November 29, 2024

Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/ ) , Newspaper Archive (https://newspaperarchive.com/)  and Genealogy Bank (https://www.genealogybank.com/) are the big three when it comes to subscription historic newspaper websites. If you haven’t looked at any of them recently, now is a good time to check them out.

All three offer a free introductory period which means you can see whether you want to pay for a longer membership. Also, all three are offering holiday promotions of gift subscriptions at a discounted rate. A subscription would make a great gift for a genealogy friend, but there is no reason you can’t give a subscription to yourself.

Some newspapers will be available on all three sites. Others will only be available on one site. That’s why it’s a good idea to browse before you purchase. All three websites frequently add newspapers. If you last checked a year or more ago, you’ll probably find new titles and issues that weren’t available in the past.

Years ago, I found a brief notice in the Ogden Standard Examiner concerning a traffic ticket my grandfather received. It was just a brief article, and I didn’t save it. As part of a project, I wanted to check again to refresh my memory of the incident. Since Newspapers.com has the Ogden papers for the relevant period, I used that website. I entered my grandfather’s name, Victor Fernelius. I didn’t bother to narrow the search with a location or date since my grandfather’s name is unusual.

I’ve looked for articles about Victor in the past, so I wasn’t expecting anything new to pop up. Surprisingly, a series of articles from Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania were the first half dozen hits. They were from the early 1870s – before my grandfather was born.

My great grandfather and his family lived there shortly after they arrived in the U.S. from Sweden. These articles were from 1872, and all dealt with my great grandfather’s younger siblings: Mary, William, and Victor. This Victor was my grandfather’s uncle, and he died young. I’ve never known much about his short life.

The articles were honor roll listings for the young Fernelius siblings. Before I found the articles, I hadn’t known that they went to school after they arrived in America. It was a surprise to learn how well they did in school after only a short time in America.

I know that no one in the family spoke any English when they arrived in Pennsylvania. After their arrival, I’m sure that the family spoke Swedish at home. The children’s fluency in English may have been hastened by the fact that there were no other Swedes living nearby. According to the 1870 census, the Fernelius Family was the only Swedish family in the area.

Finding these unexpected articles has opened a window into my family’s early period in America. It has also reminded me that it’s important to periodically check various online sources for new information. Newspapers are a good source of information not found anywhere else, and the online databases are continually expanding.

Do yourself a favor and check them out, even if you’ve looked before. You may be surprised at what you find. I certainly was.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society