Although passenger lists get all the attention, many immigrants appear in newspapers long before or long after their actual arrival. These “non-passenger” references are often richer and more revealing than the manifest itself. Article types and possible genealogical clues are included in the Quicksheet. Download the Quicksheet PDF To obtain a four-page Quicksheet PDF of […]
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.
Many small-town and rural newspapers — especially from the 1800s through the 1930s — have no name index, weak OCR, or scans that are incomplete.But these papers are also where the richest genealogical gold lives: everyday life, community networks, small announcements, and details never printed in big city papers. This Quicksheet gives you the strategy-first […]
From 1800–1940, newspapers rarely used the modern phrases we search for today (“died,” “death notice,” “obituary”).Instead, editors relied on poetic, religious, euphemistic, or socially coded language to announce deaths, funerals, and mourning rituals.Understanding these historical expressions helps genealogists uncover death-related articles even when names weren’t directly indexed or when common search terms return nothing. These […]
Hello to The Ancestor Hunt readers! Here is the latest Monthly Newsletter. It includes links to all of the articles published since the previous newsletter and articles that I think you might find interesting from other authors. It also includes research tips, a joke or two, and other interesting genealogical stuff. I hope that you […]
FamilySearch continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For the period of November 1-15, 2025, 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 […]
This past week (November 7, 2025 to November 13, 2025), the following additions were made to The Newspaper Research Academy: ✅ Free Resources – 0 New Articles were added – 83 Total ✅ Research Guides – 1 New Guides were added – 82 Total ✅ Video Guides – 0 New Videos – 19 Total ✅ […]
Local histories are one of the most overlooked resources in genealogy — but they often contain more narrative detail about ancestors than official records. Small-town histories, county historical volumes, centennial celebration books, and community anniversary publications were written to document local people, families, events, and achievements. Because many were produced for a town’s 50th, 75th, […]
Between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, newspapers used a wide vocabulary to describe marriage and engagement events. Many of these phrases did not include the literal word “married” — which means traditional searches often miss them. This Quicksheet has a large variety of marriage and engagement terms that help you to home in on […]
Business advertisements and trade notices were often the only printed records of small shops, family firms, or self-employed craftsmen. These seemingly routine ads provide valuable genealogical detail — names, partnerships, occupations, and sometimes even reasons for a business closing or changing hands. Phrases like “successor to,” “late of,” “retiring from trade,” or “estate of” can […]
Auction and estate sale notices were a public record of change — death, debt, relocation, or transition. When property, belongings, or livestock were sold, a legal announcement followed in the local newspaper. These notices often list names, addresses, property details, and even relationships, making them a goldmine for genealogists who read between the lines. Download […]