Newpaper archive sites - Genealogy Bank

[seaglass]

I stopped doing genealogy research for a while and just started up again. I love Genealogy Bank, not only for the opportunity to find info about family but I really enjoy reading old newspapers. I like how stories were put together and the writing style of the reporters, it is so blunt and also innocent.

Do you use a newspaper archive site? What do you recommend?

[No Vested Interest]

1. I've had a GenealogyBank membership for over a year and

have many nuggets re my ancestry in Michigan, whom I never knew.
The older newspapers had much interesting detail.- they even recounted that one relative had found a bee-hive. I guess that meant free honey.
Illnesses, injuries, vacations, funerals, anniversaries, memberships, recitals are among the events detailed.
The articles give flesh and life to those whom we've only known by name.

[PADemD]

2. I use our small local public library

I haven't had much luck with the large local newspapers, so I use our small local library.

http://www.bangorlibrary.org/Geneology/Default.aspx

At one time, our town had a large daily newspaper, which has ceased publishing. The library has possession of their archives from 1917 to 1990, and it has obituaries on microfilm and some in print.

I learned that my great great grandparents both passed within five days of each other from the Spanish flu. My great great grandfather was survived by a sister in Vermont, and my great great grandmother was survived by siblings in Wales.

[No Vested Interest]

3. Old obits can provide clues to relatives you may not have known existed.

My grandfather's obit named his sister, of whom I'd never heard a word, let alone her name.
Opened up a whole new line which I'm still exploring.

[pipi_k]

4. Ok so

I signed up for a free 30 day trial and was in the middle of looking around when my phone rang and it was a guy from the company asking a few questions about what I was hoping to learn, then tried to help me find a particularly elusive great grandfather. No luck. Then he tried to get me to sign on for the yearly membership instead of the monthly plan I had chosen.

Nope. Sorry. It probably won't take me real long to find info since it doesn't appear to extend to other countries and most of my family only got here in the very early 20th century from Canada

But anyway, I did find some really interesting stuff. Like a newspaper article on how one uncle, who is only six years older than I, nearly died at the age of 8 when he and a friend fell through a skylight of a foundry roof and landed on a concrete floor 25 feet below. His friend actually did die from head injury.

I never knew that, although when I asked one of my cousins, he said that he did know what nearly happened to his dad.

I think I know what I'll be spending a lot of time doing on my computer for a while.


PS. I also love seeing the old advertisements and what things cost long ago.

[seaglass]

5. It is fun looking at the ads and reading some of the stories. I've never had anyone call me or

maybe they did and I never answered the phone.

My family didn't get to the US until the late 1800s but I have found some really valuable info. A half great grand aunt who was a cook at a hospital appeared to have saved every penny she made and left her estate partially to her employer (this is why it made the news) and left the rest to her family. From than news article I got 6 new family members and confirmation on others.

I love seeing the ads too. The other day I saw an ad for a Dr. Rice's Truss Method for Ruptures and I had to google it because I had no idea what it was. Found it on a quack medicine site.

[CBHagman]

6. Believe it or not, Google was of assistance.

I found a newspaper article about my grandparents -- most unexpected.

Chronicling America, from the Library of Congress, is also a godsend, and has turned up local papers and accounts of my ancestors and other relations.

[url]http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/[/url]

[pipi_k]

7. I have also

found some cool stuff just using Google as well.

Checked out that Library of Congress site, but my state (MA) isn't on the drop-down list.