Were your ancestors famous - or perhaps infamous! Newspaper reports can give so much information, and finding an ancestor’s name can uncover so many details to add to your family story.
It’s easy to access newspapers online. The British Newspaper Archive is available by paid subscription or is within the Find My Past website paid subscriptions. You could also search The National Archives website which has links to some online newspaper archives though most of these have individual charges. Some local libraries also have free access to newspaper archives if you have a library membership. Be aware that newspapers are being added all the time, so even if today you don’t find anything, you might next week or next month – so don’t give up!
The first and most obvious place to start would be the ‘Hatched, Matched and Dispatched Columns or Birth, Marriages and Deaths if you prefer! Sometimes just a simple entry with the names you are looking for is all you need:
Hull Packet and East Riding Times. Jan 30th1846
Brilliant! Gives the basic information we need to confirm Henry and Esther’s full names, the date and place of their marriage and Esther’s Father’s name. Plus, some additional information about the occupations of both Fathers. Lovely! Lots there to get further research going.
But sometimes you can get really lucky - how about this report of a wedding:
Richmond and Ripon Chronicle 17 November 1866
Well, it’s almost as good as being there! This report went on to list in detail the guests who attended – another bonus if you’re trying to identify family! But beware of taking family details as fact, a newspaper reporter may not have checked relationships so they should be confirmed before taking them as accurate! Occasionally wedding reports will go so far as listing the wedding gifts and give details of the food served at the reception and where the happy couple went to on honeymoon.
Death notices can also give useful information about the individual that may not have been otherwise known. Places of education or work history might be listed, and this can uncover all sorts of unknown details.
Then of course there are the accidents or unexpected deaths that occur, and newspapers can paint a picture of what happened. Perhaps an ancestor died younger than you might have expected. Consider a quick newspaper search and if you know the name of your ancestor and date and place of death a quick search may uncover a wealth of information:
But beware of taking the details as fact, a newspaper reporter may not have checked relationships so they should be confirmed before taking them as accurate!
One of the things I find most fascinating is an ancestor who has been in trouble and their court case is detailed in the news. Sensational headlines have always sold newspapers so read what you find with a little discretion – aware that the contents may not be entirely true! Still, it really colours in the family story.
Military ancestors are always interesting to research and particularly in the 19th century, the newspapers reported Officer movements quite regularly. Sometimes the local newspaper reported movements of Officers or if they had just taken on a senior position gave a mini biography of that Officers army career. That can help fill in the gaps you might have in that person’s history when they disappeared from the census records because they were posted overseas. The report below helped to fill in lots of gaps about one Henry Haggard who I was researching for a client.
Another way of using newspapers is to research the area that your ancestors lived. I am sometimes asked to research the history of houses and a simple search of a street name can give great results and build a picture of what the area was like when your ancestor lived there. The following is a portion of a long report about some of the areas in Leeds, visited to investigate sanitary conditions in the city following an outbreak of typhus:
The areas sound grim but gives an excellent picture of the streets and that would really help to understand your ancestors daily life.
If your ancestor had some sort of business, you can sometimes find published adverts. The following tells us exactly what Mr. Schofield sold and also confirmed his business address.
As with all research the trick is to be patient and persistent! Don’t be discouraged if you get nothing from your initial search. Change your search parameters slightly, or search on place rather than name.
Happy hunting!
If I can help with any aspect of your family history research, please feel free to contact me. I’d love to chat to see how I can help!
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