Ancestors lost in the crowd?
New to family history research?
Perhaps these articles on our website may help:
Census 1841 - 1911
Birth, Death and Marriage Registration
The London Gazette
Newspaper archives
Trade Directories
Articles on the History of Essex, Researching your Ancestors,
and British History
Newspaper archives
A look at newspaper archives and how they can help you research your ancestors.
Introduction
Newspaper archives are rapidly becoming a very important source of information for researching your family tree. Many newspaper archives are now being made available online, some pay per view, but many available free through your local library. Each of them accessible by keyword or text searching. This article looks at newspaper archives and their importance in discovering your Essex ancestors and the drawbacks of using newspapers.
Newspaper Archives
British Library - The primary source for newspaper archives is British Library Newspapers. The collection, which is the largest in the UK, consists of British and overseas newspapers, and popular magazines and periodicals. At their reading rooms in London they are available in hard copy, microfilm, CD-ROM, and via three online sources.
British Newspapers 1800 - 1900. An online collection of 49 local and national titles. Payment for a 24 hr and 7 day pass on the website. Access to the Penny Illustrated Paper and The Graphic is free. An extended version of the collection is available from Gale Publishing via universities and other subscribing institutions, or local libraries (Essex libraries included).
The British Newspaper Archive. Published and manged by brightsolid it covers 18th/19th and early 20th centuries. An online collection of local and national titles which is being added to daily. In 10 years it could consist of over 40 million pages. Pay-to-view. one year, 30 day or 2 day packages available. The collection is also available at discounted rates through Genes Reunited.co.uk as part of their Platinum subscription.
A very limited number of the British Library's newspaper collection is available on Olive Software website, free to search and view.
Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition
The Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (ncse) is a free, online edition of six nineteenth-century periodicals and newspapers which are the Monthly Repository (1806-1837) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Northern Star (1838-1852, Leader (1850-1860), English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Tomahawk (1867-1870) and Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890)
Guardian and Observer newspapers
Guardian and Observer newspapers. 1821-2000 for the Guardian, and 1791-2000 for the Observer. Pay for 24 hours or longer. This can also be accessed for free through some UK county libraries. Speak to your local librarian.
Daily Mirror, Daily Express
Daily Mirror archive 1903 - 1980. The archive will in future include the Daily Express and other publications. Pay for 48 hrs or longer. This can also be accessed for free through some UK county libraries. Speak to your local librarian.
The Times
The Times digital archives 1785 - 1985 is operated by Thomson Gale databases and can be accessed through some UK county libraries and universities. Speak to your local librarian (Essex included).
If you are a member of Ancestry.co.uk, they have a searchable text version of the newspaper for the following years: The Times 1788-1833.
The Scotsman
The Scotsman 1817 - 1950. Payment or free for Athens users.
Irish Times
The Irish Times 1851 - 2007. Payment.
Other sources
Ancestry.co.uk also have some years of the Illustrated London News, the Penny Magazine, and several regional papers such as Liverpool, Bristol and Edinburgh.
County Record Offices, including the Essex Record Office, and County Libraries often hold extensive collections of newspapers in hard copy, microfilm or digitally. Enquire at the relevant local institution.
For newspapers at the Essex Record Office, see our article: Newspapers at the Essex Record Office.
Problems with Newspapers
A glance at our present-day newspapers immediately reveals the problem with newspapers. They full of mistakes, misquotes, and do not contain all the facts. They are also written with a particular reader in mind and their attitudes. The same applies to 19th century newspapers, so one must bear this in mind when reading them.
Conclusion
Having pointed out the problems, it must be said, however, that newspapers are an excellent source of information for your family tree and they should be included in your research.
