There are a number of newspaper archive sites that provide ways for people to bring up stuff about their ancestors. One of the best known is newspapers.com, which is a paid site that is run by Ancestry. Timberland Library System subscribes to "Newspaper Archive" which you can access for free from home if you have a TRL Library Card.
Another free site is the Library of Congress, accessed here. This collection is expanding and contains newspapers from around the country. Actually, the Library of Congress site has LOTS of other stuff. For example, you can find historic maps. Clicking here takes you to a detailed 1922 street/building map of Bemidji, Minnesota (where some of my wife's family lived).
There are a couple of other places to check out, as well. The University of Washington is expanding its Pacific Northwest Regional Newspaper and Periodical Index. That site can be reached here. Unfortunately, most of their stuff is still on paper and index cards, but it is free and worth a try.
For other newpaper archives, Wikipedia has a long list of them, here. Be prepared to scroll if you look at the Wikipedia link since it includes newspaper archives from around the world. There are dozens of different archives listed there from Washington State alone!
I have found many interesting items in newspaper archives that don't appear in our family tales. From newspapers.com (also available free if you go to the Ocean Shores Family History Center), I found the story below, from Illinois in 1930. I was, however, unable to find out who owned the police dog.
Another free site is the Library of Congress, accessed here. This collection is expanding and contains newspapers from around the country. Actually, the Library of Congress site has LOTS of other stuff. For example, you can find historic maps. Clicking here takes you to a detailed 1922 street/building map of Bemidji, Minnesota (where some of my wife's family lived).
There are a couple of other places to check out, as well. The University of Washington is expanding its Pacific Northwest Regional Newspaper and Periodical Index. That site can be reached here. Unfortunately, most of their stuff is still on paper and index cards, but it is free and worth a try.
For other newpaper archives, Wikipedia has a long list of them, here. Be prepared to scroll if you look at the Wikipedia link since it includes newspaper archives from around the world. There are dozens of different archives listed there from Washington State alone!
I have found many interesting items in newspaper archives that don't appear in our family tales. From newspapers.com (also available free if you go to the Ocean Shores Family History Center), I found the story below, from Illinois in 1930. I was, however, unable to find out who owned the police dog.
