welcome back to the ancestral findings podcast one of the best sources of intimate genealogical
information is old newspaper records these records are much more accessible
than they used to be thanks to the internet both beginning and experienced
genealogists should be using them this is what information you may find in old newspaper records
[Music] this next record group for beginning and experienced genealogists alike has only become
widely used in the past two decades in the age of the internet this is when old newspaper records
became easily accessible to anyone from home with sites like ancestry.com newspapers.com and
genealogybank.com having digitized images of old newspapers from across the country indexed by name
place and just about any other keyword you could think to use in your ancestor search
while old newspaper records have always been available using them used to involve going to
a local archive or library and looking through unindexed images in microfilm
or microfiche or going to the offices of the newspaper itself and looking physically through
old issues in their storage or research room it is much easier to use these records today which is
excellent news for genealogists as old newspaper records make such wonderful genealogical sources
you can find the typical things you might expect in old newspapers
such as birth announcements obituaries and marriage announcements even detailed descriptions
of weddings these things can include a wealth of genealogical information that you might not find
anywhere else and should be used for this potential information alone yet there can be
so much more on your ancestors in these records if you have never seen a photograph of a particular
ancestor before there is always a chance that one may have been printed in an old newspaper
thus giving you a face to put to the name photos were published beginning in the mid 1800s
and accompanied everything from wedding announcements to obituaries to military
news to articles of local human interest even if you've seen a photo of a particular ancestor
finding a photo of them that you've never seen before in an old newspaper is always
exciting and gives you another view of them as a person that is both metaphorical and physical
you can also find all kinds of articles about local happenings that may mention your ancestors
giving you a look into their personal lives with details you would never otherwise know anything
that happened locally was likely to be mentioned in an old newspaper people visiting from out of
town or locals who were leaving town for a while were often mentioned so were detailed descriptions
of children's birthday parties complete with guest lists descriptions of family reunions and who
attended were sometimes included stories about local military men home on leave or adventures
they were having overseas were often big local news if your ancestor was involved in committing
or thwarting a crime or was the victim of one there will almost certainly be a story about it
announcements of job commendations retirements new hires club memberships club activities
church activities and even local gossip involving the residents of the village town or city were
often written up in old newspapers these were largely published in the age of tv after all
if you're looking for the story of who your ancestors really were as people
and also looking for additional genealogical details to add to your family tree
old newspaper records are the place to find it [Music]
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i hope you have a wonderful day happy searching
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