I want to let others know how microfilmed old newspapers have helped in my genealogical investigations. Whenever I get the chance, I tell people what a well-kept secret newspapers can be. They are simply waiting to be discovered.

This is a premier site for general information about newspapers and genealogy. It shows you how to break down the newspaper articles to uncover genealogical information.

The inter-library loan people have become my best friends. They have helped me get reel after reel of old newspapers. This started when one summer, I was recording an old family cemetery and after I finished, I stopped by the local library to see what they had as far as genealogical information.

I asked if they had old newspapers. They said no, not hard copies, but did have them on microfilm. I actually saw the reels and reels of film waiting to be discovered, doubting that anyone had even looked at them in this small town in Georgia.

By the way, here are two very good web sites that will help you to find Libraries across the U.S. Finding Libraries on the Net and Public Libraries on the Web.

Another excellent resource is the Libraries of Colleges. This site will help you locate a College library anywhere in the U.S. Did you know that college libraries generally have a Genealogical Department?

When I got home to Washington State, I called my inter-library loan people and I told them what libraries from which I wanted microfilm. I discovered that not all libraries have listings of all the small town newspapers.

So, I'm glad that I caught the name of the newspaper in this small town and that I saw the microfilm with my own eyes. Anyway, they called around and found all the libraries with the film that I wanted and the years archived. The information was finally obtained from a college near the town in question.

From this point, I expanded my search by asking the library to start researching newspapers from other neighboring small towns. In the many years that I have been doing genealogical research, I have found that newspapers based in surrounding towns often carry the same or similar information found in obituaries, and wedding and birth announcements if your "target town" newspaper microfilm in unrecoverable.

I found the obituary of an uncle in a newspaper from the next town over because the home newspaper didn't have the week I needed, as it had been destroyed.

I have even been greatly surprised by some of the substance of these newspaper articles. One such occasion was a letter written to Santa Claus, printed on the front page of the newspaper in 1912. This letter had been written by my mother, Georgia, when she was six years old; there was also a letter from her younger sister (and my Aunt) Corinne.

There were also entries in the "Personals" that told about my grandmother hosting her "Busy Day" Club at her home. The personal went on to indicate that her daughter, (my mother) Georgia, age 9, would be entertaining the group of ladies on the piano.

I am fortunate in that I have a stack of copied newspaper articles on my mother's side of the family. They have given me so much insight into what their life was like in early years, and the activities with their town and schools, which occupied their lives.

I have found party announcements, wedding announcements and birth announcements of early ancestors. All these articles are just priceless.

The articles sometime tell about one family visiting another family over the weekend. Many times, these are relatives they are visiting and they give full names.

I also found that Cyndi's List of Library Web Sites . This was a very helpful site for me. I discovered that the 1890's newspapers are so unique in their editorial content and advertising.

I just fell in love with their advertisements of clothing, tonics, etc., items that my relatives probably bought and consumed. A whole new world opened when I started looking at these old newspapers.

A treasure of genealogy is waiting to be discovered by those who take the time to read these microfilmed newspapers. So start now, and have your inter-library loan folks at your order some film for you; it is usually at no charge.

Maybe you will get lucky and find those long lost ancestors in a newspaper article. Also remember that photos generally were published when important town events took place. Maybe you will find your ancestor in a picture of a ground-breaking for a new hotel in town, back in 1898!