Home   New Products    Books & Maps    Software   Archival Products   Print & Bind   News & How-To   Upcoming Events   Tech Support   Contact Us  

Search Our Site




Flip-Pal
Mobile Scanner

Compact, lightweight, cordless mobile scanner empowers you to scan big or small originals in full colour... More information >>

Books & Maps

   Canada
   England & Wales
   Ireland & Northern Ireland
   Scotland
   United Empire Loyalists
   USA
   more countries...

   Genealogy How-To
   Conservation How-To

Archival & Other

   Archival Products
   Conservation How-To
   Charts, Forms, Kits
   Gravestone Rubbing Kit
   Magnifiers
   Gift Certificates

Family Tree Software

   Family Tree Maker (PC)

   Legacy Family Tree (PC)
   (Ships from Legacy in USA)

   Family Tree Maker (Mac)

   Reunion Family Tree (Mac)

"Family tree software saves you time and money. Fast and easy data entry helps you create professional looking family tree charts, reports and books".
More information

Advertisements

Discover your family's story.

Start with your name.



Start Now



  Get organized with our family tree software for PC & Mac

News & How-To
Formerly branded as GlobalGazette.ca

Articles, press releases,and how-to information for everyone interested in genealogy and history

News & How-To Home Page | Archived Articles | Sign up for our free newsletter

Advertisement




Using Newspapers in Family History Research
Column published: 08 July 2006. Updated 12 July 2006
By: Shirley Gage Hodges   Biography & Archived Articles


Newspapers are of tremendous value to the historian and genealogist. The newspapers chronicle current events and the people involved in them. Unfortunately, genealogists in search of their ancestry all too often overlook this valuable source. Even though we read the newspaper daily we forget that our ancestors were often mentioned in these earlier gazettes. Newspapers that were published during the time that our ancestors lived can provide important background on our families. We can learn not only about the communities in which they lived, but also about the churches and associations they attended or had memberships in. Sometimes those little snippets that we find in the newspaper are the only thing we can find that will help us place our ancestor in a certain place at a certain time. The accounts from the old newspapers can help us flesh out the stories about our ancestors.

We have to remember that the newspapers of old left nothing to the imagination when they published their stories. Fortunately for us, they felt that every "juicy" story deserved to be told. They certainly didn't understand the concept of being politically correct. Sometimes the details can be rather appalling, revolting or just rather humorous when we can view them with the comfort of the distance of time.

We can read all of the history and social history books available, but we can certainly better understand the lives of our ancestors when we find their stories in the old newspapers. You can really get a better sense of what your ancestors were experiencing after reading about an event or a time or place in history when you read it in a newspaper that was printed there and then.

The denominational newspapers should not be overlooked as they were also full of births, deaths and marriage information. They also included editorials on how you should vote and feel about every subject imaginable.

Some of the best features of the newspapers are the "Fifty Years Ago This Week" or columns of that nature. Sometimes you will find a reference to a person who is now deceased or information about an event that happened long ago.

Types of items to be found in newspapers:
    Obituary of Mrs. Alfred E. Ball (Alice Lewis) of St. Mary's Ontario
  • Advertisements -- if your ancestor was a merchant, these ads can provide its location, and the types of goods or services provided to the community. It may also give you an indication of how successful their business was.


  • Articles about local disasters - listings of people who may have been injured or killed during a disaster can be very valuable in locating an ancestor. I just recently found the newspaper that contained the story about a tornado that hit my childhood home. It is a wonderful item to include in the family history. Since I was 10 at the time, my memory was a little sketchy about the details.


  • Births -- parent's names, date of birth, sex; sometimes name of child and sibling information.


  • Funeral Notices -- generally brief, listing name and date of death; sometimes funeral home and burial information is included.


  • Gossip columns -- information varies from a brief mention to lots of details about family, relations, etc. These can be some of the most fascinating and helpful things you will find in the newspaper. Also, remember to look for birth or death announcements in the social items. Before hospitals, a pregnant woman may have gone to her mother's or sister's home to give birth.


  • Legal Notices -- information on estates, sometimes listing living heirs. You can also find information on foreclosures and sheriff's sales.


  • Lists of new arrivals in the community - names of immigrants arriving in a community


  • Marriage -- names of bride and groom, date of marriage; sometimes the church, parent's names, wedding party information. Some times you get really lucky and find things like references to the couple's clothing, gifts received, wedding guests or attendants, and sometimes the couple's occupation and residence


  • News -- anything from social events, news of prominent citizens, military information (during wars), business notices and news, etc.


  • Obituaries -- information can vary from name and date of death, to age, family information, and a biography of the deceased.


  • Prison and Jail Records - gives details about sentences and jail terms. Now I realize that most of us would find no need for this type of information but I mention it just in case.


  • Proving up notices -- one of the requirements of the Homestead Laws was the advertising of "proving up" notices.


  • School Class -- lists of students graduating for that year.


  • Trial Proceedings - provides details of court cases


Thoughts about newspapers from some famous folks:
  • " Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." -Thomas Jefferson, 1787.


  • "For my part I entertain a high idea of the utility of periodical publications; insomuch as I could heartily desire, copies of ... magazines, as well as common Gazettes, might be spread through every city, town, and village in the United States. I consider such vehicles of knowledge more happily calculated than any other to preserve the liberty, stimulate the industry, and ameliorate the morals of a free and enlightened people."- George Washington, 1788.


  • "I am not the editor of a newspaper and shall always try to do right and be good so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain, 1870
Shirley Hodges genealogyshirl@hotmail.com


To read back issues of Shirley Hodges' articles, visit her biography & archived Articles



Suggested reading:

The Global Genealogy & History Shoppe web site, and their physical bookstore in Campbellville are loaded with Canadian newspaper transcriptions and genealogical extracts, printed in book form. There are two methods to locate newspaper transcription books.

    1. Go to the Global Genealogy CANADA section. You will find the newspaper transcriptions listed within the book listings for the province or county that you select.

    or...

    2. Use our search engine. Once on the search page, enter the word "newspapers" or "newspaper" in the search box, then click on search. If you receive too many results, restrict your search by adding the name of the place where the newspaper was published, to the search box.
Advertisement
Search Civil War Records - Fold3


Check out the resources at GlobalGenealogy.com:




History & Genealogy Books, Maps, & CDs...
History and genealogy books, maps, CDs from a wide selection of publishers, including Global Heritage Press. Browse resources listed by country, location or topic.
GHP eBooks & Vital Records on CD
Searchable, electronic versions of Global Heritage Press books and vital records provided on CD Rom for both PC and Mac users. A cost-effective way to grow your personal research library while saving shelf-space.

Software & Technology for the Family Historian
Genealogy & family tree software, hardware, scanning, digital imaging including Family Tree Maker, Reunion Family Tree, Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, Digital Imaging Essentials

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner
A compact cordless stand-alone portable scanner that doesn't need to be attached to a computer. Scans images both big and small using its automated stitching feature.

Acid-Free Document & Artifact Preservation Products
Acid-free storage and display products to preserve and safely store your family heirloom documents and artifacts.

Family Tree Charts & Census Forms
Poster-size blank family tree charts, plus a variety of free blank letter-size charts and census forms


    
O R D E R   D E S K
1-800-361-5168
( 9-5 Monday to Friday )

Shipping Options  |   Return Policy  


© GlobalGenealogy.com Inc. 1992-2013
Shop: GlobalGenealogy.com | News: News & How-To | Publishing: Our titles
Sign up for our free newsletter! | Unsubscribe from our newsletter

Free Newsletter

Exiled from the court of his father, and accompanied by his long-time mistress Julie de St. Laurent, the 24-year-old Prince and future father of Queen Victoria arrived in Quebec City in 1791.... Read on...



Includes family histories of more than 70 families in Edwardsburgh Township and... Read on...



A fast, easy, inexpensive and dependable way to determine the acidity of paper, documents, storage boxes, packing tissue and.... Read on...



sheds new light on popular nineteenth-century attitudes towards the insane and the criminal...... Read on...



This collection not only makes an important contribution to family history, but also to the widening intellectual exploration of historical censuses...... Read on...



Starting soon after the outbreak of the American Revolution numerous Pennsylvania-German families and so-called "Plain Folk" (i.e. Mennonnites, Dunkards, Moravians, Amish, Hutterites, etc) migrated north to Canada in successive waves. Together, in cultural and religious and kinship groups they settled..... Read on...



The story is told by an eye-witness -- her spiritual director -- of the events in her life from the time she arrived at the Jesuit mission just outside of Montreal, known at that time as....... Read on...



In addition to describing causes of death and setting them in the context of the times, his book shows readers how to find and interpret patient records, death certificates and other documents in order to gain an accurate impression of how their ancestors died...... Read on...



BACK IN PRINT: A comprehensive history of Glengarry county told through the lives of pioneers, fur traders, soldiers, farmers, railway barons, politicians, criminals, anybody and everyone who helped make Glengarry one of Canada's most storied and celebrated counties. This thick book includes 1600 biographical sketches, with more than... Read on...