Did you like this week's video? Don't miss Where to Find Free Newspapers Online: Learn Genealogy Research (How to Research Your Family Tree)! th-cam.com/video/abqRn4oQEcc/w-d-xo.html Keep climbing your family tree! -Diana, Genealogy TV Team
I joined the British Newspaper Archives and have found many little mentions of my family in the 1920’s Sleaford England. My great grandfather being arrested for dancing with a pint of Guinness on his head was one 😂😂 It does cost to join but you can print out articles. I find them just fun to read in general, especially the ads ❤️
I always found it so delightfully quaint how older newspapers would say "This person is in town from This Place visiting their relative." I suppose before car travel going to another town was a big deal. For finding copies of old Newspapers, check the local library for the particular town or the local genealogical society. Often they will have copies.
A newspaper article in the town where my ancestors half brother lived provided a connection of him to his son in another state. Proof can be found in the strangest places.
My most interesting newspaper find was the notices that my ancestor had been arrested for homicide and the subsequent notices of his (two) trials (he was ultimately acquitted, because the incident was self-defense). That one is always a nice story around the dinner table at the holidays. Be careful what you look for in the newspapers - you might be surprised by what you find. :)
My great grandfather was also acquitted of murder because of self defense, which none of us knew about because it was very hush-hushed. A distant cousin had heard of it but none of grandpa's direct descendants did. But that wasn't the most interesting part! I was reading the 90 page transcript of the court trial where all the witnesses testified what went on that lead to the incident. Each witness was asked if they were related to the defendant, to which most replied he was a cousin. The last person who testified elaborated on their relationship and it helped break down a brick wall in our family tree! This young man said the defendant's grandfather and the witness's father were half brothers. I knew who both my great grandfather's grandfather's were, and I didn't recognize the name of the witness so I had to research his tree. I found that my 3Great grandfather, the grandfather of the one on trial, was born before his mother's marriage to another man. We had no idea of his parents at all! A Y DNA test of a direct male descendant lead us to know that a Jones was the father and Turner was his mother's maiden name, which lined up to the tree I had built for the witness. In looking at the names of the children of 3GG, he was aware of his Jones heritage as he named his first born son after biodad! The rest of the kids names went by the common naming tradition, so once we knew what we were looking at it suddenly made sense!
So true. I had a grandfather who I was very close to. When doing newspaper research I found a few questionable items. I had to get ahold of myself and remind myself that he was just a human being after all.
I love obits. Found a lot of relatives that way. All my older relatives have passed so I can’t ask. Thank you also for teaching about the FAN . I was able to find how and where my grandparents met and married. It answered many questions! Thank you!
I found California newspapers free online. They were immensely helpful in researching my California Younger family who were not shy about attracting press attention.
Since I live in Texas I have numerous articles on family members through The Portal to Texas History. One of my favorites to search. The suggestions you have given in this video prompts me to get back at on newspapers.
I had to laugh about this one. My grandparents were selling their home with the surrounding lot. The man buying it was going to tear it down to build a 2 floor factory. Well, it was published in the newspaper. The neighbors were all in the street for days protesting the sale and future use of the property. I can imagine my grandmother's frame of mind. She was a "my way or the highway" woman. The property sold and the gentleman buying built his factory.
Absolutely one of the best videos you’ve put out in my mind. Very helpful for letting your viewers know the vast number of articles by type which can help Genealogists. Well done! And thanks!
Newspapers were sort of the Facebook of the day. It cracks me up to have them report on a party someone was having, the guest list, the food served, the guest of honor, the decorations. Or vacations taken. And I've even seen blurbs about when people were in the hospital for surgery. Lol.
I loved this episode of how to search newspapers. I think we sometimes forget how much information can be gleaned from them. As always you do a wonderful job. I am now searching the different sites. Thank you.
Maybe, in some future episode, you can comment on modern day newspaper structuring of information and early to late 1800's comparisons. Meaning that obituaries in today's papers have a dedicated page (generally) where in the past it was embedded into locality bylines.
My two favorites are the same as yours, Connie. And some real gems have come by searching for the person's residence in the newspaper. In all cases, but especially where it might be almost pointless to search the name (like John Smith) due to the hundreds or thousands of results, searching the home address (like 379 Arch) in relevant newspapers can produce some great results.
Thanks! I don't have a newspaper service. Laurel County, KY isn't digitized, so I have put off subscribing to one. I have purchased transcribed newspaper excerpts for Laurel County, which has been helpful, and interesting! Thanks for all of your tips, Connie!
I don't have a favorite. The only time I look at newspapers is when I'm researching. I love newspaper clippings, especially to find family information. I have several of them in my genealogy notes. Most recent one, my mom found quite by accident about my great grandfather getting arrested for boot legging back in the early 1900s before world war 2.
By reading (OCR quality was only so-so) the local weekly paper for DeKalb, IL 1890-1891 I found what probably will be the only documentary support for the identity of my grandmother's bio mother. It was between 2 sisters, DNA can't distinguish between them as neither had kids they admitted to, and the elder one went missing from her family's home in April 1891 (my grandmother was born in June 1891). She suddenly re-appeared at her family's home 3 years later, merely stating she had been working in WI (where my grandmother was born).
Don’t forget to check your local library’s online genealogy database subscriptions and genealogy newspaper resources. Also, local historical societies can have amazing digitized hyper local newspapers.
I've seen unclaimed letters in newspapers for my ancestors as well. Were you able to use that information as a lead to get more genealogical details? I sure wish we had access to the contents of those letters.
I was Just searching my hometown newspaper last week or two for free and now I can't remember where I started to get to the archive. I'm sure it was a library. I'll update if I find it again
I found an interesting court case in the papers for the wife of one of my great, great uncles, where she had been previously married and divorced. The circumstance around that marriage was that she had sued that man for reneging on their engagement and she was with child. A judge ordered him to marry her or face imprisonment. And so they married, had one other child and then divorced.
My brother found our biological great grandfather's death certificate however the cause of death was blocked out. We're wondering why as he passed away in 1929?
I have a relative that murdered a woman in 1935 in Paducah, KY, fled (because he was not mentioned as having been caught, went to trial, etc.), and I found buried in a Canadian National cemetery in Montreal in 1973. I had had this info for a while and got the idea to simply contact the cemetery; they sent his burial info and it was him! Apparently, he served in the Canadian Army and lived out the rest of his life there; he even was even an amateur boxer in the 1940's. I've never been able to piece together how an African-American man was able to do so. I asked some people at an Canadian-American genealogical society in Vermont and they were stumped. Any suggestions?
Which newspaper New York City Queens + Bronx + Niagara New york in the 1970's 1980's 1990's not sure where to start. Need help. Looking for James Palmiro he is missing need former addresses past jobs.
I love the tip on using the catalog, I've not done that🤦♀️ while using searches for the newspapers! Going to try it out, great tip thanks Connie Knox📰🗞
I’ve relied on local newspapers to track my great great grandmother Carrie. First, a university (which is always a great place to look for newspapers, btw) in Michigan linked to a local paper that gave me most of the story of her first divorce and the bitter custody dispute, including her attempt to flee to Canada with her girls when she lost them to her ex. I then used snippets from the paper to put together a pretty convincing theory that she bribed her ex, first with money then land, to get custody of first the girls and then her boys. The county clerk has no records going back that far, so the newspaper is my only source. Then her media coverage picks up again nearly 20 years later when she moved to Montana, ran and then sold her farm in gold mining country to own and operate a restaurant in a brand new town (with favorable reviews in the paper), as well as began developing a presence in the state’s Spiritualist community, which is also reported. After the mines began to dry up, she and her newest husband moved to Oklahoma City, where she hits the press again when her trance medium readings get her arrested for illegal fortune telling in 1920! Her appeal, which was obviously aimed at getting the appeals court to rule on whether Spiritualism was a religion, ended up being reported in newspapers around the country, as far away as the NYC Evening World. She and her husband, a “divine healer,” advertised their services and her home-based church throughout the 1920s. Finally, her obituary is what got me started on researching her, even though it just hinted at the rich tapestry of her life.
I loved this episode of how to search newspapers. I think we sometimes forget how much information can be gleaned from them. As always you do a wonderful job. I am now searching the different sites. Thank you.
Did you like this week's video? Don't miss Where to Find Free Newspapers Online: Learn Genealogy Research (How to Research Your Family Tree)!
th-cam.com/video/abqRn4oQEcc/w-d-xo.html
Keep climbing your family tree!
-Diana, Genealogy TV Team
I joined the British Newspaper Archives and have found many little mentions of my family in the 1920’s Sleaford England. My great grandfather being arrested for dancing with a pint of Guinness on his head was one 😂😂 It does cost to join but you can print out articles. I find them just fun to read in general, especially the ads ❤️
I love it. Dancing with a pint of Guinness on his head. Great story for the family archives! Thanks for the tip.
Yes! Social columns are so fascinating-I’ve found so many FAN leads by reading who attended parties that my ancestors attended or hosted.
I always found it so delightfully quaint how older newspapers would say "This person is in town from This Place visiting their relative." I suppose before car travel going to another town was a big deal.
For finding copies of old Newspapers, check the local library for the particular town or the local genealogical society. Often they will have copies.
Yes!!!
Yes!! My mother was from North Dakota. She grew up in the 20's and 30's. Her family has several mentions in the paper. So exciting! 🙂
A newspaper article in the town where my ancestors half brother lived provided a connection of him to his son in another state. Proof can be found in the strangest places.
My most interesting newspaper find was the notices that my ancestor had been arrested for homicide and the subsequent notices of his (two) trials (he was ultimately acquitted, because the incident was self-defense). That one is always a nice story around the dinner table at the holidays. Be careful what you look for in the newspapers - you might be surprised by what you find. :)
This is literally what happened to me with my ancestor…acquittal due to self-defense and all! I think I sat in shock for about 20 minutes.
Good point
My great grandfather was also acquitted of murder because of self defense, which none of us knew about because it was very hush-hushed. A distant cousin had heard of it but none of grandpa's direct descendants did. But that wasn't the most interesting part! I was reading the 90 page transcript of the court trial where all the witnesses testified what went on that lead to the incident. Each witness was asked if they were related to the defendant, to which most replied he was a cousin. The last person who testified elaborated on their relationship and it helped break down a brick wall in our family tree! This young man said the defendant's grandfather and the witness's father were half brothers. I knew who both my great grandfather's grandfather's were, and I didn't recognize the name of the witness so I had to research his tree. I found that my 3Great grandfather, the grandfather of the one on trial, was born before his mother's marriage to another man. We had no idea of his parents at all! A Y DNA test of a direct male descendant lead us to know that a Jones was the father and Turner was his mother's maiden name, which lined up to the tree I had built for the witness. In looking at the names of the children of 3GG, he was aware of his Jones heritage as he named his first born son after biodad! The rest of the kids names went by the common naming tradition, so once we knew what we were looking at it suddenly made sense!
Wow. Great story.
So true. I had a grandfather who I was very close to. When doing newspaper research I found a few questionable items. I had to get ahold of myself and remind myself that he was just a human being after all.
I love obits. Found a lot of relatives that way. All my older relatives have passed so I can’t ask.
Thank you also for teaching about the FAN . I was able to find how and where my grandparents met and married. It answered many questions! Thank you!
Thanks Sharon.
You can use Google to find obits, too.
I found California newspapers free online. They were immensely helpful in researching my California Younger family who were not shy about attracting press attention.
Really? Where?
Since I live in Texas I have numerous articles on family members through The Portal to Texas History. One of my favorites to search. The suggestions you have given in this video prompts me to get back at on newspapers.
Enjoy the journey!
I had to laugh about this one. My grandparents were selling their home with the surrounding lot. The man buying it was going to tear it down to build a 2 floor factory. Well, it was published in the newspaper. The neighbors were all in the street for days protesting the sale and future use of the property. I can imagine my grandmother's frame of mind. She was a "my way or the highway" woman. The property sold and the gentleman buying built his factory.
Absolutely one of the best videos you’ve put out in my mind. Very helpful for letting your viewers know the vast number of articles by type which can help Genealogists. Well done! And thanks!
Well you just made my day. Thanks for the kind words.
The main one has been the newspaper on the National Archive of Wales Website. Papers past in New Zealand and Trove In Australia. All are free to use.
Excellent. Good to know. Thanks for sharing.
Newspapers were sort of the Facebook of the day. It cracks me up to have them report on a party someone was having, the guest list, the food served, the guest of honor, the decorations.
Or vacations taken.
And I've even seen blurbs about when people were in the hospital for surgery. Lol.
I loved this episode of how to search newspapers. I think we sometimes forget how much information can be gleaned from them. As always you do a wonderful job. I am now searching the different sites. Thank you.
Thanks
Maybe, in some future episode, you can comment on modern day newspaper structuring of information and early to late 1800's comparisons. Meaning that obituaries in today's papers have a dedicated page (generally) where in the past it was embedded into locality bylines.
My two favorites are the same as yours, Connie. And some real gems have come by searching for the person's residence in the newspaper. In all cases, but especially where it might be almost pointless to search the name (like John Smith) due to the hundreds or thousands of results, searching the home address (like 379 Arch) in relevant newspapers can produce some great results.
You could, in some cases, combine keywords or other family members in combination with John Smith to help narrow your results.
@@GenealogyTV Yes, that's true.
Thanks! I don't have a newspaper service. Laurel County, KY isn't digitized, so I have put off subscribing to one. I have purchased transcribed newspaper excerpts for Laurel County, which has been helpful, and interesting! Thanks for all of your tips, Connie!
Keep in mind there are a lot of free services out there... like Chronicling America, State and local archives.
I don't have a favorite. The only time I look at newspapers is when I'm researching. I love newspaper clippings, especially to find family information. I have several of them in my genealogy notes. Most recent one, my mom found quite by accident about my great grandfather getting arrested for boot legging back in the early 1900s before world war 2.
Great video and very informative as always - keep them coming.
Thanks. Will do.
I have had great on-phone help with Genealogy Bank.
Good to know.
By reading (OCR quality was only so-so) the local weekly paper for DeKalb, IL 1890-1891 I found what probably will be the only documentary support for the identity of my grandmother's bio mother. It was between 2 sisters, DNA can't distinguish between them as neither had kids they admitted to, and the elder one went missing from her family's home in April 1891 (my grandmother was born in June 1891). She suddenly re-appeared at her family's home 3 years later, merely stating she had been working in WI (where my grandmother was born).
Got to love newspapers.
Don’t forget to check your local library’s online genealogy database subscriptions and genealogy newspaper resources. Also, local historical societies can have amazing digitized hyper local newspapers.
Yes!
can you print articles from these reaources?
Yes
Another category of info published by newspapers were unclaimed letters at the post office. I’ve been able to track a few ancestors using that.
Yes!
I've seen unclaimed letters in newspapers for my ancestors as well. Were you able to use that information as a lead to get more genealogical details? I sure wish we had access to the contents of those letters.
I found Abandonment notice for my gr gr grandmother in 1906.
Oh fantastic.
I was Just searching my hometown newspaper last week or two for free and now I can't remember where I started to get to the archive. I'm sure it was a library. I'll update if I find it again
Good luck Darlene. And thanks again for your continued support.
I found an interesting court case in the papers for the wife of one of my great, great uncles, where she had been previously married and divorced. The circumstance around that marriage was that she had sued that man for reneging on their engagement and she was with child. A judge ordered him to marry her or face imprisonment. And so they married, had one other child and then divorced.
My brother found our biological great grandfather's death certificate however the cause of death was blocked out. We're wondering why as he passed away in 1929?
Wow. Times are different.
Humm…. I wonder if it was under investigation at the time of his death.
Fantastic episode I love that you can see newspapers online great information as well on each website especially when using the familysearch wiki
Glad you like them!
I have a relative that murdered a woman in 1935 in Paducah, KY, fled (because he was not mentioned as having been caught, went to trial, etc.), and I found buried in a Canadian National cemetery in Montreal in 1973. I had had this info for a while and got the idea to simply contact the cemetery; they sent his burial info and it was him! Apparently, he served in the Canadian Army and lived out the rest of his life there; he even was even an amateur boxer in the 1940's. I've never been able to piece together how an African-American man was able to do so. I asked some people at an Canadian-American genealogical society in Vermont and they were stumped. Any suggestions?
I’m not clear on your question. It sounds like there’s more to the story than what you can type here and comment.
Which newspaper New York City Queens + Bronx + Niagara New york in the 1970's 1980's 1990's not sure where to start. Need help. Looking for James Palmiro he is missing need former addresses past jobs.
Need help please.
I found my Great Great Great father from a 1885 newspaper obituary on him.
Yay!
I had a family member that couldn't stay out of the brothels...lol
I love the tip on using the catalog, I've not done that🤦♀️ while using searches for the newspapers! Going to try it out, great tip thanks Connie Knox📰🗞
You are so welcome!
I’ve relied on local newspapers to track my great great grandmother Carrie. First, a university (which is always a great place to look for newspapers, btw) in Michigan linked to a local paper that gave me most of the story of her first divorce and the bitter custody dispute, including her attempt to flee to Canada with her girls when she lost them to her ex. I then used snippets from the paper to put together a pretty convincing theory that she bribed her ex, first with money then land, to get custody of first the girls and then her boys. The county clerk has no records going back that far, so the newspaper is my only source. Then her media coverage picks up again nearly 20 years later when she moved to Montana, ran and then sold her farm in gold mining country to own and operate a restaurant in a brand new town (with favorable reviews in the paper), as well as began developing a presence in the state’s Spiritualist community, which is also reported. After the mines began to dry up, she and her newest husband moved to Oklahoma City, where she hits the press again when her trance medium readings get her arrested for illegal fortune telling in 1920! Her appeal, which was obviously aimed at getting the appeals court to rule on whether Spiritualism was a religion, ended up being reported in newspapers around the country, as far away as the NYC Evening World. She and her husband, a “divine healer,” advertised their services and her home-based church throughout the 1920s. Finally, her obituary is what got me started on researching her, even though it just hinted at the rich tapestry of her life.
I loved this episode of how to search newspapers. I think we sometimes forget how much information can be gleaned from them. As always you do a wonderful job. I am now searching the different sites. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!