England Newspapers

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England

Newspapers

Birmingham Journal

Online Resources

• 1849 United Kingdom, Quakers Annual Monitor, 1849 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, images available through findmypast
• 1939-1945 UK, London Gazettes World War II Military Notices, 1939-1945 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• British Newspaper Archives, Obituaries at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• England, Newspaper Birth Notices at Findmypast — index & images ($)
• British Newspaper Archive, Family Notices at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• England, Newspaper Marriage Notices at Findmypast — index & images ($)
• British Newspapers findmypast.com ($)
• Genuki-Newspapers Online
• Online Newspapers
• Richard Heaton's Newspaper Collection
• Runaway Slaves in Britain, searchable database of runaway advertisements in the 1700s
• Suffragette Newspaper Collection ($)
• UK and Ireland, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• UK and Ireland, Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-current at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• World-Newspapers

Introduction

English newspapers began in 1620. At first content was limited to foreign news. A tax on each printed sheet of paper limited the number of pages and the amount of information now useful to family historians. The first successful newspaper was the London Gazette, a biweekly government list of bankruptcies, naturalizations, official acts, and public notices. It began in 1665/6 and still continues today.

In 1690 the first local newspaper began in Worcester. The content was still very limited because of taxes, but useful items published from 1690 to 1800 include the following:

• Ads with physical descriptions of runaway apprentices, giving the apprentices’ names, addresses, occupations and the names of their fathers and masters.
• Ads to locate runaway or kidnapped children, military deserters (with physical description, previous occupation, age, and place of birth), and missing heirs or family members.
• Marriage, engagement, and death notices (since 1730) [But do bear in mind only a very small percentage of Marriages and Deaths were reported due to the limited physical size of the newspaper].

Local newspapers did not flourish until the paper tax was lowered in 1836. When the tax was abolished in 1855 hundreds of newspapers started.

If a newspaper is not online then it is necessary to search newspapers on microfilm and determine if there are paper indexes. Microfilmed newspapers can be found in County Record Offices and the British Newspaper Library.

The following works may help you decide if newspapers contain the information you need:

• Nicholson, Cregoe D. P. The Genealogical Value of Early English Newspapers. London, England: C.D.P. Nicholson, 1934. FS Library 1468841 item 7; FS Library 6026113

From 1731 to 1864 Gentleman’s Magazine published notices of births, deaths, marriages, key promotions, and appointments (FS Library 942 B2g; FS Library 844665 – FS Library 844710. These notices have been indexed in:

• College of Arms, comp. Gentleman’s Magazine Index. Bound unpublished manuscript. N.p., 1958–60. FS Library 942 B2g Index; FS Library 599738 – FS Library 599761; FS Library 6026701

Increasingly Digitalisation is opening up access to "trapped data" in newspapers for example:

• Thomson-Gale The Times Online for example adds significantly to Palmer's Index
• British Library Burney Collection of 18th Newspapers
• British Library Digitalisation of 19th Century Newspapers
• The Scotsman, The Guardian etc are also available on a Pay per View Basis

Archives and Libraries

British Library

Copies of British newspapers are at many repositories and libraries. The most complete collection is in the Newspaper Library section of the British Library (see England Archives and Libraries for the address).

• Newspapers Collection Guide
• British Newspaper Archive
• Researching Newspapers

FamilySearch Library

The FamilySearch Library has a few English newspapers listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - NEWSPAPERS

The FamilySearch Library usually does not collect newspapers. However, the library does collect indexes and abstracts of genealogical information from newspapers. Look in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

GREAT BRITAIN - NEWSPAPERS

ENGLAND - NEWSPAPERS

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - NEWSPAPERS

Indexes

The London Times published notices of deaths, marriages, and births of prominent families. Abstracts with semiannual indexes from 1785 to 1933 have been prepared in Abstracts of Birth, Marriage, and Death Announcements, a manuscript on film at the FamilySearch Library, listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

ENGLAND, LONDON - NEWSPAPERS - INDEXES

For an index to key topics, events, deaths notices, and obituaries appearing in The London Times from 1790 to 1901, see:

• Palmer, S. Palmer’s Index to the Times Newspaper. Reprint. Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus Reprint, 1965–1978. FS Library 942.1/L1 B32pa

Directories

The following work lists holdings by town of publication:

• Catalogue of the British Newspaper Library. Eight Volumes. London, England: British Museum Publications, 1975. FS Library 942 A5cn

Other lists of holdings of British newspapers include:

• Bibliography of British Newspapers. London, England: The Library Association, 1975–. FS Library 942 B33b This bibliography is an ongoing series. It lists newspapers by county and gives background information on the papers.
• Crane, R. S., and F. B. Kaye. A Census of British Newspapers and Periodicals, 1620–1800. Second Edition. London, England: Holland Press, 1966. FS Library 942 B3ce This lists holdings at major U.S. libraries.
• Gibson, J. S. W. Local Newspapers, 1750–1920. Revised Edition. Birmingham, England: Federation of Family History Societies Publications, Limited, 1987. FS Library 942 B33g This book lists holdings in English repositories, arranged by county and city.

It's worth bearing in mind that Regional Newspapers may be a much better source for your ancestors than National Newspapers (the Gibson Guide listed above is an invaluable resource to track local holdings).

Digital Issues Online

• British Newspaper Archive, Family Notices at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• The British Library in London ($) has made many county newspapers available online with an every name index.
• British Newspapers Archive ($)
• Richard Heaton's Index to Digitalised British and Irish Newspapers Online
• On the Gentleman's Magazine FamilySearch Wiki page, a list of digitized volumes free to read online is being compiled.
• Palmer's Index: online through the Internet Archive

Archives

• British Newspaper Archive, Family Notices at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• Suffragette Newspaper Collection($) at Findmypast The Suffragette was a weekly newspaper that gave announcements for the activities, meetings, and etc of suffragettes and was later named Britannia.