Using Newspapers in Your Research

USING NEWSPAPERS IN

YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

RESEARCH

Presented by Leigh Anne JohnsonIndiana Division Newspaper LibrarianIndiana State Library

TYPICAL USES FOR NEWSPAPERS IN RESEARCH

Obituaries and death notices

Articles

Vital Records columns

ADDITIONAL USESAnniversary, engagement, and wedding announcementsLegal noticesSociety columnsLocal news columnsPhotographsArticles related to current local and national eventsAdvertisements for stores or businesses

PHOTOGRAPHS

Surprising FindsSurprising Finds

ANNIVERSARY

LOCAL NEWS COLUMNFROM BLO O MING TO N TELEPHO NE MARCH 8, 1889

-Hospital news

-Visiting or relatives in town

-New babies

-Job news

ADVERTISEMENTS

STATE AND NATIONAL NEWS

SOCIETY COLUMNS

OBITUARIES AND DEATH NOTICES

Usually, obituaries did not appear in newspapers often before the 1920’s

There are exceptions, of course

From the Lo c o m o tive (Indianapolis) August 25, 1849:

PROMINENT CITIZEN IN WEEKLY PAPER

Because Mike Sweeney was a State Senator, he was given a full obituary.

INDIANAPOLIS COMMERCIAL

OPTIONS FOR FINDING DEATH DATESSocial Security Death Index, 1935-2014- available through Ancestry Library Edition Findagrave.com - photos of grave stones and possible obitsInternet search- sometimes leads to newspaper citations or actual obituaries

ISL’S PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION

ISL ONLINE DATABASESCREATED IN-HOUSE Indianapolis Newspaper Index, 1848-1991

Indiana Biography Index

Marion County (Indianapolis) Death Index- from the Indianapolis Commercial

Logansport Newspaper Index (1848-1855)

New Albany Newspaper Index (1849-1889)

Vincennes Newspaper Index (1804-1827)

Indiana Marriages 1958-2015

Indiana Cemetery Locator Index

ISL SUBSCRIPTION DATABASES

Ancestry Library Edition- the library version of Ancestry.com

Genealogists Newspaper Search American Ancestors HeritageQuest NewspaperArchive ProQuest- Ind ia na p o lis Sta r, 1903-present Fold3 Newspapers.com

DATABASES FROM OTHER LIBRARIES

Indiana Genealogy Databases, Indexes, & Internet Resources by Co unty

http://www.in.gov/library/3023.htm Example: Vigo County

Cemetery and Obituaries •Vigo County Cemeteries•Wabash Valley Obituary Index

Marriage Records •Marriage Record Database, 1818-1958•Marriages, 1800-1810 and 1818-1830

Military•Military Index

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Indiana Newspaper Bibliography by John W. Miller (ISLI O16 M648i)

Ind ia na Bio g ra phy Ind e x on website or in card catalog Ind ia na p o lis Ne ws p a p e r Ind e x , 1 8 48 -1 9 9 1 -on website or in card catalog

ISL’s Genealogy Division has a number of Indiana county newspaper indexes within their county collections.

INSPIRE

INSPIRE: A free set of databases for Indiana residents

INSPIRE

INSPIRE- NEWS AND HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS:

McClatchy-Tribune Collection 90-day archive of 100 national newspapersIncludes the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and Sacramento Bee

Newspaper Source Select coverage of about 10 Indiana papers 389 US newspapers

Hoosier State ChroniclesHundreds of historical (mostly pre -1923) newspaper titles from Indiana- digitizedDoes have OCR capabilitiesNow includes the Ind ia na p o lis Ne ws , 1869-1920

HOOSIER STATE CHRONICLES

HOOSIER STATE CHRONICLES

SEARCHING HOOSIER STATE CHRONICLES

Hoosier State Chronicles

IF I CAN’T VISIT THE STATE LIBRARY, WHAT CAN I DO TO OBTAIN

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES?

REQUESTING ARTICLES

Name, date of death or date obit appeared in newspaper, city, and title of newspaper of which you would like us to check.

5.00 per name for obituaries; Other copies $5.00 for 1-10 pages, each additional page, $.50

Articles can be emailed. Invoice sent by email, as well. We can also print out photocopies and mail them with an invoice.

ASK-A-LIBRARIAN

INTERLIBRARY LOAN FROM ISL (THROUGH YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC OR ACADEMIC LIBRARY)Loan up to 5 reels of newspaper microfilm for 6 weeks

Arranged by and delivered to your local public library

Free for patrons.

NEWSPAPERS ON MICROFILM AT ISL

•Indiana County Newspaper Holdings Guides Indiana Newspaper Holdings Guides by County

•Newspapers filed by City- A to Z -except Indianapolis

•County Collections filed under County Seat- •Example- Hendricks County Collection films will be filed Danville

•Original print papers- can be pulled if microfilm not available for use

MICROFILM READERS/SCANNERS

HOURS Monday 8:00am-4:30pm

Tuesday 8:00am-4:30pm

Wednesday 8:00am- 4:30pm

Thursday 8:00am-7:00pm

Friday 8:00am-4:30pm

Saturday 10:00am-4:00pm

Please check our website (www.in.gov/library) for closing information. ISL is closed on all State and most Federal holidays.

QUESTIONS?

Don’t forget to check out programs and events at the Indiana State Library! www.in.gov/library

THANK YOU!Leigh Anne JohnsonIndiana Division Newspaper Librarianleijohnson@library.in.gov