FootNote
The new kid on the block, FootNote is known for digitizing historical
documents... many of which are genealogical gems. With naturalizations,
city directories, war records, newspapers, town records, etc... this new
kid is quickly being recognized as an alternative to Ancestry.
While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
The Wall Street Journal once advertised
itself as the "daily diary of the American dream." That
statement, like much advertising copy, may have been
somewhat overblown, but it does encapsulate much of the
importance of newspapers to the genealogical
researcher. Newspapers are, for those who become
proficient in their use, the day-to-day (or week-to-week)
diaries of local community events. They are thus excellent
sources for family history, giving accounts of events from a
contemporary point of view and often including details
recorded nowhere else. The genealogist who overlooks
newspapers misses a great mass of potentially valuable
material.
Newspapers are intended for general readers, usually
serve a geographic region, and may also be oriented toward a
particular ethnic, cultural, social, or political group.
Because newspapers preserve the collected thoughts of
many minds, they reflect moral, cultural, educational, and
political development more broadly than do the isolated
thoughts of an individual's correspondence or diary. Nowhere
can a clearer idea be gained of public sentiment than in the
American newspaper.
While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most
commonly sought and the most consistently helpful, only the
genealogist's imagination and resourcefulness limit the
newspaper's usefulness in supplying clues about historical
events, local news items, probate court and legal notices,
real estate transactions, political biographies,
announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships,
business advertisements, and notices for settling debts.
Gleaning Information from Newspapers
After spending several years reading and
indexing over forty years worth of old
newspapers (for genealogical purposes), I
offer the following comments and
suggestions.
Religious and Ethnic Newspapers
Newspapers are important sources of
information, especially in cases where an
individual was actively involved in a
religious or ethnic organization.
More Than One Newspaper?
If you don't find an obit in one paper,
check to see if the area where your
ancestors lived has more than one paper.
One reader did, and she found a wealth of
information.
