Newspaper Articles / Records
Newspaper articles and records such as obituaries are commonly used by researchers of local history and genealogy. Despite their prevalence in genealogical and historical lilbraries, they should be used with caution.
There is an adage that is very often occurate and indicative of how people in general behave in regard to printed materials. Many people believe that if it is in print, that if they see it "in black and white", that it must be true. Although this is a prevalent assumption, it is a dangerous one because, in fact, anyone can print and publish anything. Freedom of the press is one of the most cherished and flaunted of the rights and privileges of the citizens of the United States of America. The right of freedom of the press implies that any citizen may publish anything he or she wants to without fear of reprisal and censure. The unfortunate thing about the freedom to publish anything is that either inadvertent or intentional mistakes and falsehoods may be printed as freely as anything else. Of all the forms of printed materials that are available to people, the newspaper is possibly the most common. Newspapers are relatively inexpensive and available almost everywhere in the United States. Therefore, if an untrue statement is printed in a local newspaper, it is bound to be read – and believed – by a large number of people. As with other forms of records which are not generated and/or maintained in the legal court system, where truthfullness and accuracy are imposed on them, newspaper articles and records should be cross checked with other documents to verify their accuracy.
The most common form of record found in newspapers is the obituary, or record of death. Obituaries have been printed in newspapers from the very earliest times to the present. The early obituaries tended to be written as biographical memorials to the deceased person; they provide interesting reading in and of themselves. More recent obituaries function primarily as genealogical records, listing the spouse and children of the deceased and the deceased person’s parents. The deceased person’s marriage date and place of employment are also normally given, but that is sometimes the extent of the record. The researcher should be aware that the information contained in the obituary may not be correct. The fact of the matter is that the information contained in an obituary is provided by a surviving relative of the deceased, and does not come from any legal source. That explains why very often, there are omissions of certain relatives, such as half-brothers and half-sisters, step-children and step-parents, and so forth, of the deceased in obituaries. If the person providing the information to the newspaper does not like certain members of the family, the information will probably not be included in the obituary.
Notices about births were not printed in newspapers until relatively recent years. Depending on location, such notices began to appear, on a regular basis, in newspapers through the 1950s and 1960s. During that time period, hospital reports began to be regular features of most newspapers and included admissions and discharges for the hospital along with births and deaths which occurred at the hospital.
At about the same time that hospital reports started to be included in the local newspapers, marriage engagements and anniversaries began to appear as regular features.
In regard to non-obituary newspaper articles about accidents, which might provide genealogical and historical information, such as the coverage of an automobile accident in which the victims’ family or past history is noted, such information is often obtained by the newspaper from their own files or other sources. Although the information may not come directly from a person, such as a family member, if it is taken from the newspaper’s files, it still must be regarded as suspect and used with caution.
Bedford County Pennsylvania Archives, Volume 1
edited by James B. Whisker, 1985 (available from Closson Press)
Bedford County Pennsylvania Archives, Volume 4
edited by James B. Whisker, 1988 (available from Closson Press)
Bedford County Pennsylvania Archives, Volume 5
edited by James B. Whisker, 1989 (available from Closson Press)
Bedford County Pennsylvania Archives, Volume 6
abstracted by K.T.H. McFarland, 1994
Bedford County Pennsylvania Archives, Volume 7
edited by James B. Whisker, 1994 (available from Closson Press)
Bedford Co., Pa. Selected Newspaper Articles From 1831-1983
by Clair E. Crawford and Velma M. Defibaugh, 1988
Clippings From Broad Top Bulletin, Saxton, Bedford Co., Pa. May 1965 - Aug 1966
(unpublished, maintained by The Pioneer Historical Society Of Bedford County)
Clippings From Broad Top Bulletin, Saxton, Bedford Co., Pa. 31 Jan 1979 - 30 Dec 1981
(unpublished, maintained by The Pioneer Historical Society Of Bedford County)
Early Marriages From Fulton County Newspapers
(unpublished, maintained by The Pioneer Historical Society Of Bedford County)
Everett Press Births 1931
(unpublished, maintained by The Pioneer Historical Society Of Bedford County)
Everett Press Marriages
(unpublished, maintained by The Pioneer Historical Society Of Bedford County)
Hollidaysburg Records
by Kenneth T.H. McFarland, 1994 (available from Closson Press)
Local Newspaper Coverage Of The Civil War (Huntingdon County) (2 volumes)compiled by Robert Cree,
(unpublished, maintained by the Huntingdon County Historical Society)
Marriages And Deaths From Cambria Tribune, Vol. 1 1853-1858
by Patricia Wainwright Collins, 1981 (available from Closson Press)
Marriages And Deaths From Cambria Tribune, Vol. 2 1859-1865
by Patricia Wainwright Collins, 1989 (available from Closson Press)
Marriages And Deaths From Cambria Tribune, Vol. 3 1866-1875
by Patricia Wainwright Collins, 1983 (available from Closson Press)
Marriages And Deaths From Cambria Tribune, Vol. 4 1876-1880
by Patricia Wainwright Collins, 1985 (available from Closson Press)
Marriages And Deaths From Cambria Tribune, Vol. 5 1881-1885
by Patricia Wainwright Collins, 1986 (available from Closson Press)
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1892
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1893
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1894
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1895
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1896
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1897
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1898
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1899
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1900
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle, 1989
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1901
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle, 1990
Martinsburg Weekly Herald 1902
by Jim Boor & Eugene Oberle, 1990
Mona Robinson Collection - Obituaries And News Clippings
(unpublished, maintained by The Pioneer Historical Society Of Bedford County)
Morrison Cove Herald, Martinsburg, Vol. I 1872-1891
by Jim Boor, published by Blair County Genealogical Society, 1986
Morrison Cove Herald, Martinsburg, Vol. 2 1892-1896
by Jim Boor, published by Blair County Genealogical Society, 1987
Morrison Cove Herald, Martinsburg, Vol. 3 1935
by Jim Boor, published by Blair County Genealogical Society, 1987
Newspaper Clippings From The Scrapbook Of Mrs. Martha Miller Of Clingerman, Clearville, PA
(unpublished, maintained by The Pioneer Historical Society Of Bedford County)
Newspaper Death & Marriage Records (Bedford and Huntingdon Counties)
(unpublished, maintained by The Pioneer Historical Society Of Bedford County)
Obituaries, Somerset County Newspapers - W.H. Welfly Collection
(unpublished, maintained by the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County)
Obituary Clippings By Archie Claar, 1933-1941, Volumes I - LI
edited by Jim Boor and Eugene Oberle (unpublished, maintained by the Blair County Genealogical Society)
