Unfortunately, sometimes we just can’t find that one birth record or census entry that we need. An excellent alternative to traditional sources of genealogy information is the local newspaper! While not always available, a newspaper article can be an excellent way to fill in missing pieces in an ancestor’s story.
Newspaper repositories are scattered far and wide. There are some large databases, like Newspapers.com or the British Newspaper Archive. If you have a subscription or access via library or free trial, these are a great place to start. The Library of Congress has some digitized papers online, as do many local libraries or universities. Try searching for “newspaper archive <city, county, state, or region>” in your favorite search engine.
As an example, this is the method I used to find the death information for my 4th great grandmother, Martha Crakes nee Watson. Her obituary was published in the South Bend Tribune and gave me her date and place of death.
Here at Weaving the Tapestry, we’re well-versed in looking at alternative sources to find information about hard to find ancestors. Check out what we have to offer!
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