Did Your Ancestor Travel the Globe? Find Out By Searching Historic Newspapers

Historic newspapers frequently discussed the comings and goings of their citizens and visitors. Discover newspaper keyword combinations that can help you track your ancestors' movements.

Clipping from 1 Aug 1914 in The Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, Canada

Newspaper Keyword Research Combinations for Travel

Use these search terms to quickly research in online historical newspapers to find genealogy gold in old newspapers. Each surname is linked to a Newspapers.com article featuring that surname combination.

• [Surname] + Visited

• [Surname] + Arrived

• [Ship Name] + Arrived

• [Surname] + Left

• [Surname] + Returned

• [Surname] + Moved

View how the keyword search for traveling ancestors works

Find Ancestors in African American Newspapers With This Trick

Viewers have asked, "Do these keyword combinations would work in African American newspapers?"

If the newspaper is digitized and searchable, YES, you can use these keyword combinations in African American newspapers.

The trick is to not necessarily limit which paper your research by location.

Clipping from 31 Jul 1926 in The Pittsburgh Courier

While the following article discusses Mrs. Minnie Stewart's arrival in Harrisburg, Virginia from Prospect, Virginia, the newspaper was The Pittsburgh Courier from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg and Pittsburgh are 250 miles apart!

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