New York Newspaper Archives

Search New York newspaper archives

Genealogy has soared in popularity as people are becoming more interested in their family heritage. It can be fun to sift through old records and build a family tree, but it's also incredibly rewarding.

Once you start searching it's hard to stop. When you dive into your research, you can uncover story after story about your ancestors. You may find that your great, great grandfather was a notorious bank robber, or your great grandmother came to America from Germany because she was avoiding persecution. You can learn so much about where you came from by looking at the lives of your ancient relatives in New York.

The best part is that with the wide availability of records through the internet, searching your heritage is pretty easy. There are many sites and databases on the internet that contain tons of information. They can be a treasure trove of family history.

One resource that you may have overlooked is New York newspaper archives. They allow you to tap into hundreds of listings of newspapers that go back decades. If you haven't considered looking at old newspapers to learn more about your family, you are probably missing out. They offer so much information and it's right at your fingertips.

What kind of information can you learn from New York newspaper archives?

While most people flock to the internet and especially websites that specialize in ancestry searches and family tree builders, newspaper archives often get overlooked. People may not be aware of all that old newspapers offer to the heritage sleuth. In truth, it was the newspaper that was the main source of information for most people long before the telephone, television, and internet.

For hundreds of years (the first known newspaper in the U.S. was printed and distributed in the late 1700s), the newspaper has been the way that people learn about the events in their community and the world. And for a very long time, it was the only source of news, other than word of mouth.

The fact that newspapers have been around for so long is pretty good assurance that you can get some great information from them. There's a lot more potential than you might realize. Obituaries can tell you the date of death, place of death, place of burial, and often family member names. But there's a lot more than that. Browse the archives and see what discoveries old newspapers have in store for you.

Organize your facts for better results

If you are just beginning to research your heritage, New York historical newspapers can be a tremendous resource to help you get your search off the ground. But even if you have been working on your family tree for years, newspaper archives could still have a lot to offer. They can help you fill in a lot of the blanks where you are missing info.

Before you jump into an intensive search you might find it helpful to get the information that you already have in some sort of organized format. While you might have all of the vital information attached to members in your family tree, you should also keep some basics handy. Keep a document on your computer or a notebook where you can easily joy down information on certain ancestors.

Record the information that you have on each person, known names, dates, places, and schools. If you are missing certain pieces of information, leave those spaces open so you can fill them in when you find them.

You might also want to have one place for information that might be relevant to your search in the future. While not all of your family facts are helpful in your genealogy research now, some may prove to be necessary later.