NEWSPAPER RESEARCH CLASS
And WebsiteLos Angeles Regional Family History Center
Instructor -- Jon Schweitzer
21 February 2007
This is a Website companion to the class.Additional material and copies of all the transparencies shown in this class may be found in my Red 3 Ring Self- Help Notebook "Newspaper Research". It and other notebooks are located next to the entrance to the Microfilm Room. The Notebooks are in alphabetical order. Unless stated otherwise, the books and their call numbers mentioned below are in this Center.
Obtain a complete list of my 75 Red 3 Ring Self-Help
Notebooks Across From The Elevator or at
http://www.larfhc.org/notebooks.htmSOME IMPORTANT REASONS TO DO RESEARCH
The newspaper might be the only primary source of information if it was before the records started or if the records were destroyed.
USING NEWSPAPERS
My grandfather was born in 1871 in Hollister, Monterey County, CA. That was 2 years before the area was made San Benito County and 2 years before birth records started. I found his birth notice in the newspaper and it was the only way that I was able to "prove" his birth. There are no church records for that period. The town was very young at that time. The information found in the newspapers may be more than on the records. Your research might uncover such things as birthplace, birthdate, names of brothers and sisters, names of deceased and surviving relatives, wife's maiden name, life history, military history, burial place, parents' names and photographs. The newspaper might contain the only information ever printed or written on any piece of paper about your ancestor.
The newspaper will describe the happenings and lifestyles of the persons in the community. You will need this information to better understand the lives of the ancestors and to write the family histories about them.TYPES OF RECORDS FOUND IN A NEWSPAPER
OBITUARIES AND DEATH NOTICES
They were the most common of the vital statistics published. These might supply you with the best information. Age, birthplace, parents' names and children's names might be some of the best information found. Also, you might find the names of deceased and surviving relatives. You might find other leads to follow, such as names of churches, morticians and clubs. (Transparency 1 to 3) = T1-3MARRIAGE NOTICES
Marriages most often were performed in the county where the bride lived. First, look in the newspapers for the notice where the bride resided.ANNIVERSARY NOTICES
BUSINESS NOTICES T4
LEGAL NOTICES T5-8
GOSSIP COLUMNS AND SOCIETY ITEMS
These items might list the parents, brothers, sisters, other relatives and the names of their hometowns. T9-11LOCAL EVENTS
SPECIAL EVENTS
MILITARY AND WAR NOTICES T13-14
NEWSPAPER ACCURACY
You can have great confidence that the event took place but there may be some errors. Watch for incorrect information, wrong dates and misspelling of names and places. The information was only as good as the person giving it. The parent, subject person, or spouses were the best sources. T14.1,14.2MULTIPLE NOTICES
A spouse or relative might have placed an obituary and other notices in a newspaper where the subject lived, died, had lived, was well-known or where the spouse or relative lived.COSTS OF NOTICES
A fee was frequently required for the newspaper to print an obituary or other personal notices. If your ancestor was dirt poor, there will be less chance of finding an obituary or other notice about him.FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS IN THE UNITED STATES
Ethnic or foreign language newspapers may contain larger amounts of information about your immigrant ancestor in the obituary or other notices. These newspapers are a must if you are looking for a birthplace in a foreign country.PASSENGER LISTS
Search newspapers for lists of passengers entering at port cities.NATURALIZATION
Search newspapers for persons who filed their "First Papers" or Declarations of Intentions and their "Final Papers" of Naturalization. Both events might not have occurred in the same place.THE POLITICAL AFFILIATION OF NEWSPAPERS
NEWSPAPER INDEXES
In the order of numbers of newspapers, there were Republican, Independent and, finally, Democratic newspapers. If your ancestor was a Democrat, then, by all means, look in the Democratic newspaper first, then the Independent and last in the Republican newspaper. In this example, a Republican newspaper did not want to report on a Democrat unless it was negative reporting.
Many local public libraries have indexes for local newspapers. Use the 2 volume set of "American Library Directory" (Ref 973 J54a or 973 J54a) to obtain the names and addresses. Write them and ask them if they have the newspaper card indexes and would they please check to see if your ancestors are listed and in what newspaper and what date(s) and what pages and would they send you copies.
There are also published indexes. The best United States index is the "Lathrop Report on Newspaper Indexes". The index is at the UCLA University Research Library Reference Area (Z 6293 L37) and the Los Angeles Central Library in the Literature Section (070.02 L355 folio). See some selected sections in my Red 3 Ring Notebook "Newspaper Research". T15-21STATE NEWSPAPERS
Consult the "Redbook" (973 D27rb) for general information and publications about the newspapers in each state. The largest state newspaper and newspapers on microfilm repositories might be listed. T22-23WHERE TO FIND THE NEWSPAPERS LISTED The big red book titled "American Newspapers ... Union List..." or "Union List of Newspapers" by Winifred Gregory, 1937, (Ref 970 B33a) is the place to start. This is a very comprehensive book. Use this book to search for a town that has newspapers in the same county that was the closest to where they lived. Increase the radius search until you reach the town that was the county seat. T24-25
WHERE TO FIND THE NEWSPAPERS Best places - State Historical Societies and State Libraries or Archives Write for a list of their current holdings of microfilm of newspapers and a list of their missing holdings (issues) of newspapers for the town you are researching. Use the "American Library Directory" (973 J54a or Ref 973 J54a) to obtain the names and addresses.
Other Locations of Newspapers
Newspaper Offices
Local Public Libraries
County Historical Societies
State Universities T26-28INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL) OF MICROFILMS
The black 3 volume set of "Newspapers in Microform" (011.35 N479) is the best source showing the repositories of newspapers on microforms in 1983. It was not a complete list then. See my notebook "Newspaper Research" for the form and all the details about ordering microfilms and researching them.
You should be able to obtain newspapers on microfilm from at least 25 states. In general, the state historical societies, state libraries and state archives are the best places to obtain the microfilms on ILL. Write them using the "American Library Directories" (973 J54a or Ref 973 J54a) and ask for a copy of the list of newspapers they have for the town you are researching and a list of the missing issues of the newspapers. Also ask them for their lending costs and policies.
Place your loan order at a smaller town main library with a working microfilm reader and printer. T29-30CURRENT PUBLISHERS OF THE NEWSPAPERS
If the newspaper is in a small town, the fastest and easiest way to obtain an obituary is to write the same newspaper and request a copy of the obituary. Send the name and date of death of the person and a check for "Not to exceed six dollars".
Fill out the check except leave the two lines blank where you would write in the amounts. Write the line "Not to exceed six dollars" under the line where you would normally write out the amount in words. Use the older publication, "Gale Directory of Publications" (970 E4ay) in this library to possibly locate the same newspaper that was published for the time period of your research or for the newspaper that bought or merged with the old newspaper. The latest information is found in the new two-volume publication, "Gale Directory of Publications" at a larger public library.NEWSPAPER FILES
Write the newspaper and ask them if there is a file in their file morgue for your research subject or ancestor.ATTEND OTHER CLASSES
Attend Nancy Carlberg's Newspaper Class at this Center and elsewhere. T31LOOK AT OTHER PUBLICATIONS
The publication "Newspaper Research" may be purchased from Nancy Carlberg. Look for other publications at other libraries.ADVERTISING FOR RELATIVES
Place an ad in only the small town newspaper: "Relatives of John Doe ... details ... please write Jim Doe at 1234 Main St., Anytown, USA". Use the "Gale Directory of Publications" (970 E4ay) to determine the name and address of the newspaper. Write the newspaper and ask them for a advertising rate card and sample of their newspaper before trying to place an ad.If the person was a town pioneer or famous person, write a letter to the editor of the town newspaper and tell him you are trying to do family research on the person and would he write a short article on the person and request that people contact you. You could also write a very short, interesting article on the person and ask him to "run it" and tell the editor he may rewrite your article.
If you are traveling to that small town, try placing an ad in the newspaper that reads: "Relatives of John Doe...MANY DETAILS...please meet me on the corner of 6th and Main at noon on July 12...".
FOREIGN COUNTRY NEWSPAPERS
Volume 3 of "Newspapers in Microform" (011.35 N479u) has foreign country newspapers. It is a very incomplete listing. You will have to search for directories of newspapers in your selected countries by searching the Family History Library Catalog. Write foreign country archives and libraries for lists and availability of newspapers. Ask for suggestions from persons and organizations that are experienced with the country.INTERNET SOURCES
http://www.newspapers.com/
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cgaunt/newspapers.htmlSend comments about this Web site to:
Webmaster Jon Schweitzer
at E-mail: jons@1stnetusa.com
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