The gossip and society news columns were the precursor to today’s social media! For ancestors involved in a local event, there may be a series of articles over several issues and even quotes from your ancestors or people who knew them.

Advertisements paid for all the published “news,” so an ancestor who owned a business or had a specific trade might have their business’ address, products and services listed in an ad.

In the past, genealogists had to go to a newspaper’s physical office and look through old copies page by page or scan through old issues on microfiche. And there was no index of names, which made the task arduous.

Today, many newspapers are indexed and digitized. This includes artifacts of our Catholic faith like the Boston Catholic newspaper, The Pilot, and Cincinnati’s The Catholic Telegraph, both founded by Bishop Benedict Joseph Fenwick (in 1829 and 1831 respectively) and among the oldest-running Catholic publications in the United States.

TWO SEARCH TECHNIQUES: GENERAL AND TARGET

General searching looks for what was written about an ancestor. It is recommended to first search an indexed newspaper website that is geographically close to where the ancestor lived, then choose a date range and list the first and last names in quotation marks, including name variations and maiden names.

Target searching looks for a specific type of article, such as a marriage, death or community involvement notice. Select the type of article, then use the exact name, if possible. However, leaving the name blank and searching the area, date range and type of article can yield great results when an ancestor goes by a nickname or newspapers published the person as “child of” or “father of,” and similar scenarios.

Newspaper Archives – Searchable full-text historical Ohio newspapers from 1793-2023.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Cincinnati Enquirer (1841-2009) – Full-text articles from the backfile of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Note: The year 1885 is incomplete due to damaged microfilm.

The Catholic News Archive: The Catholic Telegraph (22 October 1831 – 25 December 1930) – 5,032 issues of one of the oldest Catholic newspapers (thecatholicnewsarchive.org).

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Ruthy Trusler is a communication consultant with a passion for genealogy. For over 20 years, she has helped families document their ancestry and write their family legacies.

This article appeared in the September 2024 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.