The Family Tree Historical Newspapers Guide: How to Find Your Ancestors in Archived Newspapers

by James M. Beidler

There are more historical newspaper resources than you think--and they're easier to access than you know. When researched properly, no other type of record can beat historical newspapers in "taking the pulse" of their times and places, recording not just the names, but also information important to the community. This comprehensive how-to guide will show you how to harvest the "social media" of centuries past to learn about your ancestors and the times and places they lived in. With step-by-step examples, case studies, templates, worksheets, and screenshots, this book shows you what you can find in online (and offline) historical newspapers, from city dailies to weekly community papers to foreign-language gazetteers.

The Family Tree Historical Newspapers Guide

   • Tips and techniques for finding crucial genealogy records in newspapers, such as birth announcements, obituaries, and even news reports
   • Step-by-step guides for using popular online newspaper databases such as GenealogyBank and Newspapers.com
   • Case studies that will put information found in newspapers to use

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Reference

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2018

Reviews

[Kirsty ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little something different from what I usually read. I find that's the beauty of reading the ARCs from netgalley; it opens you up to a range of books you may never otherwise try or may miss.

This is a fascinating book full of useful information. It's set out really well and includes worksheets to help you when tracing your family tree. The downside for me (and the reason I knocked off a star) is that it's predominantly US based. I'm British, my family history is all European so in the end whilst interesting and I could pick up a vcouple of hints and tips I'm not the market it is aimed at. For American readers interested in genealogy though it's excellent.
Free arc from netgalley

[Maranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Information given in the time line that newspapers have traveled over their history. Some data given on what still has copyright restrictions and how to hunt for sources on line. Having knowledge of doing my own family history I have discovered that newspapers do hold a wealth of information that is probably not obtainable anywhere else. The downside of doing this type of research is getting easily distracted with all the other articles on the page and of course it being a secondary research tool the data cannot always be relied upon. One of my personal experiences was finding a death notice in a paper only to look at the next edition to find out that he did not really die. Kind of a big boo boo. So I consider this a go to guide but I did not absorb any new revelations. This book was provided by F+W Media Family Tree Books via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-known genealogist James M. Beidler discusses newspapers as a genealogical source. He covers most types of newspapers. Religious newspapers were omitted from separate treatment although a few titles showed up in a geographic sample in the book. He does an excellent job relating available databases, even acknowledging ethical questions about business practices of some. Beidler, best known for his German genealogical research, includes international newspapers, not limiting the discussion to the United States. The book's greatest flaw lies in the format of the otherwise excellent bibliography. It does not employ a recognized style manual such as Evidence Explained or Chicago Manual of Style. Since one chapter included information on citing newspapers following the recognized genealogical citation manual Evidence Explained, this surprised me. Beidler's work will become the most-cited "how to" guide on newspaper research in the genealogical community in the near future. All genealogy libraries with methodology collections should purchase a copy. I received an electronic advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Biblio Files (takingadayoff) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Newspapers are among my favorite sources for genealogical information. I just love finding articles about my ancestors or even about complete strangers. You learn so much about what life was like from kinds of things made the news and from the ads and the entertainment listings and the police blotters and the social news and the classifieds and on and on. Having spent a lot of time tracking down and looking at newspapers, I wondered how much I would really learn from a book about the subject.

The book is full of resources and information. There are chapters on how to find newspapers and what to look for (not just obituaries!). There's info on how OCD (optical character recognition) works and doesn't work and how to tailor your searches to find the hits a typical search might miss. James Beidler goes into the history of newspapers and what types of information you might look for and find. He breaks down the largest providers of online newspaper archives, which are free and paid, the strengths and weaknesses.

All of this is well worth the price of the book already, but Beidler also includes some links to very useful worksheets and research logs so you can stay organized while doing newspaper searches. On top of that, he includes a really excellent appendix of online newspaper archive sites. There's also a massive bibliography of further resources organized by country and state.

I learned so much from this book and couldn't wait to try out some of the sites that were new to me, and use the tips on Boolean operators (NEAR and ADJ were new to me). Five Stars!

(Thanks to NetGalley and F + W Media for a digital review copy.)

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I track my family tree on Ancestry and books like this always interest me. This one focuses on finding information about your ancestors through newspapers. Surprisingly there were a lot more pages and information than I was expecting.

The chapters are:

* The historical role of newspapers
* Records in newspapers
* Vital records and life events in newspapers
* Obituaries and other death notices
* Understanding newspaper media
* Free newspaper websites
* Newspapers.com
* Genealogybank
* Other subscription websites
* Seeking out other newspapers
* Ethnic-focused newspapers
* International newspapers
* Preserving, collecting and citing newspapers
* Putting it all together

Throughout the book there are photo examples of articles, obituaries, notices (birth, marriage announcements, death and divorces), etc. from various newspapers from different times. There are also worksheets you can use to record your information along with many links which take you to the sources described.

Though it's geared towards American sources (I'm in Canada), my father's family and my maternal grandmother's family were from the States so I'll probably find these sources helpful.

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2018/03...

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helps you to optimize your use of historical newspapers to discover information about your ancestors or a time period. The author focused mainly on American newspapers. He started by providing a brief history of newspapers, especially how they handled death notices and such. He used many examples of how someone's research turned up interesting information, often in unexpected spots. He talked about the types of things to look for in the newspapers, like birth notices, marriage announcements, death notices, divorces, and community articles.

He covered free-to-use and pay-to-use historical newspaper archive sites and how to use their different features. He also covered ethnic and international newspapers. He explained things like how to search for names that may have a variety of spellings or a name which also belongs to a famous person (but not the person you're interested in). Overall, I found this to be an informative and useful book of tips on this topic.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, the Publishers and the Author for this review copy, given in exchange for an honest review.

I have worked on my family history for many years now and am always looking for further information which will help me to get more out of my searching. This book looked interesting as there can be a wealth of information gained from old newspapers, and anything to help find this information is a help! This book says it is a how to guide to harvest this information, and gives step by step examples, case studies, templates and much more to use and work from.

It was a lovely book with plenty of information but it is an American book, so the vast majority of information and examples are from the U.S. Whilst one newspaper is much the same as the other, so the way of searching will be more or less the same, I did find it slightly off-putting with so much American information! If you're from the U.S then this book would be great. If you're like myself and from the UK, it is still an interesting book but you may not find some information relevant.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for LS 545: Ref Serv Genealogy & Local Hist

I probably would have learned more from this if I'd been given more than a week to read it -_-

[Tina Panik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of solid tips, including an invaluable chart (in the back of the book) for organizing your research.

[Kathy KS · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this work very helpful; so helpful that I've decided to go ahead and purchase one, just so I can review the links, etc. anytime. I don't do this often; that's what interlibrary loan is for (I had to ILL this one)!

I originally had it on my TBR list, but checked out, especially, because I was going to be doing a genealogy program for the local library on newspapers and wanted to see if it had some new tips for me. Beidler covers most of the material I was planning to present, but had some other tips and tricks that I found useful. Even if you've done extensive genealogical and/or historical research in newspapers (especially smaller ones), I believe you will find this interesting.

And, if you have never used newspapers... this is a good place to start that exciting journey.

Postscript-- I found the type in this somewhat too small. Yes, I'm older and have bad eyes, but many genealogists fall in to this group. Just be aware...

[Critterbee❇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books on how to research family history are sometimes too information-intense, frequently dry, often describe outdated research methods, and always are appealing to readers interested in genealogy. I liked the writing style of The Family Tree Historical Newspapers Guide - clear, concise, interesting and accurate.

The sections are sensibly organized, and the methods suggested seem valid although the websites listed may or may not be around in the future (which is beyond the author's control). Helpful worksheets are included, and I liked that microfilm and digitized records were referenced.

After reading the book, I feel more confident in navigating the uncertain area of genealogy, and think it is definitely a useful guide for the beginning family history researcher..

*eARC Netgalley*

[Randal White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. As a mediocre genealogist, I am always looking for ways to improve upon my searches. Beidler's book is a big help! It is full of resources and methods to search old newspapers, and I am now armed to further my investigations. Plus, it has handy worksheets to use to help. Maybe now I can fill in some of the "missing links" in my tree, and flesh out some of the lives of my ancestors.

[Ro Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to find information on my family members and wanted a book that could give me some ideas for more places to search. This is the perfect book. I never knew how many historical newspaper resources there are and how to go about searching them. This book that is full of so much good information is priceless. Anyone into genealogy, this is a book that will help you find information.

[Michelle Monticello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful book, with lots of tips and tricks on how to find information in newspapers. I discovered many sources that I didn't know about before and I am looking forward to digging into them in the near future. He also offers helpful search techniques throughout the book that were great reminders for me.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for genealogists. Should be in everyone's library.

[Leona · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book on finding newspapers that help genealogy researchers.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book on newspaper research. I even mentioned to the author how helpful I found this book to be to my research.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book on using newspapers for Genealogy. James Beidler is great!

[Gary Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should have been more fun for me. I have passionate and longstanding interests in genealogy and newspapers. Still Beidler’s guide lives up to its title and I will be using it to pursue my newspaper research.

I expected the book to be more readable. What may have occurred is that it did not go through a more rigorous last draft or two before publication. It happens. What could have been polished and flowing is clunky. I expect, because of the nature of the information that this publication holds that it could be revised every few years with a new edition. So perhaps my critique will be of value to the author and publisher then.

First a little background on my choice to obtain and plow through the guide. A favorite brick wall of mine is stuck but good. I have vital records, census records, military records, church records and homestead records aplenty. I have searched county histories and published trees to no avail. My thought was to be able to be more comprehensive in the historical newspaper domain.

Beidler’s methods will assist. He answers the questions: “How can one find out which newspapers were published in the areas and times of my interest?” “What are the online newspaper repositories?” “How can I effectively and comprehensively track my newspaper research?”

I like chapters six through nine on the repositories and the research templates that go with them, Appendix A Newspaper Research Flowchart, and Appendix C Creating a Newspaper Chronology (using an Excel spreadsheet template). The templates are online and can be downloaded. To me these are the core components of the guide and make it of value.

So, what are my complaints? What makes for the clunky read? It’s time to wield bulleting for my top issues.
• Can you believe that on page 40 Beidler writes, “Hopefully, these examples are enough to convince you that research in historical newspapers is worthwhile for any number of reasons”? It isn’t the only in-book marketing verbiage in this first part of the book, there are many and they are like speed-bumps preventing a good narrative flow. I bought the book. I am reading it. I do not need to be sold on it.
• Many of the reproduced images of newspaper pages are illegible because they are too small. Why bother?
• Beidler jumps around in person in the narrative: first person singular, first person plural, second person, third person. One is enough and makes for smoother reading. This problem likely would have been rectified in another draft revision.
• Chapter 13 is on how the reader can preserve newspapers. It is way out of scope. If Beidler felt compelled to include such information, he could have handled it with a footnote.
• The state by state resource list is at best representative. If it was meant to be, as opposed to exhaustive, a lead-in to that section could have explained its purpose and creation. It seems like filler.
• There is an uneven and dramatic range of perspectives, from 10,000 meters, e.g. a history of American newspapers with insightful asides, to the minutia of doing Boolean searches (step by painful step).

Despite the shortcomings, recall that I wanted a quick fun read, I recognize this volume as a useful tool-book, that I will use. I recommend it for those researching their families in the papers.

[Justin]

https://www.edelweiss.plus/

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I have been trying to research my family tree and do not want to pay a fortune to do it. This book gave advice on how to find old articles about ancestors of mine. Definitely useful information.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommended the library purchase this excellent reference piece. The more research tools a genealogist has access to, the more likely discoveries will occur. I appreciated the additional research logs and worksheets James Beidler included, as well as the tutorials and sourcing hints. This book is comprehensive and high value.