Newspapers provide a wealth of genealogical information that other sources might not provide. Obituaries can contain the married names of females as well as names of family members and their relationships. Local newspapers often include birth, marriage, and death announcements. If your ancestor was a business owner you may find advertisements and other related articles in a newspaper. In the past, small town newspapers reported on many trivial aspects of their reader’s lives, which can add interest to your ancestor’s story.
Birth, marriage, and death notices might be recorded in your ancestor’s hometown as well as their current residence. Also check newspapers in surrounding towns and counties for news relating to your ancestors. If your ancestor's hometown did not publish their own paper, be sure to search for newspapers printed in the nearest town as they will often include regional news.
There are several online databases where digitized copies of newspapers can be found:
Chronicling America
GenealogyBank.com
NewspaperArchive.com
Ancestry.com
Newspapers.com (available at the Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center library)
One website, The Ancestor Hunt, deserves special mention. It has a vast listing of links, frequently updated, to online historical newspapers from the United States and all over the world. Other features are lessons on how to perform searches in the newspaper databases and articles relating to newspaper research.
The Tennessee State Library and Archives provides access to The Tennessean (1812 – 2002) to Tennessee residents through TEL. TSLA also has a collection of Tennessee newspapers on microfilm. A list of newspapers available by county can be found here:
https://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/tennessee-newspapers-arranged-county
Local libraries and history societies are also a good source for newspapers.
Birth, marriage, and death notices might be recorded in your ancestor’s hometown as well as their current residence. Also check newspapers in surrounding towns and counties for news relating to your ancestors. If your ancestor's hometown did not publish their own paper, be sure to search for newspapers printed in the nearest town as they will often include regional news.
There are several online databases where digitized copies of newspapers can be found:
Chronicling America
GenealogyBank.com
NewspaperArchive.com
Ancestry.com
Newspapers.com (available at the Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center library)
One website, The Ancestor Hunt, deserves special mention. It has a vast listing of links, frequently updated, to online historical newspapers from the United States and all over the world. Other features are lessons on how to perform searches in the newspaper databases and articles relating to newspaper research.
The Tennessee State Library and Archives provides access to The Tennessean (1812 – 2002) to Tennessee residents through TEL. TSLA also has a collection of Tennessee newspapers on microfilm. A list of newspapers available by county can be found here:
https://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/tennessee-newspapers-arranged-county
Local libraries and history societies are also a good source for newspapers.
