How Old Newspaper Archives Reveal Forgotten Narratives

Many people have mastered the art of clipping stories from their local newspapers, using them to inform their family history research. However, many of the broader historical events recorded in these newspapers are overlooked.

Even after their historical and cultural value was recognized, archival institutions rarely collected or preserved newspapers from historically marginalized communities. This oversight has resulted in the loss of important historical information.

Headlines

While many know that newspapers can reveal much more than just a marriage or death certificate, it’s important to note that they typically do not appear in general searches such as Google Books. Instead, they are better suited to specific search strategies.

As a result, many valuable historical newspapers have been overlooked or lost altogether. While libraries and archives collect historical newspaper collections, they rarely do so systematically or inclusively. In particular, they often exclude publications from historically marginalized communities.

But digitized newspapers offer the potential to change this problem. They enable researchers to search the history of the commoner in new ways, broadening their inquiries beyond the standard sources handed down on exam syllabuses and popular histories. Yet they can also present new problems. They may be biased, subject to censorship, or even omit essential aspects of the past.

Photographs

Cooke emphasized that old newspaper archives can reveal rich possible family history information, including birth and death records, maiden names, names of ancestors’ friends and neighbors, insight into the community in which they lived, and even photographs. She showed a photo she found online that was taken at an early Laugh-in in Miami, where her mother was seen with two other women.

Although archivists and historians recognized newspapers’ cultural and historical value in the nineteenth century, they were not always preserved or well-preserved. For example, collections frequently ignored black newspapers and other abolitionists, opting instead for papers of national or international interest.

The digitized collection also only includes some issues published on a given day because the selection process was based on whether an issue had been microfilmed or survived the transition from microfilm to digital. These decisions shaped what was preserved and how it was accessed.

Advertisements

Whether they advertised for a blacksmith shop in town, a home kit, or a local dentist, old newspaper advertisements provide a snapshot of how people lived. These details can be a valuable complement to a family history.

While newspapers were designed to be discarded, they can offer researchers a view of the past that challenges the version of events typically presented in exam syllabuses and popular histories. Moreover, some newspapers were repurposed and used for fuel or insulation.

Fortunately, digitized newspapers are now available online. Even if the original paper has been microfilmed, the digital images can often be better than the physical copy. This is particularly true of sites specializing in scanning and search tools designed to improve academic research. These sites allow you to select and print complete pages of stories – photos, headlines, advertisements, and more – from the search results.

Inscriptions

When printed, newspapers were rarely intended to be saved. Their purpose was to deliver the latest information quickly, so they were discarded or repurposed (in the not-so-distant past, they might have even been used as fuel for a fire or insulation for a house). Even when their historical value was recognized by archives and libraries in the nineteenth century, efforts to collect and preserve them were often selective and uninclusive.

Digitized newspaper archives allow researchers to broaden their inquiries beyond the versions of history enshrined in exam syllabuses and popular histories. For example, digitized police reports include detailed accounts of murders, breaches of promises, and cases of child cruelty.

Obituaries

Obituaries are a public way for a family to share the news of a loved one’s passing and their appreciation for that person. They allow others to learn about the lived life; if written well enough, it can help bring closure.

Many newspapers have a specific page or section dedicated to obituaries. These can be a wealth of information for genealogists who might otherwise miss out on such necessary historical documentation.

Obituaries can also be found in the pages of periodicals and local histories, as well as in the archives of funeral homes. While some obituary indexes are available online, they are limited in scope. Therefore, obituaries are best accessed in complete print form when possible.

Biographical Sketches

Newspapers are an essential source for learning more about the past that goes beyond what you can find on birth, marriage, and death certificates. That’s why genealogy researchers often turn to them as they uncover new details about their ancestors.

In addition to the information in obituaries, newspapers can tell stories of everyday life in communities and give a sense of how people interacted with each other. This is especially true for marginalized populations, like immigrants or bootleggers. They often reported on these groups, giving readers a glimpse into the city’s underground culture through articles and editorials.

Several online collections of historical newspapers exist. These include the Historical Newspapers collection, which features papers from around the world with archives from the 1700s to the present. Its search tools are designed to support in-depth scholarly research. It also includes a digital facsimile of the Daily Mail Historical Archive, which offers a unique perspective on twentieth-century culture and society.