indexes, keep in mind that mistranscriptions and misspellings do occur. In addition, the group or individual conducting the index project decides what to include. Your search term or name may not have been included. Not finding a name or event in an index does not mean it is not in the newspaper.
Digitized Newspapers
Digitized newspapers can be searched using one or more keywords. Keywords can include a name, a place, an organization, an occupation, a church, etc. When searching names, try multiple variations, including initials, nicknames, and misspellings.
Digitized newspapers can be found on MyHeritage for 37 US states and many other countries around the world, like France and the Netherlands.
Additional search tools such as Boolean Search, Wild Cards, and Exact Phrase Search may be available. These tools can help you focus your search.
Remember that websites with digitized newspapers continually add new or expanded content. This means that you will need to keep searching to find new results. Some websites offer an Alert feature that sends you an email when new content with your keywords is added to the collection.
Search newspaper records on MyHeritage
Explore more about newspaper records
- MyHeritage newspaper collection at MyHeritage
- Marriages and Anniversaries. Mining newspapers for engagements, marriages, anniversaries, and divorce records at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Fulton Search at FultonSearch
- Newspapers & Gazettes at Trove
- List of Online Newspaper Archives at Wikipedia
References
- ↑ the Watertown Republican from June 6, 1897 at MyHeritage newspaper collections