Newspapers from the 19th and early 20th centuries are rich sources of genealogical data, but gaining access to them can be difficult and time-consuming. This article discusses two new websites that offer full-text, key-word access to these newspapers: “Chronicling America” and “19th-Century British Library Newspapers.” In addition, available in most research libraries are three older databases for newspapers and magazines from that time period: “America’s Historical Newspapers, 1690–1876,” “19th Century U.S. Newspapers” and “American Periodicals Series Online 1740–1900.”

Each of the websites detailed in this article features digitized images of the original publication as it appeared to readers at the time. National and many other newspapers covered international events of the day, typically mentioning only prominent persons and the most important events. Thus, genealogical researchers likely will achieve the best results when they search local news stories. Newspapers and magazines usually have reported on ordinary persons and events in such categories as criminal matters, bankruptcy,¹ real estate transactions, mail held under general delivery at the local post office for pickup by identified persons, social events, lawsuits, war dead and other items.

“Chronicling America”

The U.S. Library of Congress maintains the “Chronicling America” website, <www.loc.gov/ChroniclingAmerica>, accessible free of charge. No registration is required, and the results may be printed from any computer. The website is divided into two sections. One section permits a researcher to determine which newspapers existed for which periods and for which locations, providing a reference that permits the researcher to determine which newspapers exist in local libraries, even when they are not yet online.

Use WorldCat, <www.worldcat.org>, or another search engine to learn which libraries in a given area hold newspapers of interest. Most local newspapers lack an index, a drawback that “Chronicling America” eventually will overcome by posting these newspapers online in searchable format. Without an index, one must search page by page unless the specific date is known or can be approximated. “Chronicling America’s” search engine for discovering which newspapers exist, permits searches by time, key words, frequency, language, type of newspaper (such as by ethnicity or the labor press), Library of Congress catalog number and material format, such as microfiche master or original.

Perhaps it is most useful to begin a search using this option on “Chronicling America” to determine which newspaper is available where. A search using the key words “New York City” and “Jewish” produced a number of newspapers in New York City in English, Yiddish and Russian for various time periods. None is currently available in full-text online, but all are on microform at one or more reference libraries.

Researchers are likely to be most interested in the listed newspapers currently searchable online, a second option in the “Chronicling America” database. To date, the database includes only a limited number of newspapers from various states and only for the period 1880–1910. Newspapers from nine states (California, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Utah and Virginia) and the District of Columbia currently are available for 1880–1910. The chief of the Newspapers and Current Periodicals Reading Room at the Library of Congress reports that in the future the website will post online additional newspapers from additional states and will expand the period for some or all of the newspapers currently listed. The project will continue until a far larger time period is offered for items in the public domain, both in the number of newspapers available and the time periods covered. The project anticipates posting many millions of searchable pages from newspapers that covered all U.S. states and territories with many millions of searchable pages online.

Most of the newspapers currently online have ceased publication and were copied from microform holdings. An example is the New York Tribune, a major newspaper in its day. Until about 1920, it was popular with English-speaking Jewish readers, who often used it to publish death notices and commercial advertisements. The editors also catered to Jewish interests. Inputting specific names into the search engine yielded several references to the author’s family members. Researchers may search simultaneously all or some of the online newspapers in the collection, and may limit searches by time period or specific key words or phrases.

This project will develop into an ever more significant source of genealogical information from the print media, especially, but not only, for American sources. Many early newspapers reprinted articles from other newspapers, including some from newspapers overseas, but because such articles were for major events, they usually yield only historical background information for the genealogist.

Subscription Databases

Unlike “Chronicling America,” all of the fee-based databases described below are available by subscription only,² but many research libraries that subscribe to the databases do not charge their patrons to access them. In all cases, a researcher may secure an individual subscription for a substantial fee if so desired. A large number of research libraries, including university libraries and many public libraries, subscribe or will soon subscribe to some or all of the online databases described here and have printing capability. Research libraries add or subtract subscription databases frequently, so it pays to check with the reference librarian before making a trip. Sometimes subscription databases change their names because of consolidation or other reasons. The U.S. Library of Congress has a list of its databases but does not publish it because the list changes so frequently. Nevertheless, a reference librarian at the library can consult the list to inform a researcher which databases exist. Use “Ask a Librarian” <www.loc.gov/rr/askalib> to make such an inquiry.

19th-Century British Library Newspapers

The “19th-Century British Library Newspapers” on the British Library website is available by subscription only (except for some locations in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland). Because this is a subscription only website, it has no URL. Researchers must ask a local research librarian or WorldCat about access. Some libraries list the database as “Nineteenth Century. . . .” Ask a local research librarian if his/her library has a subscription or check on WorldCat, as described above. The project is even newer than the American one. To date, fewer than a dozen research libraries in the United States, including the U.S. Library of Congress and Columbia University, New York City, have subscribed.

The project is similar to the American equivalent described above. Searches are limited to London and specific shires (counties). Except for London, researchers should determine the shire in which a town of interest is located before beginning a search. In the 19th century, many newspapers covered an entire shire rather than just one rural town. Project organizers projected posting three million pages online by the end of 2008. The stated focus for complete runs between 1800 and 1900 is London national newspapers; English regional newspapers; home country newspapers from Ireland, Scotland and Wales (i.e., newspapers that limited coverage to that part of the United Kingdom); and titles in specialist areas, such as Reform, Chartism and Home Rule. Penny newspapers aimed at the working and clerical classes are among those currently online. Researchers may adjust the size of any page for easier reading or printing.

America’s Historical Newspapers, 1690–1876

Newsbank maintains “America’s Historical Newspapers, 1690–1876,” a closed collection that will add no additional pages to the online database. The service is available only by subscription. The database holds approximately 650 newspapers in full-text from the earliest American publications and covers almost every state in the Union up to 1876. States and the District of Columbia, but no territories, are represented. Many of the newspapers are obscure and from rural areas, but those from large cities also are included. The series does not always reproduce entire runs of large newspapers, however, especially those from big cities. Often only the earliest issues of the largest newspapers are included, such as up to 1820 for the New York Commercial Advertiser. This was an important business newspaper in its day, later designated as one of two newspapers in which individuals in New York City who petitioned for bankruptcy had to publish such a notice. (The other such newspaper was the New York Times.) A researcher can search phrases and designate the order in which hits will be displayed (e.g., in chronological order). Use quotation marks when searching for an exact phrase. Searches can be limited by dates or era (e.g., “Civil War”), article type, newspaper title or place of publication. The list of newspapers identifies the title, the number of issues available, publication dates available, including starting and ending dates, and the city and state. Newspapers are listed alphabetically by state. The researcher can designate which newspapers to search. Sometimes newspapers that merged during the covered period are presented together so the researcher may need to know the last title for that newspaper during the period covered on the website.

19th-Century U. S. Newspapers

This database, maintained on a subscription basis by Gale Group, also is a closed database with no further pages being added. It holds approximately 1,000–2,000 newspapers in full text. States and the District of Columbia, but no territories, are represented. Some of the newspapers available are duplicates of those available in “America’s Historical Newspapers,” but many are not, so it pays to check both websites. The search engine allows a variety of search combinations, searches limited by state or city, or searches of all states or all cities. Searches can also be limited to advertising, images, business news, general news, features and/or opinion and editorials. The search engine also permits subordinate choices under each category.

American Periodicals Series Online 1740–1900

Unlike the other databases described above, this subscription database covers magazines rather than newspapers, but like the previous two databases it also is closed. Maintained by K.G. Saur, the website provides a detailed explanation of its coverage and instructions on how to use it at <http://db.saur. de/WBIS/biographicMicroficeDocument.jsf>. Researchers may search for periodicals by name or may search separately for articles on a given subject. The search engine will return all hits on that topic. Literary, professional, women’s, children’s, general interest and other historically significant magazines are represented. The series covers more than 12,500 titles starting in 1741 with Benjamin Franklin’s General Magazine. Almost all of the historically significant magazines of the period are represented, including many from the U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction eras. The instructions provide examples of how to search and examples of results, although the search engine itself is intuitive.

Conclusion

Given the large and growing body of newspapers and periodicals online, the prospects for success in genealogical research in these resources is constantly improving. Because many countries are now imaging periodicals, researchers should search online from time to time for collections maintained in the country of interest. Many of these websites offer an English-language interface, but the articles are in the local language.

Notes

1. See Luft, Edward David and Abrams, Bruce, “Three Manhattan Databases: Using Newspapers to Find Bankruptcy Cases Leading to Court Cases,” AVOTAYNU, Vol. XXIII, No. 4 (Winter 2007), pp. 17–19.
2. For a general discussion on how to use subscription databases, see “Internet Subscription Databases for Genealogical Research,” AVOTAYNU, Vol. XVIII, No. 3 (Fall 2002), pp. 20–22.

Edward David Luft is a frequent contributor to AVOTAYNU. A list of his publications appears at <www.GetCited.org/mbrx/PT/99/MBR/11078005>.