The January 2015 meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library on Thursday, January 8, at 7:00 pm.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the meeting to order.
The following is the Treasurer's report for the month of October:
Do you have a family member that
is interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership
in the Madison County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful
gift. A gift card will be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $20.00
Patron Annual Membership $30.00
Life Membership $250.00
Contact our Secretary, Petie Hunter, at [email protected],
about a gift membership.
On January 8, 2015, local historian
and author, Cindy Reinhardt, presented a program titled Hometown
News: Local Newspapers and How They Can Assist in Your Search
for Family. Cindy's recent publications include 150 Years
of Hometown News celebrating the sesquicentennial of the Edwardsville
[Illinois] Intelligencer. She used examples of stories found while
editing her book for the Intelligencer to show how newspapers
could provide tips for genealogists.
Cindy started looking at newspapers for genealogical information
40 years ago. She was hooked when she found the story of her great
grandfather who was shot in the back on his way home from a night
of playing poker. The newspaper called it "the most dastardly
deed ever perpetuated in Jo Davies County."
There is a lot of information to be found in newspapers. For example:
news of members of the military or the flu epidemic of 1918. Data
about the flu epidemic in Madison County [Illinois] was incredible
in the amount of information available: they closed schools, churches,
and other public gathering places. They printed lists of people
who were ill and lists of people who died. Over 500 people died
in Madison County in a three-month period. Perhaps one of them
was your ancestor.
Cindy says she always checks newspapers first for Hatches, Matches,
and Dispatches (Births or Baptisms; Engagements, Weddings, and
Anniversaries; Obituaries). These are very important for genealogists.
Obituaries consist of more than a name and dates of birth and
death. Other items you might find are: nicknames; date and place
of marriage; names of spouse, parents, children, in-laws, siblings,
and other relatives; occupation, education, social groups, military
experience; religious denomination; name of cemetery; family history
details and clues.
Early obituaries were brief, but circa 1890 became longer with
the awareness that these articles sold newspapers. Circa 1930
obituaries became more uniform in size and style. Today most newspapers
charge to run obituaries. Families are allowed to write them in
their preferred style.
Birth or baptism announcements may provide more information than
a birth certificate. You may find: the child's name, gender, birth
date and location; full names of both parents; mother's maiden
name; names of grandparents and where they are from (sometimes
great-grandparents also); and names of siblings.
Announcements of engagements, weddings, and anniversaries contain
valuable information: full names of the bride and groom, date
and place of marriage, full names and hometowns of the couple's
parents, extended family members of the bride and groom, biographical
information of the bride and groom, photographs of the bride or
the couple. Anniversary announcements would also contain names
of children, family history, and more.
Other types of information that can be found in newspapers include:
business and religious information, church news, legal notices
and real estate transactions, details of social life, insight
into the time period, and surprises.
Names are used in describing businesses in advertisements and
articles. This is both a blessing and accurse for researchers.
A search for an ancestor's name can return a large number of hits.
You must sift through this data carefully.
Articles about church activities often contain the names of participants: prayer groups, fundraising committees, church councils, confirmation classes, and more.
Legal notices can provide valuable
information: recent real estate transactions, property assessment
lists, articles about individual real estate transactions, notices
of divorces, "Not Responsible for Debts" notices, court
activities including lists of jurors, lists of registered voters
(especially early newspapers), probate court records, and change
of name notices.
Local briefs and gossip columns give details of peoples' social
life. Early newspapers told who was visiting who and often gave
addresses and identified family relationships. Social events tell
us what a person was like. Did they play cards, visit the theatre,
travel, visit relatives, hold parties? What were their political
affiliations?
Insights into the time period
can help flesh out the lives of your ancestors. Examples include:
news of wars, draft notices, casualty lists, news from the front,
military reunions; news of epidemics; surviving the Great Depression;
recreational pursuits; religious and patriotic fever; economic
factors, hardships, and celebration.
Some of the information found about your ancestors in newspapers
may surprise you. For example: house histories when built, by
whom, for whom, and at what cost; orphan train children; family
reunion notices; accidents and tragedies; scandals and crimes;
heroic deeds; photographs; and sketches.
Where should you look for local newspapers in the Madison County,
Illinois, area? Some of the local newspapers are digitized: Alton,
Edwardsville, Troy, and East St. Louis newspapers are available
free at libraries or through on-line subscriptions. The St. Louis
Post Dispatch is available at SIUE Lovejoy Library. The St. Louis
Globe Democrat index and clippings are available at Mercantile
Library at the University of Missouri in St. Louis.
Non-digitized local newspapers are available on microfilm from
the local libraries in Collinsville, Granite City, and Highland.
The WPA file of indexed local newspapers are available in Alton
at Hayner Genealogical Library, the Edwardsville Intelligencer
at Madison County Historical Society Archival Library, and Belleville
newspapers at the Belleville Public Library.
The Ancestor Hunt website <www.theancestorhunt.com> has
lists of resource available free or through paid subscription
in almost every state and in many foreign countries.
Tips for Searching
* Search under correct spelling as well as likely misspellings
and nicknames
* Search under common abbreviations such as "Wm" for
"William" or "Hy" for "Henry"
* For women, search under their husband's name too.
* Use key words, dates, and locations to narrow your search
* Check the days preceding and following obituaries and wedding
notices. There are often additional articles.
* Remember that there are gaps in the dates available, and not
all newspapers are digitized.
* Look for notices outside the area where your relatives live.
Announcements were often published in the hometown of other relatives
or in areas where the family lived previously.
Organizing Digital Articles
One method would be to create a newspaper folder on your computer,
with sub-files for various newspapers and each article labeled
with date, newspaper name, and a brief description.
Example: News 1906 Jul 30 EI Obituary Thomas McCune
Many libraries have microfilm scanners that allow viewers to save
digital copies of the articles they need as PDF or as JPEG files
depending on future use. JPEGs are more flexible for publications.
Organizing Non-Digital Articles
This procedure depends on individual needs. Articles can be organized
by date in binders with the articles indexed in a separate document
so they can located when needed.
Articles can also be organized in files by person, but one should
remember that an obituary will contain information about many
people in addition to the deceased.
Ms. Reinhardt closed by requesting that, as genealogists, we support
newspapers. "Newspapers cover many important aspects of the
community: city council meetings, school board activities, milestones,
achievements, sports, and personal stories. They also serve as
a community watchdog and they tell the story of our lives in a
way no other medium can.
As a historian, I want to encourage you to all subscribe to a
newspaper, either paper or a PAID on-line subscription. If we
do not support newspapers, then someday they will be gone. Besides
getting a good product, you will be saving the history of your
town for future generations."
This presentation was well attended, very well received, and produced several questions and comments from the audience.
