How to Use Newspapers and Periodicals to Trace Ancestors

Use newspapers and periodicals for ancestry and genealogy research.

What information will you find in newspapers?

Newspapers can contain many individual and family information—obituaries; notices of births, marriages, and deaths; legal notices; estate transactions; biographies; military service; and immigration. They provide insight into life as it was at a given moment in time. It answers questions like, What world events shaped their lives? What neighborhood happenings occurred? What fashions were being advertised, and what was their cost? What were the brands of food and other household items used and their cost? What were the forms of entertainment on a Saturday night? What opportunities were there in the want ads? Was there a letter waiting at the post office?

Strategies for Historical Research in Newspapers-Part 1. Part 1 and 2 are an introduction to what is in the newspaper and how to develop research strategies to support individual and family research. In Part 1, learn about the newspaper and what articles are written for death events, birth and marriage events and much more.

Also see this video:

Many current newspapers are online, and an increasing number of older newspapers are being digitized, or portions transcribed and put online. If you can’t find what you need online, you stand a good chance of finding a microfilmed copy that can be obtained through an interlibrary loan.

What are periodicals?

Through periodicals, researchers can begin to gain access to data contained in vital records, court records, maps, family bibles and day books, declarations of intention and naturalization certificates, local census and tax lists, church records and cemetery inscriptions, as well as the dozens of unique local items.

Genealogical Society Publications

City, county, regional, and state genealogical societies write and publish journals, newsletters, and quarterlies that focus on the area of interest to the genealogical organization. These periodicals are published monthly, quarterly, and annually and range from a few to hundreds of pages. They tend to index, abstract, and transcribe the region’s records where they are published. The types of articles you will find include the following:

  • Genealogical sources and resources in specific geographic areas.
  • Indexes and abstracts of source materials.
  • Individual charts and group sheets of members.
  • Lists of upcoming seminars significant to family historians.
  • Acquisition lists and holding statements of area libraries and archives.
  • Names of officers and directors of the organizations can be used as research contacts.
  • Unique and forgotten sources of information.
  • Important research tips for the area.
  • Such items as genealogies, transcripts and abstracts of local, probate, church, and cemetery records.

Historical Society Publications

Society publications can be a significant aspect of immigrant research, and any local record may be the subject of publication by a local society. Whenever you contact a genealogical or ethnic society, be sure to inquire about their publications. Even when such publications do not identify an immigrant’s hometown, they may provide further identification about your immigrant or may instruct you on additional sources specific to a locality or ethnic group.

  • City, county, and regional historical society publications document the local geographic area, the activities of organizations and institutions, the lives of the leader’s community, of the impact of significant events such as war and depression, and the impact of significant trends such as migration and settlement patterns. You will also find indexes and abstracts of records found in the area.
  • State historical society publications contain articles that chronicle the lives of the rich and famous, unusual scientific or religious movement, or detailing a Civil War regiment.
  • Ethnic society publications provide an excellent resource of articles that are focused on the ethnic culture (e.g., Historical Society of Germans from Russia). They help trace and discuss ancestry share data sources and common findings across the group.

Society conference syllabi

Historical societies hold annual conferences that usually publish a syllabus. These provide insights, tips, and research strategies specific to the area of interest.

Special interest publications

These focus on groups with a shared experience or interest among the group of patriotic, military and heraldic society publications (for example, the B-26 Marauder Historical Society, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Daughters of the American Revolution and Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.) They provide data on individuals that participated in the joint or shared experience, a rich profile of records available from local to national levels, genealogies, profiles of units and groups and insights into daily life.

Family Publications

Family publications, also known as surname publications, focus specifically on a family and are full of family group sheets, individual histories, details of family reunions, photographs, documented genealogies, and lists of publications that contain family information. These types of publications include the following:

  • Help to set research in the proper historical context.
  • Helpful information for citation analysis (for example, constructing the broadest possible data pool in which to look for individuals.)
  • In-depth information of individuals, communities, and so on.
  • Items such as genealogies, transcripts and abstracts of local, probate, church, and cemetery records.
  • Unique and forgotten sources of information.
  • Important research tips for the area.
  • Indexes and abstracts source materials.
  • Help to focus on the articles that will have the most significant value.

Other Records to Help in Ancestry Research

Where can I learn more about how to trace ancestry?

The following are important articles for learning about ancestry and historical research.

Where can I learn more about records to trace ancestry?

The following is an overview of 15 types of vital, government and historical records I have found constantly valuable in my individual, family, and narrative research. These records provide vital and biographical information on individuals and families. When I mastered researching these resources, I could quickly expand my research to other records to help me connect the pieces for writing narratives and other historical research.

For each record type, I have included what you will find, how to use the resource, and research insights for each record type. I would encourage you to use this article as a starting point from which you can search out and find other record tutorials guides and help to provide deeper insights.