In my general theme of the last few weeks of getting to know your ancestors better than just knowing when & where they were born, married and died, here is another great resource: UK newspaper archives. In the past, it was necessary to have a definite date in mind in order to search newspapers, but while this may still be the case in many local papers – particularly before 1800 – it is also now possible to search online indexes. Newspapers are one of the best genealogical resources if any of your ancestors were involved in any incident that might have made its way to the press.
One of my favourite resources for newspapers is the British Library’s British Newspapers 1800-1900 site where you can carry out a free search using a name or phrase and date ranges. You can also choose which publications to search if you wish to limit the search to a particular area. If you turn up something that looks like it might be relevant, then you will have to pay for either a 24 hour or 7 day pass. I have turned up several stories that included clients’ ancestors using this site.
It’s worth trying this site for any ancestor (although of course it helps if the name is slightly unusual otherwise you will end up with too many results) – but if you think that your ancestor was a criminal, policeman, a bankrupt, a prominent person in the community, or died in unusual circumstances, then I would suggest that newspapers would be one of your main resources.
Here’s a nice little example of what can turn up. An Australian client of mine has an ancestor who was a London Bobby, so yesterday I ran a search for his name (which was a fairly unusual one: Jesse Button) and found the following newspaper report from 1864 (which is slightly appropriate in light of current news stories):
THAMES
A SPECIMEN OF THE EAST END RABBLE AT THE LONDON HOSPITAL
– Wm. Bennett, cooper, Richard Leftwich, painter and glazier, Ann Robertson, and Sarah Jifford, all from the neighbourhood of Lime-house-fields, were brought before Mr. Partridge charged with disgraceful conduct in the Whitechapel road on Monday afternoon, and assaulting Jesse Button, a police-constable, No. 359 K. – On Monday afternoon, at half-past four o’clock, the prisoners were among the crowd assembed in front of the London-hospital, to witness the departure of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The prisoners were very noisy, and endeavouring to excite confusion. Bennett made use of most disgusting language, and insulted several respectable females. One lady remonstrated with him, and he laid his hand on her shoulder, and made use of some revolting epithets. She called Button, a police-constable standing near, and the prisoner swore at her, and said, “If you can’t bear to be touched, and can’t bear a little slang, you should not come to the east.” Button requested him to behave himself, and not make a disturbance. The prisoner immediately struck the constable on the chin. The officer took him into custody, and he made a violent resistance, and kicked Button on the knee. A host of policemen went to the assistance of Button, and took the prisoner away. Leftwich jumped between Bennett and the policeman, pulled him away, and tried to rescue him. All this time the two females, whose conduct was singularly audacious, were throwing stones at the police, and calling out, “Down with them; kill them.” Some of the stones struck the policemen, but they were not materially injured. Mr. Partridge said the conduct of Bennett was disgusting and unmanly, and sentenced him to six weeks’ imprisonment and hard labour. He fined Leftwich 20s., and the two females, who said they made up trowsers, 10s. each. The women made use of the most horrible language as they were leaving the dock.
Whilst my client was delighted with this piece of information, I suspect that the possible descendants of William Bennet, Richard Leftwich, Ann Robertson and Sarah Jifford may be slightly less delighted – though hopefully just as interested!
Here we have a very visual story of a moment in an ancestor’s life – an absolute gem for any family historian.
Apart from online searchable indexes, you should also try your local library and county record offices where you can usually find old newspapers published on microfilm. Find out first whether any of these are held online – though many will not be indexed and are only worth searching if you have a specific date in mind, such as a date of death (if you are searching for an obituary or report of an unusual death such as suicide or accident).
There are also a searchable newspaper database at Ancestry.co.uk.
Searching UK Newspaper archives can be very exciting – you never know what you might turn up from your ancestor’s life! Make sure you check out these excellent genealogical resources.
