What is the difference between the individual and library versions of GenealogyBank?

Q: What is the difference between the individual and library versions of GenealogyBank?

Tom, On your blog of Apr 20, 2009, you mention that GenealogyBank has added Cincinnati newspapers. How long does it take for the records to be added to the library version of GenealogyBank - America's GenealogyBank? I found several articles of interest by searching on the direct links in your blog, but the Cincinnati newspapers are not listed on the library version of GenealogyBank I normally use.

Thanks.Rebecca C.

A: Good question Rebecca. GenealogyBank (individual version) and America's GenealogyBank (library version) are two separate online services.

GenealogyBank is available by membership directly to individuals.
America's GenealogyBank is available by subscription only by libraries.

While they are similar - they are not the same service.
Titles added to GenealogyBank do not always go into AGB.

For example there are over 3,800 newspaper titles in GenealogyBank and approximately 2,200 in America's GenealogyBank. Each library has the option to add-on additional content and expand their AGB coverage beyond the core set of newspapers.

See the complete newspaper title list on GenealogyBank here.

So - if you want to search the newspaper archives of the "complete" product you need to use the personal edition: GenealogyBank.com

Genealogist, Mary Sue Green Smith (1933-2009)

Prominent Nashville, TN genealogist, Mary Sue Green Smith (1933-2009) has passed away.

She was President of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society. She published eight books between 1994 and 2006; mostly reference works to be used in tracing one's roots in Nashville. She indexed tens of thousands of pre-Civil War civil court records, which added to standard genealogical resources, many families whose names don't otherwise appear in records.

Tennessean, The (Nashville, TN) - April 25, 2009
SMITH, Mary Sue Green Age 76 of Nashville, TN, died Friday, April 24, 2009. She was a genealogist, whose contributions helped African-American families with Nashville roots to trace their families back before the Civil War.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Burrell G. Smith and one of her sons, Robert Shelton Smith, who died in 1972. She is survived by three sons, John Kennedy Smith and wife Barbie of Indianapolis, Stephen Thomas Smith and wife Barbara Ann Mech of Nashville, and Richard Douglas Smith and wife Julie of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Her surviving grandchildren are John R. Smith of Big Bear, CA, Michael B. Smith, midshipman at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, Thomas Shelton Smith and wife, Anne Kindt Smith of Knoxville, Katherine Holly Smith of Nashville, Andrew Kennedy Smith of Nashville, Jennifer Sue Smith of Fairbanks and Robert Elias Smith of Sault Ste. Marie, MI.

Her surviving sisters are Dorothy Strange of Loudon, TN, Barbara Butler of Nashville and Pam White of Nashville. Mary Sue Smith was a native of Nashville.

She graduated from David Lipscomb High School and attended David Lipscomb College, where she met Burrell G. Smith, who had served in the Army paratroopers in World War II. They were married in April, 1950. Hers was the first wedding in the newly built Otter Creek Church of Christ, at the corner of Otter Creek Road and Granny White Pike. Her father, the late Sam Kennedy Green, was an elder there.

The couple raised a family in Bellaire, MI. Burrell was an educator and a social worker. Sue served as clerk of the Antrim County Selective Service Board during the Vietnam War. She served on the mental health board of the county. After Burrell's death, Sue returned to Nashville in 1986.

Sue was a genealogist and had served as President of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society. She published eight books between 1994 and 2006, mostly reference works to be used in tracing one's roots in Nashville. She indexed tens of thousands of pre-Civil War civil court records, which added to standard genealogical resources, many families whose names don't otherwise appear in records.

Her work made it possible for many African-American families to trace their parentage back into the years when persons held in slavery were listed, as property, in wills.

Memorial services will be conducted Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 3 p.m., at Woodbine Funeral Home, Hickory Chapel, 5852 Nolensville Road, by Tommy Daniel. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice. Visitation will be Sunday from 1 - 3 p.m., at WOODBINE FUNERAL HOME, HICKORY CHAPEL Directors, 615-331-1952; Still Family Owned.

Copyright (c) The Tennessean. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.

GenealogyBank adds 67 newspapers from 22 states

GenealogyBank is expanding the back issues for 67 newspapers from 22 states.

27 of these newspapers are new to GenealogyBank.

Arkansas
Jonesboro. Jonesboro Evening Sun. 1907 to 1920. Historical Newspapers

California
Berkeley. Fuego de Aztlan* 1976. Historical Newspapers
Colton. Chicano. 1968 to 1974. Historical Newspapers
Los Angeles. Cinema* 1935. Historical Newspapers
Oakland. American Sentinel. 1823 to 1833. Historical Newspapers
Oakland. Mundo* 1971 to 1974. Historical Newspapers
San Francisco. Hispano America. 1918 to 1925. Historical Newspapers
San Francisco. Jalamate. 1971 to 1972. Historical Newspapers
Santa Barbara. Gaceta* 1879 to 1881. Historical Newspapers

Colorado
Colorado Springs. Gazette-Telegraph. 1918 to 1922. Historical Newspapers

Connecticut
Norwich. True Republican. 1804 to 1806. Historical Newspapers

Idaho
Idaho City. Idaho Register. 1907 to 1913. Historical Newspapers
Idaho Falls. Idaho Falls Times. 1913. Historical Newspapers
Twin Falls. Twin Falls News. 1920 to 1921. Historical Newspapers

Illinois
Chicago. Latin Times. 1971 to 1973. Historical Newspapers
Chicago. Vida Latina. 1962. Historical Newspapers
Quincy. Quincy Whig. 1872. Historical Newspapers

Louisiana
New Orleans. Times Picayune. 1861 to 1899; 1902 to 1921. Historical Newspapers

Massachusetts
Taunton. Taunton Call. 2007 to Today. America's Obituaries

Maryland
Annapolis. Maryland Gazette. 1728 to 1734. Historical Newspapers
Baltimore. American and Commercial Daily Advertiser. 1805. Historical Newspapers
Baltimore. Baltimore American. 1907 to 1908. Historical Newspapers
Baltimore. Federal Gazette. 1803 to 1821. Historical Newspapers
Baltimore. Maryland Journal* 1797. Historical Newspapers
Easton. Maryland Herald* 1790 to 1797. Historical Newspapers
Frederick. Reservoir and Public Reflector* 1826 to 1828. Historical Newspapers

Michigan
Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids Press. 1893 to 1922. Historical Newspapers
Jackson. Jackson Citizen Patriot. 1849 to 1858. Historical Newspapers
Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo Gazette* 1872 to 1919. Historical Newspapers

Mississippi
Picayune. Picayune Items. 2008 to Today. America's Obituaries

North Carolina
Morehead City. Carteret County News Times. 2008 to Today. America's Obituaries
Sanford. Sanford Herald. 2007 to Today. America's Obituaries
Swansboro. Tideland News. 2008 to Today. America's Obituaries

New Jersey
Trenton. Trenton Evening Times. 1883 to 1922. Historical Newspapers
Trenton. Trenton Sunday Times-Advertiser. 1903 to 1918. Historical Newspapers

New Mexico
Albuquerque. Bandera Americana. 1903. Historical Newspapers
Albuquerque. Industrial Advertiser* 1899. Historical Newspapers
Las Cruces. Flor del Valle* 1894. Historical Newspapers
Las Cruces. Tiempo* 1902 to 1911. Historical Newspapers
Santa Fe. Daily New Mexican. 1871 to 1872. Historical Newspapers
Taos. Taos News. 2007 to Today. America's Obituaries

New York
Albany. Albany Evening Journal. 1852 to 1872. Historical Newspapers
New York City. Grafico. 1928. Historical Newspapers
New York City. Iberica* 1953 to 1964. Historical Newspapers
New York City. Independiente* 1898. Historical Newspapers
New York City. Nueva Democracia* 1920 to 1936. Historical Newspapers
New York City. New York Herald. 1865. Historical Newspapers
Plattsburg. Northern Herald * 1812 to 1814. Historical Newspapers

Ohio
Cincinnati. Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. 1870 to 1879. Historical Newspapers
Cleveland. Plain-Dealer. 1920 to 1922. Historical Newspapers
Wooster. Wooster Republican. 1862 to 1872. Historical Newspapers

Oklahoma
Englewood. Enid News and Eagle. 2008 to Today. America's Obituaries

Oregon
Portland. Oregonian. 1865 to 1907. Historical Newspapers

Pennsylvania
Philadelphia. Public Ledger. 1842 to 1872. Historical Newspapers

Texas
Beaumont. Beaumont Enterprise and Journal. 1910 to 1911. Historical Newspapers
Brownsville. Courier de Rio Grande* 1866' Historical Newspapers
Brownsville. Heraldo de Brownsville. 1936. Historical Newspapers
Brownsville. Mundo* 1886. Historical Newspapers
Clarksville. Standard. 1852. Historical Newspapers
Del Rio. Del Rio News Herald. 2001 to Today. America's Obituaries
El Paso. Clarin del Norte. 1906. Historical Newspapers
El Paso. Continental. 1958 to 1959. Historical Newspapers
San Antonio. Prensa. 1928 to 1957. Historical Newspapers
San Antonio. Regidor* 1910 to 1912. Historical Newspapers
Sweetwater. Sweetwater Reporter. 2008 to Today. America's Obituaries

Utah
Salt Lake City. Salt Lake Telegram. 1904 to 1916. Historical Newspapers

Washington
Deer Park. Deer Park Tribune. 2008 to Today. America's Obituaries

Cincinnati, OH Newspaper archives 1802-1890, 1990-Today now online

GenealogyBank has put the Cincinnati, Ohio newspaper archives: 1802-1890, 1990-Today online.

Click here to search Cincinnati, Ohio newspaper archives 1802-1890 online

Or click on the individual titles below to search a specific Cincinnati, OH newspaper:
Cincinnati Commercial Tribune 1869-1890
Cincinnati Daily Enquirer 1862-1876
Cincinnati Daily Gazette 1867-1883
Cincinnati Enquirer 1999-Today
Cincinnati Post 1990-2007
Spirit of the West 1814-1815
Whig 1802-1882

Did you know GenealogyBank has more than 130 million obituaries and death records - from Newspapers 1690 to Today; Government Reports like the US Army Register and hundreds of other sources?

Click Here and Start Searching Now

Warren, RI Newspaper archives 1792-1849 now online

GenealogyBank has put the Warren, Rhode Island newspaper archives: 1792-1849 online.

Click here to search Warren, RI newspaper archives 1749-1849 online

Or click on the individual titles below to search a specific Warren, RI newspaper:
Bristol County Register 1809-1810
Herald of the United States 1792-1793
Telescope 1800-1849

Find and document your ancestors in GenealogyBank

- the best source for old newspapers on the planet.

Period!

Patriot's Day - Read the news as they read it.

"Bloody News - This town has been in a Continental Alarm since Mid-day ..... the attack began at Lexington (about 12 miles from Boston) by the regular troops, the 18th Infantry before sunrise...From thence they proceeded to Concord where they made a general attack..."

Stirring news - as gripping as a bulletin on TV.

Thanks to GenealogyBank we can read the same newspapers our ancestors read and feel the impact of the news as they lived it. No other site has the depth of coverage found on GenealogyBank.
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April 19, 1775 - Attack on Lexington & Concord NH Gazette & Historical Chronicle. 21 April 1775).

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

Linda Fay Kaufman, genealogist, 1940-2009

Remembering one of our own: Linda Fay Kaufman, genealogist, 1940-2009

Enthusiastic genealogist Linda Fay Kaufman (1940-2009) has passed away.
She put her family history research online and actively corresponded with genealogists across the country. A search of the genealogy lists shows her posts as recently as the last few months.

Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, MN) - April 12, 2009
Kaufman, Linda Fay Born in Hanover, NH on July 15, 1940, died peacefully on March 30, 2009 surrounded by family at North Memorial Hospital.

She is survived by husband Stan, daughters Eleanor Kaufman (Chicago, IL) and Elizabeth Shiroma (St. Paul, MN), son-in law Ian Shiroma, grandson Ryan Shiroma, sisters Marcia Fay (Bethlehem, PA) and Norma Bigos (Baltimore, MD), nephew Jon Bigos (Baltimore, MD), and extended family across the U.S.

A graduate of Newton High School and Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Linda studied classical languages and literature in graduate school at Yale University. During this time, she met Stan, and they married in 1964.

Linda taught at Vassar College and at the Thomas School for Girls. In 1969, she embarked with Stan for universities in Germany, first in Heidelberg and then in Mainz. In Heidelberg, she taught English to German-speaking adults.

Later, she worked in the University's Library of Southeast Asian studies, organizing and cataloging documents in the many languages of that region. At the University in Mainz, she assisted in the Comparative Literature Department.

In 1976, Linda and Stan moved to Minnesota, and adopted their first daughter Elizabeth the next year; their second daughter Eleanor was born in 1979. When the children were in school, Linda held several accounting positions. She then became a Certified Professional Accountant and developed a small practice of her own, specializing in tax returns with international involvement. She especially enjoyed her work assisting recent immigrants in the Somali community.

During the past decade, Linda conducted extensive genealogy research on her New England family roots. She developed comprehensive family websites, collaborated with many others, and responded to world-wide inquiries from fellow genealogists and distant relatives.

Linda will be remembered lovingly by her family and the many people whose lives she touched. A gathering in her honor will be held later in the spring. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to Green Belt Movement (http://greenbeltmovement.org) or Books for Africa (http://www.booksforafrica.org/)

Edition: METRO
Page: 5B
Copyright (c) 2009 Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities

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Nantucket, MA Newspapers 1816-1849 Now Online

GenealogyBank has put the Nantucket, Massachusetts archive of historical newspapers: 1816-1849 online.

Click here to search Nantucket, Massachusetts Newspapers 1816-1849 online

Or click on the individual titles below to search a specific Nantucket, MA newspaper:
Inquirer and Mirror 1822-1832
Nantucket Gazette 1816-1817
Nantucket Inquirer 1821-1849

TIP: Other Handy Massachusetts Sites:
Search over 275 Massachusetts newspapers:
Click Here to Search All Massachusetts Newspapers 1690-1975
Click Here to Search All Massachusetts Obituaries 1985-Today

Massachusetts Death Records
Click Here to Search Massachusetts Deaths 1937-2009 (Free)

Obituary Reveals Identity of Homesick Boy from Orphanage - 65 years later

Genealogists want to find and document every member of a family. They don't want even one child to be forgotten.

Thanks to genealogist Ed Hutchison of Mississippi a 78 year old Syracuse, NY man's true identity has been uncovered.

Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) - April 5, 2009
Case, Dick. Death Uncovers Hidden Identity.

We called him Louie.
He told us his name was Louis Ludbeck.
Mostly, his life seemed to be a blank slate.

It wasn't until he died March 5, that the mystery that was Louie began to unravel.
Louie died in peace at Francis House. He was 78. A stroke took him.

We know now that Louie was born Gene Rollin Poffahl, Jan.17, 1931. He came into a family of farmers in Albany County. Likely he had five siblings.

We know this because the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office came into the picture after Louie died. He went to Francis House, a hospice run by the Franciscan Order of Nuns, with no past: no government health insurance, no Social Security number, no record of medical treatment or military service. Just a limp, old man ready to die.

The nuns gathered Louie into their embrace, just the way Ann O'Connor and Peter King had, more than 30 years ago. He passed restfully, among friends.

Ann and Peter are two of the founders of Unity Kitchen of the Catholic Worker of Syracuse. They run an elegant soup kitchen, offering full-course, fully served meals twice a week, as well as brunch on Sundays after Mass. The kitchen gets by on alms and the good will of a small, devoted troop of volunteers, who support Ann and Peter with donations and the good will of their help, in-person sometimes twice a week.

They live in a house on Palmer Avenue, devoted to the Catholic Worker community. Years ago, Ann and Peter set their lives aside to serve the city's poor in a very special way. My wife, Sandy, and I have been volunteers at the kitchen several years.

Louie drifted into Unity Kitchen maybe 30 years ago. No one paid attention to the exact date. Some say it was 1978. He was part of a continuous wave of needy folks who washed across the struggling agency every week. Back then, the kitchen was a literal soup kitchen, and a flophouse, holed up in two floors of an old sash factory tucked next to the DL&W railroad tracks about where Adams and South Clinton streets meet.

Louie settled in; he seemed to have found a home among the homeless. He said little, as became his way of life. Ann and Peter accepted his silence, knowing from experience that it's not a good idea to poke at the psyche of a homeless person. If he wanted to share a story, he would. Louie didn't. It was as if his life began when he arrived in Syracuse. The only clue he carried was a piece of paper marked Orwell," where the affiliated Unity Acres shelter is located.

Peter recalls that Louie settled into a helping routine, taking on small jobs that seemed to give meaning to his life. He'd often stand fire watch in the building. When others refused to do anything but soak up the founders' charity, Louie joined up, fit in.

"He seemed to have found his place," Peter explains.

When Ann and Peter closed the old kitchen, and moved to new quarters in Syracuse's only co-op apartment building on West Onondaga Street, Louie went with them. He was invited to join them in their home, moving into an upstairs bedroom in the house that's not far from Unity Kitchen.

One time, Ann and Peter tried to bring Louie into the social welfare system. He told the social worker a fantastic story about owning a house at Split Rock and a car. No, he's not eligible for help, they were told. You'll have to apply to be his guardian.

Leave him alone, let it be, the couple was advised. Louie is Louie. He doesn't want to reveal himself; maybe he can't.

Louie kept to his routine at Unity Kitchen. He worked at menial things -- taking out the garbage, dusting and mopping the floor, arranging chairs -- and joining the other guests for meals. Louie asked for little and earned the love and respect of the community.

Like others of our readers, Ed Hutchison, a former county legislator who now lives in Mississippi, was intrigued by Louie's obituary, which was published in The Post-Standard and the Albany Times Union. By then, the FBI fingerprint check had given him a new name and birth date. It also revealed he had been in the Army for seven years, discharged in 1957. Ed's a genealogist and loves a mystery. He ran an Internet search.

The search revealed a number of folks with the last name of Poffahl, which is of German origin, in the Albany area. Ed also found a newspaper story with an Albany dateline from 1944: "A homesick boy, injured in trying to escape from the Humane Society for Children, fought for his life today. Gene Poffahl, 13, suffered critical back and neck injuries last week, when police said, he lost his grip on an improvised rope strung from a third-story window and fell to the porch steps of the shelter ...."

Gene Poffahl seems to be Louie Ludbeck. His age fits the FBI record. The accident also would explain Louie's twisted body. "He was a pretty strong little guy," according to Peter King, "but his motor facilities were compromised. He walked as if he was drunk."

The mystery of Louie's life continues to be peeled back. Peter's been contacted by people who live in the Albany area who may be relatives. He's being told his parents surrendered Louie and his brothers and sisters to an orphan home run by nuns in Troy; they couldn't afford to raise the children. The Poffahls were vegetable farmers, supposedly.

His funeral service was held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Father John Schopfer, shepherd of Syracuse's needy, presided. He was carried to his grave in St. Mary's Cemetery by his friends from Unity Kitchen.

Louie obviously was a troubled man, hiding his history or leaving it where it fell. Peter says he sometimes overheard him "arguing with himself" in a loud voice in his room. He didn't intrude.

I'm not sure we know how hard we should push our inquiry, either.

Dick Case writes Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at dcase@syracuse.com or 470-2254.
Edition: Final
Page: B1
Copyright, 2009, The Herald Company

GenealogyBank expanding coverage of 9 newspapers from 9 states

GenealogyBank adds more newspapers and obituaries daily - expanding its coverage in response to the requests of genealogists.

In the months ahead GenealogyBank will be expanding it's coverage of 9 newspapers from 9 states.

If you have specific newspapers or towns that you would like to see us add or expand our coverage - then write me at: tkemp@newsbank.com and tell us what historical newspapers you would like to see.

Click on the links below and begin searching this new content now.

Press-Register (Mobile, Alabama) 1821-1992
Forthcoming title

Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Georgia) 1792-1993
Currently live with 1822-1830

Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana) 1837-1988
Currently live with 1837-1923

Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts) 1850-1987
Currently live with 1861-1910

Times (Trenton, New Jersey) 1883-1993
Currently live with 1883-1922

Plain-Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) 1845-1991
Currently live with 1914-1922

Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) 1850-1987
Currently live with 1861-1922

Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas) 1885-1984
Currently Live with 1885-1977

Seattle Times (Seattle, Washington) 1896-1984
Currently Live with 1916-1918

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"Family Historian" Susan Boyle wows them on UK "Idol" TV Show

"Family Historian" Susan Boyle wows them on UK "Idol" TV Show!

Susan Boyle is the woman with a dream that lives in Blackburn, in West Lothian near Edinburgh - a short distance from East Lothian, Scotland where my Kemp family hails from. Now 47, she lives at home with her cat Pebbles.

All her life, since she was twelve, she has had the dream of being a professional singer as successful as Elaine Paige and signing, performing before a large audience.

Saturday night in Glasgow she got her chance on UK's version of the American Idol TV show - Britains Got Talent.

Her performance was stunning, overwhelming and deeply emotional.

A triumph for her and for us. She sings of the dreams, the dreams in all of us - and no doubt the dreams of our ancestors, both realized and unfulfilled. Her moving presentation has been viewed live by millions and by well over 10 million more people in just the last few days via the Internet. She captivated her audience with this haunting anthem of dreams, seemingly almost lost and for her now realized at this time in her life.

You will want to watch this - again and again
Click Here to see her performance.

Is Susan Boyle a genealogist?
I don't know - but she made history for her family Saturday night.
:)

In the words of Susan Boyle herself, this presentation was "just so emotional; unbelievable and emotional; fantastic."

I dreamed a dream from Les Miserables.

I dreamed a dream in time gone by

When hope was high

And life worth living

I dreamed that love would never die

I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid

And dreams were made and used

And wasted

There was no ransom to be paid

No song unsung No wine untasted.

But the tigers come at night

With their voices soft as thunder

As they tear your hope apart

As they turn your dream to shame.

And still I dream he'll come to me

That we will live the years together

But there are dreams that cannot be

And there are storms

We cannot weather...

I had a dream my life would be

So different form this hell

I'm living so different now from what it seemed

Now life has killed

The dream I dreamed.

Thanks to Elaine Maddox for sending this to me.

The pull of family history ... family is more than names

What motivates people to do family history?
Family history is more than names - we are drawn to the stories of their lives. We dig their names and dates out of vital records or the census and we dig deeper into newspapers and family letters to find the stories of their lives.

When I was teaching a genealogy class for the Darien Historical Society (CT) back in the early 1970s I asked my class - why were they interested in their family history?

One elderly man said - My sister was the kindest person he ever knew. She never married. I knew that if I didn't write our family history that no one would remember her. That always stuck with me.

In today's Denver Post Tina Griego wrote:

"Usually it starts with a family story. Grandma was tracking the family and they ended up with a box full of her papers. Or they heard someone in the family fought in the Revolutionary War. Or 'My ancestors came from Spain and settled in Mexico and I want to find that branch of the family.' "
What is it, I ask her, that draws people to their family histories? What is it they hope to learn? Why does it matter?
As I ask, I am aware that these questions are as much professional as they are personal.

Tina Griego, columnist for the Denver Post writes about the pull of genealogy in today's paper.

Click here to read her entire column.
Family History is more than Names. 14 April 2009. Denver Post.

Pittsfield, MA Historical Newspapers 1788-1922; 1998-Today

GenealogyBank has set up a handy site for searching Pittsfield, Massachusetts' archive of historical newspapers: 1788-1922, 1998-Today.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Newspapers
Click here to search Pittsfield, MA newspapers 1788-1922
Click here to search Pittsfield, MA obituaries from 1998-Today

Or click on the individual titles below to search a specific Pittsfield, MA newspaper:
Berkshire Chronicle 1788-1790
Berkshire County Eagle 1826-1828
Berkshire County Whig 1841-1849
Berkshire Eagle 1998-Today
Berkshire Gazette 1798-1800
Berkshire Reporter 1807-1815
Pittsfield Sun 1861-1873
Sun 1795-1922

TIP: Other Handy Massachusetts Sites:
Search over 275 Massachusetts newspapers:
Click Here to Search Massachusetts Newspapers 1690-1975
Click Here to Search Massachusetts Obituaries 1985-Today

Massachusetts Death Records
Click Here to Search Massachusetts Deaths 1937-2009 (Free)

'Great American Success Story' - William & James Ledford

We receive "fan mail" every day - this letter was so good I wanted to share it.

_____________________________________________

Tom,
I've been working, several months, on an 'Great American Success Story'. William L. Ledford and his brother James E. Ledford were born in the mid 1840's in Cherokee County, NC. by the time they were 6 & 7 years their father had died and they were working in the newly discovered and opened copper mines in eastern Polk Co., TN.

They both married in 1866 and both had children. By 1878 they, with others emigrated to Leadville, Colorado to get into the same industry there but with little success. By the 1890's they had gone to Butte, Montana. Both their wives had died...both had re-married.

In Butte James ran a saloon selling "Overland Rye Whiskey". William (WL) had obtained a lease on the land surrounding the streams running from two of the area mines. He knew of a precipitation method he'd learned in Polk's mines that folks there obviously didn't know. Newspaper accounts give WL and Jim credit for 'inventing' the method on several occasions. In three years WL had accumulated over 100,000.00. A fair sum in 1895. He returned to Tennessee with his new wife and only a few of his children.

We were just about to initiate a search for son Thomas when I subbed to GenealogyBank. Thanks to a fantastic find with your service I located several different articles concerning W.L. and Jim Ledford but one was simply outstanding. It seems that Thomas had died sometime between mid 1898 and July 1899.

WL had told brother Jim to make arrangements for the burial. The person who'd actually done the burial was, apparently, trying to gouge WL so the issue went into the courts.

Thus an article giving very detailed accounts of Jim, WL, one of the missing daughters AND Thomas. WOW

Thanks Tom....

Joyce Gaston Reece, Secretary
Friends of the Archives Historical & Preservation Society
Monroe County, TN
www.rootsweb.com/~tnfahps

Paula Todd, Genealogist, Librarian - McIntire Library, Zanesville, OH

You will want to read this terrific article about Paula Todd, long time genealogist and volunteer librarian at the John McIntire Library in Zanesville, Ohio - part of the Muskingum County (OH) Library System.

I was at the (Family History Center in Zanesville) I walked in not knowing what I wanted to find out, except I wanted to find out about the Ethell family. I heard some woman in the back of the room say, 'I have Ethells in my family.' And I thought, 'Oh, sure, that's probably no relations of mine at all.' But whoever was at the desk put me on a reader of some kind. A census reader to start with. And pretty soon the woman in the back came and laid this Ethell book beside me. I copied it off just to be nice to her if nothing else because she was going to such great lengths. And I got home and looked at that and there was my family laid out in front of me. Right in front of me!

Click here to read the rest of the article in the Zanesville Times Recorder. Kearns, Charlie. Genealogist Looks Back. 12 April 2009

...and there was my family laid out in front of me. Right in front of me!

Click here to search for obituaries - Zanesville Times Recorder - 2002 - Today
Click here to search Ohio's old newspapers - 1802-1922

Reviewer looking for your opinion of GenealogyBank.com

We received this note from Claudia Breland looking for the experiences and opinions of genealogists in using GenealogyBank.
Let her know what you think.

Here is her letter:

Hi all, I'm writing a review of GenealogyBank.
If you've been using it regularly for 6 months or longer and would like to express your opinion, please email me off list.

I'm especially interested to hear from anyone using their Spanish newspapers.

Thanks!

Claudia Breland
ccbreland@comcast.net
http://www.ccbreland.com

News: Mamaroneck (NY) Daily Times 1936-1979 Going Online

The Mamaroneck Public Library announced today that it is putting its backfile of the newspaper, the Mamaroneck Daily Times, 1936-1979 online. They will put the newspaper on the library's website when the work is completed.

The Daily Times was published in Mamaroneck, NY. It was acquired by the Gannett newspaper group which merged it along with another ten local newspapers into the Journal News which is still published in Westchester County, NY.

"Our library receives a request for an article or obituary from The Daily Times nearly every week. People call from all across the country. Having the newspapers professionally digitized and archived is essential to the preservation of local history. Not only do we hope to make this wealth of information available nationwide, but we are also preserving this historical icon for generations to come," said Susan Benton, Mamaroneck Public Library Director.

The Mamaroneck Library is seeking funding to continue this necessary preservation project. As Susan Benton expressed, "In order for us to continue on this path we need the public's help. We just can't do it alone." For information on how you can help, please contact Susan Benton at (914) 698-1250 ext. 30.

For information on the Mamaroneck Public Library's plans to put the Mamaroneck Daily Times, 1936-1979 online on it's own website click here. This content is not on GenealogyBank.

For Obituaries from the Journal News 1999 - Today: Click Here

Search Over 300 New York newspapers 1719-1999: Click Here

Savannah, GA Historical Newspapers 1763-1922, 1999-Today

GenealogyBank has set up a handy site for searching Savannah, Georgia's archive of historical newspapers: 1763-1922, 1999-Today.

Savannah, Georgia Newspapers
Click here to search Savannah, Georgia newspapers 1763-1922
Click here to search for the obituaries in Savannah newspapers from 1999-Today

Or click on the individual titles below to search a specific Savannah, GA newspaper:
Coastal Antiques and Art 2002-2006
Coastal Senior 2004-2006
Columbian Museum 1796-1799
Gazette of the State of Georgia 1783
Georgia Gazette 1763-1802
Royal Georgia Gazette 1781
Savannah Morning News 1999-Today
Savannah Republican 1802-1903
Savannah Tribune 1875-1922
Southern Banner 1833-1837

TIP: Other Handy Georgia Sites:
Search over 50 Georgia newspapers:
Click Here to Search Georgia Newspapers 1752-1947
Click Here to Search Georgia Obituaries 1985-Today

Georgia Death Records
Click Here to Search Georgia Death Certificates 1914-1927 (Free)
Click Here to Search Georgia Deaths 1937-2009 (Free)

Georgia Census Records
Click Here to Search Georgia 1850 Census (Free)
Click Here to Search Georgia 1850 Census - Slave Schedule (Free)
Click Here to Search Georgia 1850 Census - Mortality Schedule (Free)
Click Here to Search Georgia 1860 Census (Free)
Click Here to Search Georgia 1870 Census (Free)
Click Here to Search Georgia 1880 Census (Free)
Click Here to Search Georgia 1900 Census (Free)

Georgia Freedman's Bank Records
Click Here to Search Georgia Freedman's Bank Records 1865-1874 (Free)