One of our genealogists discusses how newspapers worldwide can connect family lines and associate ancestors with particular places, especially when vital records are not available. Newspapers! Газети! A window to the Past Newspapers can be invaluable in proving family connections in periods when birth and death records might not exist. They can also show relationships between two different places. And most importantly, newspapers are found throughout the world. Those with roots in the … [Read more...]
Secrets of Murder: Uncovering a Family History Mystery
People often ask professional genealogists why they chose genealogy as a profession. What was the catalyst that started their journey into family history? Mine was simple: my grandparents grew up during the Great Depression in rural Alabama, and they chose not to relive those experiences and never passed on their family history to their children or grandchildren. I had been interested in my family history from a young age, but efforts to glean any information about my grandmother Marie’s … [Read more...]
A Step-by-Step Guide to Researching Historical Newspapers
For many record groups used by genealogists, there are intuitive molds of sorts for getting started. The U.S. Census is taken on the “0” year every decade. American vital records are usually documents controlled on the state level. The type and availability of church registers is determined by a denomination’s beliefs. But historical newspapers? Well, they break the mold as a record group—with not only diversity of content but also a multitude of sources that need to be used harmoniously for … [Read more...]
Going Beyond the Obituaries: How to Use Newspapers in Your Family History Research
Newspapers hold a treasure trove of information on your family history! Not only can you find obituaries, but you can often find birth, marriage, and divorce notices; passenger lists; arrests and information on crimes; war heroes and casualties; tragedies and triumphs; historical context, and more. How to Access Newspapers for Family History Research Historical newspapers can be found on pay sites such as GenealogyBank, which contains over 9,000 newspapers dating from 1690 to today; … [Read more...]
Finding Amelia Winter: Using Newspaper Social Columns to Find Female Ancestors
Searching for a female ancestor? Check the newspaper social columns! Tracing our female ancestors and learning about their lives can be a difficult proposition in American family history research, so it is important to leave no stone unturned and utilize all the tools available to the genealogist in that endeavor. One such crucial tool in the 19th and 20th centuries is the local newspaper, and the social columns in particular. Newspaper Social Columns: 19th Century Social Media In the years … [Read more...]
Why You Should Never Neglect the Newspapers
One underutilized genealogical source of information that can aid in extending family pedigrees is newspapers. It is well known, for example, that obituaries can provide family names and often maiden or married names of females that might otherwise be difficult to trace. However, obituaries are not and should not be the only sorts of articles sought. Newspapers in general add historical context to the lives of ancestors and report on other non-vital events – some significant, and some more … [Read more...]
Denied Access to a Vital Record? Try the Newspaper!
When privacy laws prevent researchers from finding genealogy records, newspaper records may provide the information you're searching for! Strict privacy laws, designed to protect both the living and the dead from having their identities stolen, can create some serious problems for a genealogist. Some states permit the acquisition of birth, marriage, or death records when the individuals named in those records have been dead for 50 years, or 100 years after the event was recorded. Other … [Read more...]
Small-Town Newspapers: Windows to the Past
Using local newspapers in your genealogy research can provide important glimpses into the lives of your ancestors. Here's how we used a small-town newspaper to uncover details about a client's ancestor not found anywhere else. Turn-of-the-century small-town newspapers are treasure troves of genealogical information. Offering so much more than just cold, hard facts, these small-town papers reported on the social lives of their citizens, retold the drama at city council meetings, or … [Read more...]