About This Category:

Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.

General Search Tips

• If you don't get any matches with an exact search, try broadening your search by including less information.
• Searching for phrases (as opposed to single keywords) requires you to "fool" the search engine. To find a series of keywords in close proximity to each other-for instance, if you are searching for the Declaration of Independence-you can put "Declaration" in the box for first names, and "Independence" in the box for last names. The system will search for all instances where "Declaration" and "Independence" are found relatively close to each other.
• Avoid using quotation marks, as these marks actually make your search less efficient. The system will simply perform the same search as if you had not used the quotes, but your hits will no longer be individually highlighted.
• Search for names using the search box in the Historical Newspapers Collection, or choose a specific newspaper, year and date, and browse the individual papers for that day.