Learning More About Your Ancestors Through Newspapers

 

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society is hosting a webinar: Learning More About Your Ancestors Through Newspapers. Tonight, Jan 9th @ 7pm (EST) Click here  for more information and to register.

I’ve found so much from newspapers like obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, information regarding court cases, land transfers, local event news and much more.  Newspapers give me a better idea of what my ancestor’s lives during the times especially when newspapers when other records are few and far between.

Newspapers.com has a 7 day free trial, check it out and see what information you can find.

Newspapers.com find

My 2x Great Aunt Rebecca E. Burke Tompkins is featured in this article I found the other day on newspapers.com I felt really proud and happy when I found this article, I could only imagine how she felt or the rest of our family felt.

 

If you are not utilizing newspapers in your research you should really think twice about it because you can really find some gems and get a better look into your relatives lives.

 

02 Sept. 1909

An Honest Man’s the Noblest Work of God. Pt. 1

Photo taken by Monika Cantrell (for findagrave.com)

My Great Uncle Duffie was only 25 years old when he died, the circumstances of Uncle Duffie’s death was sort of a mystery to me for many years. I knew he had been shot but didn’t know by whom or for what. I’ve heard family stories of a family member being behind his death but I didn’t and at this point I still don’t have any real proof that family member had anything to do with his murder.

While at RootsTech 2018 I stopped by the Genealogybank.com exhibit booth and was able to search on their computers and during my search I came across an article in The Macon Daily Telegraph Newspapers from 01 Jul 1923 about Uncle Duffie’s death. This was the first time I had seen anything regarding his murder. The article was a little difficult to read due to a fold in the paper. I contacted Washington Memorial Library in Macon, GA which houses The Macon Daily Telegraph archives but they had the same folded copy I had. I did some more searching this time using Newspapers.com. I   had to played around with keyword before I found another article in The Montgomery Advertiser also dated 01 Jul 1923. The article is almost identical to the one I found in The Macon Daily Telegraph. 

Clipping from The Montgomery Advertiser Sunday, July 1, 1923 via Newspapers.com

 

Clipping from The Montgomery Advertiser Sunday, July 1, 1923 via Newspapers.com

Clipping from The Montgomery Advertiser Sunday, July 1, 1923 via Newspapers.com

Clipping from The Montgomery Advertiser Sunday, July 1, 1923 via Newspapers.com

 

 I intend to continue the search for more information regarding Uncle Duffie’s murder.