N is for Newspapers: A-Z Challenge 2020:

My Theme

Family History Meets Local History - 

Sources and Stories from England & Scotland 

N is for NEWSPAPERS - these  are near the top of my “must  check” record types, and a natural  part of my research routine,  when drafting an ancestor  profile. You never know what you might find and the findings can be  Illuminating.

If your ancestors were involved in the local community, whether in sport, music, social groups, parish affairs - or criminal activity, there is a good chance of seeing their names in print. 

For family historians,  newspapers offer an invaluable source of background information on events (local, national and international).   They also  enable us to experience the actual events described in the language and emotions of the time.   It is not textbook history, but it is full of vigour on many varied small aspects of life for ordinary people.  

 
The chief UK sources are:
British Newspaper Archives
British Newspapers Online 1710-1963  at FindMyPast 

Both offer various subscription options, with some public libraries offering free access.  I like the fact they do not concentrate on the major newspapers of the day but include the small weekly newspapers in rural areas.

How have newspapers helped my family history?

Preston Chronicle - Saturday 31st August 1867  reported:

"On Saturday 1st the directors of the Shard Bridge Company appointed Mr Henry Danson of Poulton-le-Fylde toll collector, vacant by the demise of Mr Thomas Moore."

Henry Danson was my great great grandfather and although I knew from census records that he had a change of occupation from farmer to tollkeeper  between 1861 and 1871, here was further confirmation. The Shard Bridge opened in 1864 across the River Wyre, near Poulton  to replace a ferry. 

•  A 1906 account in "The Fleetwood Chronicle and Fylde Advertiser""  of 28th September noted the funeral of my great grandfather James Danson (a local joiner),  which included a list of chief mourners.

"The deceased gentleman who was 53 years old was a native of Poulton. His father was toll collector at Shard Bridge for 14 years.  Mr Danson had been ill for seem time but had only recently taken to his bed.  The chief mourners were Mrs Danson (wife), Messrs Robert, John, Tom, Willie Danson (sons) and Mr John Danson (brother from Clitheroe), Miss Cookson (niece), Mrs Riley, Mrs Roskell and Mrs Geo Riley (sisters-in-law), Mrs Porter, and Mr Threlfall.  There were a number of beautiful wreaths.".

It was noticeable that missing from the list was eldest son Harry who died a year later aged 30, and James' three  youngest children,  Frank, George and Jennie who were all under  14 years old.   

• A poignant account of the death of my great uncle George Danson who was killed on the Somme, a week after his 22nd birthday.  I was particularly taken by the fact, (new to me)  that  George had sung in the local church choir , as had so manay of my family.

• Lenghy and colourful accounts of the weddings in the 1920's of my great aunt Jennie Danson and my mother's cousin Annie Danson - they are worth reading just for the journalistic "over the top" style in the description of the dresses - with such phrases as "gowned in delphinium blue georgette" and "Her hat was of georgette to tone with uneven pointed dropping brim, having an eye veil of silver lace and floral mount!"
  
  
• A graphic account of the inquest following the  death of Henry Lounds, a coach builder who took his own life, as a result of lead poisoning.
  
  

• Local newspapers  provided me with a wealth of information on the court appearances of my husband's great grandfather, miner  Aaron Armitage, who led a life of crime from poaching and stealing a pig to assaulting the woman whom he later married.

• I came across in the death announcements this short but beautiful testimony to my g.g.g. grandmother Elizabeth (Betty) Danson, nee Brown.

"Betty, widow of the late Mr. Henry Danson, yeoman, Trap Estate, Carleton, near Poulton-le-Fylde. She was much esteemed, and will be greatly regretted by a large circle of acquaintances".  (Blackburn Standard:  Wednesday 20 May 1840)

These  few lines, somehow brought Elizabeth (or the more familiar Betty) alive for me, as no other record had done.  I knew little about Betty, but this description inspired me to write a blog post  on her life.  Read it HERE.

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Inevitably as with all record sets, luck does play its part and in contrast nothing has turned up for my father's Weston family.

Some Pointers:  

• I  found  the entries above  by doing a "county" search, rather than  specific town/village or specific newspaper title.  The results  were often in newspaper titles I would not normally have considered as covering my Lancashire village.  So it is worth widening your search beyond the obvious.
   
• No doubt because of the cost, notices of births, marriages & deaths were often short merely stating - “On the 1st inst, a son named...."  with the mother’s name not always given!  Entries from the landed gentry and professions inevitably predominated, with reports on weddings and funerals  often lengthy.  
  Death notices came from a more varied social background and could include information on the burial place and on the circumstances of death.   But unlike in America,  here in the  UK obituaries are usually reserved for prominent people who in some way had made their mark in their community.

But even if you are unsuccessful in finding specific details on your own family, newspapers are an indispensable research tool in providing you with that essential background material and help you with compiling a timeline.

You can find out what was happening during the lifetime of your ancestors. 

You will find reports of military campaigns abroad, court cases, politics, royal visits, accidents (often with graphic descriptions), health, farming, trade, church activities, and  transport. 

Advertisements, generally on the front page for maximum impact, offer a valuable source of information on all aspects of life - railway timetables, market prices, local shipping agents offering passages to America, Canada, South Africa, India, Singapore and Australia, auction sales notices with lengthy details of estates and their contents on the market, bankruptcies, tradesmen, events such as balls and talks, and church activities plus new arrivals at shops from the last novel by Charles Dickens to India  rubber boots.

The classified adverts revealed households seeking housekeepers, cooks, parlour maids, scullery maids, between maids, laundry maids But life was changing in 1916, with an advert for a "Lady Motor Driver" and a "Lady Clerk - not under 30, must be a first class typist and shorthand writer and experienced in filing and indexing". Also seeking work was a "Gentlewoman, excellent cleaner of plate....speaks French and Italian, with own portable Corona typewriter".

You can find out through the adverts what your ancestors were eating, what was Christmas like in war-time, what was the well dressed lady wearing? 

Quirky  items might catch your attention and provide prompts for some interesting blog posts, such as:
Jilted Bridegroom suing for Breach of Promise:  1871 
Stories of hair-raising stagecoach journeys 
Tales of railway developments and railway journeys
Crime and punishment,  including reports of executions
Female Fashion in 1908
A Rant against Suffragettes, 1910 
Wartime newspapers, not only for their lists and profiles of casualties but for reports of military tribunals, and commentaries  on making the best of life on he home front. 

There  are lots of examples in posts written by many geneabloggers in this A-Z series of how newspapers have helped them in  their research and writing - the scope is endless....! 

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