Jul 9
You may have had ancestors who operated a 'Linotype Machine' for a hometown newspaper, posters or a magazine company. It was a way to have print on paper done easier and quicker. Starting in the late 19th century, lines in newspapers and magazines were often created with a linotype machine. The linotype machine was revolutionary for its time. I...
Sep 21
You find an old newspaper clipping someone in the family saved years ago. They may have been kept in a book, in a drawer, or a notebook, but now it needs preserving. Newspapers are acidic and crumb if handled too much. Start first by scanning it, making a digital copy. There are desktop scanning machines or even now you can use your I-Phone which ...
Aug 29
Having any family photos are essential to putting together your family history. Now you may have already checked with relatives and friends and gotten copies of photos they had, but are there other ones out there somewhere? Here are a few ideas of other locations to check. One largely overlooked source is public collections. This would inclu...
Jul 27
Another overlooked resource for information about a deceased ancestor besides an obituary is the Card of Thanks. Many times in a newspaper there may be placed ONLY a Card of Thanks and no obituary. Such notices can provide some basic info on the ancestor or the family. The early Card of Thanks was actually to thank the communities, organization...
Jul 25
For many decades your ancestors have enjoyed reading the daily (sometime twice a day) newspapers. Learning what was happening in the community, town, state, nation or the world. With no local radio or TV news yet, this was important. Of course with the 21st century that would change, paper print papers are nearly gone, people get digital editions ...
Apr 12
Such a rare opportunity while everyone is 'stay-at-home' – the full digital collection of the Isle of Man newspapers that cover 1792 to 1960 are now available FREE for everyone to do some research with. Part of the Manx National Heritage has suspended its regular subscription charge so everyone can use this opportunity to view these newspa...
Mar 11
All of us have quite a few multifaceted ancestors covering the decades, some who had some great achievements and some who had a poor reputation. Each is interesting and should be investigated to learn for future generations their full life story. The best approach as you have done some family history is which one ancestor really caught yo...
Feb 17
You might have come across a reference to an ancestor who was born, lived, married or died in the territory or state of Wisconsin. It became a US state, the 30th one on May 29, 1848. A good online database is found with the Wisconsin Historical Society. They do have a few documents dating back to the 1600s and more into the 1700s. Howeve...
Dec 15
For ancestors who lived in the state of Georgia during the American Civil War (1861-1865) or especially following the war – the period of Reconstruction (1865-1877) the Digital Library of Georgia has online an interesting collection of newspapers from across the state during the War and Reconstruction (1861-1877). There are the free se...
Oct 19
Everyone needs some ideas on looking for their ancestors on the family tree. The following a few ideas in approaching each ancestor you are looking for. Always do a complete investigation using local hometown newspapers of your ancestors' names. Not just obituaries, but also look at society articles, news topics, club news, advertisemen...