Abrams Collection Genealogy Highlights
Fall 2007
Volume 9, Number 4

A PDF version of Newspapers: Finding the Scoop on Your Family Tree is also available.

From social columns and obituaries to articles about business ventures, court cases and more, newspapers serve as an essential secondary source for genealogy researchers. In addition to being a source for information such as vital events, military involvement and immigration, newspapers provide a historical record and a look at daily life in an ancestor's time and place.

The Library of Michigan holds an extensive collection of Michigan newspapers on microfilm, including some as far back as the early 1800s. To see the Library's newspaper holdings by county, go to the Library's Web site at www.michigan.gov/familyhistory and click on the link to Michigan Newspapers.

Most newspapers are not indexed, so when searching newspapers on microfilm, it is helpful to have the approximate date of the event of interest. The Library of Michigan does have a number of newspaper indexes, and this publication features information about several of those. Some indexes include information from the entire newspaper, while other indexes highlight only a specific type of article, such as obituaries.

A comprehensive listing of the Library's holdings for newspapers and newspaper indexes is available using ANSWER, the Library's online catalog at www.answercat.org. Following are examples of helpful keyword searches for finding newspapers and indexes:

• ingham county mich news
• bay city times and index
• ann arbor and obituaries

More and more newspapers and indexes are becoming available on the Internet, either through efforts by local libraries or historical/genealogical societies or via subscription Web sites. This publication includes a listing of several online Michigan newspaper indexes; for more, go to www.michigan.gov/familyhistory and click on the link to Genealogy Web Links. In addition, the Library of Michigan offers access to three subscription genealogy databases with access to newspapers:

• Footnote.com: Includes a wide range of newspapers covering major metropolitan areas and small communities. Time coverage varies by newspaper.
• ProQuest Obituaries: Features digitized images from major newspapers in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. Search by name of the deceased, any name that appears in the obituary, date range, specific newspaper and more.
• Access NewspaperARCHIVE: Contains tens of millions of searchable historical newspaper pages from around the world, including papers from a number of Michigan cities. The Michigan newspapers in this database span a wide-ranging time period, with some as early as the 1830s.

Michigan Newspaper Indexes

Bell & Howell Newspaper Index to The Detroit News. Wooster, OH: Indexing Center, Micro Photo Division, Bell & Howell Co., 1981-.
Reference AI 21 .D46 B44
1979 to 1993.

Carr, Julie, extractor. 1876 to 1915 Index to the Ingham County Democrat Newspapers: Names of the Deceased Found in Death-Related Notices, Obituary, Burial, Death, Funeral Notice, Probate, Estate, Postmortems, Card of Thanks, Murder Trial, Insurance Payout, Widow Pension. Mason: Ingham County Genealogical Society, 2007.
Michigan F 572 .I5 C374 2007

Flint Journal Index. Flint: Flint Public Library, 1965-.
Michigan AI 21 .F52
1965 to 1984

Grattan, Robin J. Index to Names Appearing in the Williamston Enterprise Newspaper: Williamston, Ingham County, Michigan. Mason: Ingham County Genealogical Society, 2004-.
Michigan AI 21 .W455 G73 2004

Holbrook, Phyllis, compiler. Index to Early Newspapers of Coldwater, Michigan: Subject Section. Lansing: Michigan Department of State, [1976?].
Michigan Documents Z 6953 .C65 C63 1974
Includes several newspapers between 1841 and 1912.

Jahn, Patricia C. Surname Index, Cheboygan & Mackinac County Newspapers. 2 vols. [Burr Ridge, IL]: P.C. Jahn, 1997-.
Michigan F 572 .M14 J34 2000

Michigan Newspaper Index Including Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, Grand Rapids Press, Lansing State Journal. Kalamazoo: D.B.S. Inc., 1983-.
Genealogy Microfiche AI 3 .D474z
Covers 1983 to April 1985

[Muskegon County, Michigan Index to Obituaries from Local Newspapers]. 4 reels. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society, 1983.
Genealogy Microfilm F 572 .M9 M7 1983

Northville Record Newspaper Index. 2 vols. [Northville, MI]: Northville District Library, 1993-.
Michigan F 574 .N87 N87 1993
1869 to 1879; 1888 to 1889.

Sherman, Alonzo Joseph, compiler. Obituary Index of Miscellaneous Newspapers, 1875-1946. Oscoda, MI: Huron Shore Genealogical Society, [1993].
Michigan F 572 .I63 S57 1993
Includes the Iosco County Gazette and the Prescott Progress.

Silliman, Sue Imogene. Partial Index to the Newspapers of the Three Rivers Public Library. 1930?
Michigan F 574 .T62 S555 1930a

Zoulek, Lucille. Index to Newspapers of Traverse City, Michigan, 1858-1910. [1984?]
Michigan AI 3 .Z68z

National Newspaper Indexes

Bell & Howell Newspaper Index to The Chicago Tribune. Wooster, OH: Indexing Center, Micro Photo Division, Bell & Howell Co., 1981-1982.
Reference AI 21 .C472z
1979 to 1981.

The Washington Post Newspaper Index. Wooster, OH: Indexing Center, Micro Photo Division, Bell & Howell Co., 1972-.
Reference AI 21 .W38z
1972 to 1981.

International Newspaper Indexes

McCallum, James L. Index to Dutton Advance Newspaper, Dutton, Ontario. St. Thomas, ON: Ontario Genealogical Society, Elgin County Branch, 2003-.
Genealogy F 1059.5 .D88 M33 2003

Palmer, Samuel. Palmer's Index to the Times Newspaper (London). 1790. Vaduz, Kraus Reprint, 1965.
Reference AI 21 .T452
1790 to 1905.

Saskatoon Newspaper Index, Birth, Death and Marriages, 1902-1907. [Saskatoon, Sask.]: Saskatoon Branch, Saskatchewan Genealogical Society, 1996.
Genealogy CS 88 .S39 S37 1996

Other States' Newspaper Indexes

Codman, Ogden. Index of Obituaries in Boston Newspapers, 1704-1800; Boston Athenaeum. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1968.
Genealogy F 73.25 .C63 1968

Eisen, David. Vital Statistics Index to St. Joseph County, Indiana Newspapers, 1831-1912. 2 vols. South Bend, IN: Northern Indiana Historical Society; Bountiful, UT: Family History Publishers, 1995.
Genealogy F 532 .S2 E385 1995

Gargiulo, Barbara Keyser. Scioto County, Ohio Newspaper Index: Deaths and Marriages, 1818 to 1865. Milford, OH: Little Miami Pub. Co., 1998.
Genealogy F 497 .S3 G37 1998

Haberstroh, Diane Fitzpatrick and Laura Murphy DeGrazia, compilers. Voices of the Irish Immigrant: Information Wanted Ads in "The Truth Teller" New York City, 1825-1844. New York: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 2005.
Genealogy E 184 .I6 H23 2005

Pennsylvania State Library. Index to Readex Microopaque Collections of Early American Newspapers. Harrisburg, PA: State Library of Pennsylvania, 1990.
Genealogy PN 4855 .P466 1990

Watson, Alan D. An Index to North Carolina Newspapers, 1784-1789. Raleigh, N.C.: Division of Archives and History, North Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources, 1992.
Genealogy F 253 .W46 1992

Online Indexes

African American Clippings Index Search
www.grpl.org/cgi-bin/afroindex/afrosearch.cgi
Includes about 70 newspapers from around Michigan, as well as Chicago. From the Grand Rapids Public Library.

Cass City Newspapers
newspapers.rawson.lib.mi.us/search/
Searchable scanned images of the Cass City Chronicle and the Cass City Enterprise dating to the 1800s.

Chelsea District Library Family History Index Online
fh.chelsea.lib.mi.us/
15,500 obituary entries for Chelsea residents from its founding in 1834 to the present. Records include name information about the decedent, parents, spouses and children, as well as dates of birth and death, places of birth and death, cemetery, funeral home, date of obituary and an image of the complete obituary where available.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/
Images from newspapers from nine states between 1880 and 1910. This ongoing project eventually will include newspapers from all states for 1836 to 1922. The directory of all newspapers published in the United States allows researchers to trace the history of a newspaper or find the name of a newspaper published in the town of an ancestor at a particular time.

Index to the Battle Creek Enquirer
www.willard.lib.mi.us/rooms/portal/page/Sirsi_AdvancedCatalogSearch
Battle Creek newspapers indexed from 1852 to 1962, and 1975 to present. On the Advanced Search page in the catalog, select Local Newspaper Index under the Library dropdown menu.

Ingham County Democrat Newspaper Index
www.ingcogenesoc.org/ICDIndexHome.htm
Name index to the deceased, 1901 to 1915.

Kalamazoo Public Library Local Indexes & Community Information
www.catalog.kpl.gov/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/49
Kalamazoo Gazette, complete subject and name index, 1972 to 2005; Kalamazoo Gazette obituaries, 1857 to 1888. When searching the database, select Local Indexes & Community Information under the library drop-down menu and choose a subject search.

NewsBank Michigan Newspapers
The Detroit News (Jan. 1, 1999 to the present), Grand Rapids Press (2002 to the present) and Lansing State Journal (Jan. 1, 1999 to the present). Available to Michigan residents through MeL, the Michigan eLibrary, at www.mel.org.

Sault Ste. Marie Evening News Index
hermes.lssu.edu/~library/
Evening News, 1888 to present; other Sault Ste. Marie papers, 1887 to 1903. Ongoing.

West Michigan Newspapers
data.wmgs.org/
Index to the death notices and obituaries published in the Grand Rapids Press and Grand Rapids Herald from 1910 to the present.

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Updated 04/07/2009