You’re ready to do some newspaper research. Maybe you’re hoping to find mentions of an ancestor or you just need to add some historical context to their story. How do you find a historical digitized newspaper for a country you aren’t as familiar with? A finding aid might be the answer. 

What is a finding aid? In this case, it’s a resource to help you find websites and repositories with the newspapers you need. It’s an important first step in research especially when you are unfamiliar with the research in a particular place. Instead of going straight to a newspaper website, consider searching a finding aid first to learn more about what is available.

Here are a few resources to help you find historical newspapers worldwide. Remember the following websites don’t have the actual newspapers, they merely provide links to direct you to the website that does.

First things first. Cyndi’s List is most likely a familiar website no matter what your genealogical interest. Since 1996, Cyndi has indexed links to websites and today her website boasts over 300,000 genealogical related links. To find newspaper links on Cyndi's List, search for the country and then the category “newspapers.” Some examples include: 

• Canada – Newspapers
• United Kingdom & Ireland – England – Newspapers 
• Mexico – Newspapers 

The FamilySearch Research Wiki is another must-see for trying to locate newspapers. Conduct a search for the place of interest and then you may find the category “newspapers” in the Records Type box. You can also conduct a search for the topic of newspapers (without a specific location) and find pages like Digital Historical Newspapers.

While FamilySearch does not have digitized newspapers they do have newspaper content that includes indexes and abstracts as well as some newspaper titles on microfilm.

In the genealogy world there are so many people who work hard to uncover and share resources. Many times this is a volunteer effort and three such examples are:

• Miriam Robbins’ Online Historical Newspapers
• Kenneth R Marks’ The Ancestor Hunt
• Dave Obee’s CanGenealogy 

On the Online Historical Newspapers website, you will find links to newspaper content for Australia, Ireland, Mexico, United Kingdom, and the United States. The Ancestor Hunt includes links for Australia, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, and the US. CanGenealogy includes historical Canadian newspaper links by Province as well as other Candian genealogy links.

Wikipedia is where you expect to find articles on a variety of topics. But it’s also a great resource find finding websites including newspaper archives. Wikipedia – List of Online Newspaper Archives is a list of online newspaper archives by country.

Newspapers are such an essential source for telling the story of your ancestor. Make sure to take some time to peruse newspaper finding aids to find the newspaper that will help you learn more about your family history.

You can watch my recent webinar "In Black and White: Finding Historical Newspapers From Around the World" on the Legacy website for FREE through Wednesday, November 4, 2020.

Gena Philibert-Ortega is an author, instructor, and researcher. She blogs at Gena's Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. You can find her presentations on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.

Every Friday we're pleased to offer Legacy Family Tree Webinar subscribers a new bonus webinar just for them!   This Friday enjoy "Get With the Times: German Newspaper Research" by Teresa Steinkamp McMillin, CG. If you're not a member, remember the webinar previews are always free.

Get With the Times: German Newspaper Research

Germany does not have large subscription-based websites for accessing newspapers for genealogical research. In spite of that fact, there are thousands of digitized German newspapers available online. Many of them are free. Learn where they are and how to access them.

About the Presenter

Every Friday we're pleased to offer Legacy Family Tree Webinar subscribers a new bonus webinar just for them!   This Friday enjoy "A Nose for News: 20+ Tips for Getting the Most Out of Newspapers" by Mary Kircher Roddy. If you're not a member, remember the webinar previews are always free.

A Nose for News: 20+ Tips for Getting the Most Out of Newspapers

Newspaper research can help further genealogy research. A name in a newspaper can pinpoint a location for an ancestor at a particular time. Mentions in the legal notices, property records or shipping notices columns provide clues for additional research. Learn 20+ tips for getting the most out of newspaper research. And discover the one name you need to look for in every obituary!

About the Presenter

Mary Roddy, a Certified Public Accountant, has been a genealogist since 2000, becoming interested in the subject in anticipation of an extended trip to Ireland. She earned a certificate from the Genealogy and Family History program at the University of Washington in 2005. She lectures frequently on various genealogical topics in the Seattle area and at conferences across the country.  She has written a number of articles for Internet Genealogy, Family Chronicle (now Your Genealogy Today) as well as Speak! (the publication of the Genealogical Speakers Guild) and FGS Forum. Mary also writes a regular blog at www.mkrgenealogy.com/searching-for-stories-blog. She is a participant in ProGen 31.

 

See all the webinars by Mary Kircher Roddy in the Legacy library.

 

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