17 Do's and Don'ts When Researching Old Newspapers

When searching old newspapers, there are some things you should try (Do's) and things that you shouldn't try (Don'ts).  Pat attention to this list and you will be much more successful:

• DO Misspell search criteria words on purpose. The OCR process tries to create letters from dots, not words
• DO Search in the nearest big city or county seat
• DO Add the word(s) beloved, dear, or loving to help find obituaries
• DO a search with syllables rather than whole words to take advantage of the significant use of hyphenated words in older newspapers
• DO take advantage of free trials with subscription newspaper sites before you buy
• DO use abbreviations, such as Wm,  Jos, Eliz, Ave, or Sgt, etc. in your search criteria
• DO search for husbands name with Mrs. for married women
• DO a search for a few weeks prior to death date in the newspaper for hospitalization, illness or accident - helps determine the cause of death
• DO try to exchange a "b" for an "h", or a "c" for an "e' and many other combinations since they are very similar to the OCR process many times
• DO search for a street address. You might be surprised.
• DON'T just select a newspaper subscription database just because it's on sale
• DON'T assume that the newspaper collection has what you want just because the title is from your chosen city or town. Check the collection's date range
• DON'T search just surnames
• DON'T just search U.S. newspapers based on ethnicity. Search newspapers in the person's homeland
• DON'T rush out and purchase a subscription to newspaper collections. Libraries often subscribe to the same pay sites and if you have a library card, you may be able to search from home.
• DON'T assume that because an obituary states someone is a "native of" that it means that they were born there.

DON'T - Ever. Give. Up.