Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Tuesday's Tip~Gettin' By With Help From Our Friends: Dawn Williams-Kogutkiewicz



Today we get help with these tips from our friend Dawn Williams-Kogutkiewicz:

Newspaper Research Tips
I love researching in newspapers! I use Legacy.com , Chronicling America , FamilySearch.org which are free sites. At Legacy.com some obituaries can be un-archived for the nominal fee of $2.95, if available. In addition to these free sites, I also use The Ancestor Hunt.com and The Online Historical Newspaper Website for specific regions or to help me find newspapers by name. I also use the subscription site, GenealogyBank.com and Newspapers.com which is part of my All-Access Subscription to Ancestry.com. Recently, I have noticed that Newspapers.com has started a feature called “Publisher Extra”. To access the “Publisher Extra” pages is $11.95 per month in addition to the current subscription I have through Ancestry.com.
Tip # 1 – You are already searching for life events such as marriages and deaths but don’t forget to look for these other life events:
  • Engagements
  • Births
  • Graduations
  • Birthday and/or dinner parties
  • Societal clubs (ie: book clubs, sororities and women’s groups)
  • Did your ancestor have visitors? Some newspapers listed the comings and goings of visitors in the community.
  • Coroner inquests
Tip # 2 – Did your ancestor own a business?
  • Be sure to check the “ads/classifieds” for advertisements.
Tip # 3 – Legal Notices can prove helpful with
  • Probates
  • Divorces
  • Arrests
  • Court Notices
  • Property Sales
  • Coroner inquests
Tip # 4 – Did your ancestor immigrate to the United States?
  • Look for passenger lists
  • Be sure to check for foreign language newspapers in your area of research.


Tip # 5 – Major events such as:


  • Earthquakes
  • Hurricanes
  • Fires
  • Wars
  • Famine
  • Flooding
Just remember that sometimes the information or article you are looking for may be found in regional or national newspapers that are nowhere near where your ancestor lived. So don’t ignore them, you just might miss something that a local staff writer or reporter missed!




Bio:
I am a genealogical researcher and writer. I started my first blog, Dawning Genealogy in 2014. Dawning Genealogy is about my family, my children’s paternal lines and anyone connected to them.  In January 2016, I started my second blog, The Other Side of Scarlet which is about my search for my biological genealogy and my journey searching for my birth family.

Thanks, Dawn! 
To read more from Dawn, please visit her blogs Dawning Genealogy and The Other Side of Scarlet.

What newspaper tips do you have? We'd love to read them!
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Need help? Please visit Genealogy 1-on-1 


2 comments:

  1. I would have to say that newspapers are one of my all time favorites as well! I have found the most surprising things in the newspapers and just love them! Good post Dawn!

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    Replies
    1. I love newspapers too! Thanks, Michelle. Great post from Dawn!

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