From Birth to Death - Use Newspapers to Conduct Genealogy Research

No matter where you live in the world, you're constantly searching for details about your ancestor's birth, marriage, and death. Have you considered using newspapers to conduct this research as an extension of or a substitute for vital records?

Give the following newspaper research keyword combinations a try to see what you might find. Read on because I even found a Church Baptismal listing for 30 years.

Keyword Combinations To Search Old Newspapers For Birth Articles

• [Surname] + born

• [Surname] + delivered

• [Surname] + birth

• [Surname] + christened

• [Surname] + baptized

• [Surname] + nursery roll

Yes, I made you read all the way down to see this cool article. In a newspaper from Abbeville, South Carolina, you can see the listings of baptisms, marriages, and deaths. All of these items were recorded by a church and printed in a newspaper. The person I was researching was born in 1852 but the paper was printed in the late 1880s.

OH! Be careful if you see the word baptized. Many older children and adults were baptized, so don't assume the date was their birth date.

News article featured in this video: Lanway Born

Keyword Combinations To Search Old Newspapers For Marriage Articles

There are a lot of terms to try out in newspapers related to a marriage, as the marriage event had many phases. Give these tested terms a try in any digitized and searchable newspaper database.

• [Surname] + engagement, engaged, engage*

• [Surname] + shower

• [Surname] + wedding

• [Surname] + bridal

• [Surname] + eloped, eloping, elopment

• [Surname] + anniversary

• [Surname] + divorce, divorced

• [Surname] + promised to

News article featured in this video: McIntosh Engage, Ostergard Shower, Riesman Wedding, and Muirhead Divorce.

The search for Ratree eloped lead me to numerous versions of the same story. This search emphasizes the need to not explore newspapers only in the area you think your ancestor lived. Check it out.

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Do Keyword Combinations Work in African American Newspapers?

If a newspaper was digitized, then the keywords work in any ethnic newspaper. The newspaper databases treat all papers the same and these vital events were reported in the general and specialty newspapers alike. Take a look at this wedding announcement from the African American newspaper called the Pittsburgh Courier.

Keyword Combinations To Search Old Newspapers For Death Articles

Too often researchers only look at obituary indexes or search for obits. However, you would do well to search for some o the

• [Surname] + memorium

• [Surname] + funeral

• [Surname] + last rites

• [Surname] + honor of

• [Surname] + died

• [Surname] + killed

Here's an example of a terrific funeral announcement from Ottawa, Canada.

This article is available at Newspapers.com

Use Newspapers for Genealogy Research Your Ancestor's Vital Events

I wish you all the best with using keywords to find birth, marriage, and death records for your ancestors in newspapers.

If I have overlooked any keyword combinations, let me know. I'll add them to the list.

More Newspaper Research Tips and Tricks

If you want to continue learning about how to use newspapers in your genealogy research, read or watch the following:

• How to work around OCR errors in newspaper research

• Write About A Day in the Life of Your Ancestors Using Newspapers

• Newspaper Research for Genealogist (video playlist)

For more about newspaper keyword combinations, check out these articles:

• Use Keywords in Newspaper Research to Find Genealogy Gold

• Explore the Social Life of Your Ancestors Using Old Newspapers

• From Birth to Death: Researching Your Ancestor's Vital Events Using Newspapers (you are here)

• Traveling Ancestors: Using Newspapers to Follow Your Relatives' Movements