Tuesday's Tip: Finding the Full Run of Connecticut Newspapers

With obituaries that provide date of death, social columns that track vacations, and more, newspapers can be a valuable resource - but how do you locate them?  

If your ancestor was from the Middletown area, Godfrey may have the resources you need at the ready. Middletown's Penny Press covered the area in the late 19th and early 20th century - and still does today as the Middletown Press. The Library has a nearly full run of newspapers on microfilm from 1885 to 1921, as well as an index covering 1884 to 1921. 

If your ancestor was from the Hartford area, try The Hartford Courant instead. If you're a Connecticut resident, did you know you can access historic issues on ResearchIT CT? To do so, go to http://researchitct.org/, 

click on "Newspapers," the title you want to look at, and enter your library card number to begin searching. 

Stuck? Consider joining our next internet genealogy club, which will cover how to use ResearchIT CT. 

Happy hunting! 

19th Century U.S. Newspapers had a New Look!

19th Century U.S. Newspaper, one of our most extensive and well used databases has updated their website!  As its name suggests, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers is a massive repository of newspapers from all areas of the United States from the 19th century.  All of these newspapers are completely searchable.  And the new website makes searching easier!

The main page contains a single search field.  There are options to search newspaper text or keywords associated with the articles and to limit your search by date of publication.  We recommend navigating to the Advanced Search page for more options.

On the Advanced Search page you can search for multiple terms at once by adding each new term into a search field.  As on the main page you can limit the search by date of publication.  You can also limit the search by article type (obituaries, news articles, business news, etc.), location, and publication title.  You can either type the publication title or location you wish to search into the search field or browse the available titles and locations in the 19th Century U.S. Newspapers database.  A new option is the ability to turn on Fuzzy Search, which searches the database for words with a similar spelling to your search terms, allowing you to see spelling variations or possible misspellings of the search term.

From the search results page you can narrow down your results by article type and date of publication.  You can also search for a new term within the results of the original.

We've updated our instructions on using 19th Century U.S. Newspapers to reflect the changes.  These instructions can be viewed under the Helpful Guides area of the Newspapers category on the Godfrey Scholar.

If you are interested in checking out 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, it is available in our digital library to Premium level Godfrey Scholars.  Sign up online or over the phone to become a Godfrey Scholar today!

Need a Newspaper?: Godfrey Guide can Help You Find the Right One!

Newspapers can be a fantastic resource for researching your family tree. They often list births and marriages in announcements, deaths through obituaries, and even family vacations!

The hardest part in newspaper research is often locating copies of your ancestor's hometown paper - and a Godfrey resource makes it a little easier.

To get there, go to www.godfrey.org. 

Click on "Godfrey Scholar+" and log-in when the next screen loads. Once logged in, click on "Newspapers" under "Browse by Category."

On the next screen, click on "Newspaper Websites by State."

On the next screen, click on the number in the newspapers column next to your chosen state.

Happy hunting!