Why You Should Be Using a Newspaper Research Log
Guest Post by Kenneth R. Marks of The Ancestor Hunt In my opinion, online newspaper research is more of an art than a pure science. However, that does not mean that it should be undisciplined. On the contrary, the best way to waste your time is to perform research with no discipline. Sure, when you […]
The Year in Review – A Valuable Collection of Historical Events
As one year comes to an end and a new one is about to begin, people everywhere take time to reflect on the events of the past year. Historical newspapers abound with tributes to the year, which include major and minor events around the world, country, and even Small Town, USA. For history buffs and […]
Use Abbreviations and Nicknames in Newspaper Searches to Drastically Add Pertinent Results
Guest Post by Kenneth R. Marks of The Ancestor Hunt 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. In order to maximize the text on a page, they often used […]
Fact or Fiction?
I have always been fascinated by family stories. It’s those quirky, little-known anecdotes that keep my nose buried in antique newspapers for hours, looking for little tidbits of information to ground those stories in fact – or not. One collection of stories revolved around my great grandfather, Harry Hamilton. My dad regaled us with tales […]
Create a Priceless Keepsake with NewspaperArchive and Chatbooks
If you were lucky enough to know all four of your grandparents like I was, they probably left an indelible mark on your life. My “Grandma Mom,” as we lovingly refer to her, is a force of nature. She turned 95 this year and still lives in her home. She cooks and cleans, and truth […]
Uncovering a Family Secret
Long before modern-day soap operas, journalists captured stories that would rival any creative scriptwriter of today. Accidental finds in archived newspapers make some of the best stories. One such tale revolves around the unlikely match between a wealthy, elderly socialite and a young school teacher – and one of them just happens to be related […]
Discover Engagements, Weddings, & More in Old Newspapers
Anyone doing family history research will inevitably search for weddings in newspapers. Many will attempt to locate an ancestor’s name, add the keywords wedding or marriage, and then spin the wheel of chance, hoping some results are returned. For some, that just might pay off; however, for most of us, it’s not that easy. Weddings […]
How to find family obituaries in newspapers
Newspapers hold a wealth of information between their pages. This can be especially true if you like to search for tidbits and clues of your ancestors’ lives. Newspapers generally report two types of notices regarding the death of someone. One is a death notice. It is typically a very simple listing stating the death and […]
How to begin piecing together your grandmother’s story from old newspapers
For many people, the details about the lives of their ancestors are fuzzy or even unknown, leaving many unanswered questions about a family’s history and legacy. Some information may be handed down in stories shared by parents and others, but there is always more to each person’s story. A quick search in old newspapers can help […]
Discover the story of your grandfather’s life in old newspapers
If you’ve ever wanted to know more about your grandfather but don’t know where to begin, the best place to start your research is in the pages of old newspapers. There is a wealth of information available in newspapers, where so many things were published through the decades about local communities. That includes everything from birth notices […]