Introduction: Ever wondered how women in your family built community and left their mark? Long before social media or formal organizations, newspapers documented the social fabric of towns through brief notes about sewing circles, Ladies Aid societies, and church-based women’s groups. These small columns—often tucked into local news or society pages—recorded meetings, projects, fundraisers, and […]
Author: Kenneth R Marks
Kenneth R Marks was born and educated in the San Francisco Bay Area, receiving a BS in Mathematics in 1968. His career was in Information Technology; with the last 20 Years as a software executive with Boeing, Pearson, and NASA. His genealogy career began in 2004. He is an expert in newspaper research for genealogy, as well as additional genealogy topics. He regularly conducts webinars on the subject and has authored three genealogy books. See the About page for more details.
The Ancestor Hunt, founded in 2008, is focused on helping genealogy and family history researchers of all skill levels to achieve their goals, by providing links to free online genealogy collections, and search tips and techniques, largely via easy-to-understand Quick Reference Guides.
This past week (January 16, 2026 to January 22, 2026), the following additions were made to The Newspaper Research Academy: ✅ Free Resources – 0 New Articles were added – 102 Total ✅ Research Guides – 5 New Guides were added – 107 Total ✅ Video Guides – 0 New Videos – 19 Total ✅ […]
The Digital Library of Georgia has just announced that 26 titles will be added added in the Winter 2026 Update. They will be part of the Georgia Historic Newspapers (GHN) website. The complete article announcement can be read HERE Here is the list of the titles and date ranges available, as well as their funding […]
Introduction: Ever wondered exactly when your ancestors arrived, departed, or passed through a town? Before highways and airports reshaped travel, the railroad timetable was the heartbeat of a community—and newspapers recorded it faithfully. Railroad Arrival and Departure Logs listed daily or weekly train movements, passenger connections, and service updates. These short, utilitarian columns can pinpoint […]
This past week (January 9, 2026 to January 15, 2026), the following additions were made to The Newspaper Research Academy: ✅ Free Resources – 19 New Articles were added – 102 Total ✅ Research Guides – 5 New Guides were added – 102 Total ✅ Video Guides – 0 New Videos – 19 Total ✅ […]
MyHeritage continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For January 1-15, 2026, there are 8 new and 12 updated collections. The new and updated collections are: I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for! Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
Ancestry.com continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For the period of January 1-15, 2026, the new and updated collections are: I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for! Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
FamilySearch continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For the period of January 1-15, 2026, the added/updated collections are: For a complete list of all added/updated collections, go to https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for! Good Luck and […]
Introduction: Ever wondered where your ancestors’ everyday legal troubles were recorded? Not every court case involved murder, major theft, or headline-grabbing drama. In fact, many of the most revealing encounters with the legal system appeared quietly in newspaper columns under headings like “Recorder’s Court,” “Police Court,” or “Municipal Court.” These brief docket summaries captured the […]
Over 1,000 New titles were added by various Free and Subscription databases in the last month. Here are links to all the updates: Here are links to all the updates: Chronicling America – https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/chronicling-america-updates-december-2025/ Advantage Archives – Not Yet Published Veridian – https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/veridian-adds-updates-262-titles-january-2026/ Newspapers dot com – Not Yet Published GenealogyBank – https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/genealogybank-adds-updates-33-titles-january-2026/ NewspaperARCHIVE – https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/newspaperarchive-update-december-2025/ […]