Old-School Social Networking: Social Brief Columns in Newspapers

Newspapers have been the chief “social networking” tool for over 300 years—and that’s a good thing for genealogists. Newspapers’ social columns reported on the comings and goings of members of the local community, providing personal details that give a glimpse into the daily lives of our ancestors. For example, here we have word that... (Read More)

The Social Columns: Mrs. Smith Is Visiting Her Parents in New Mexico

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena shows how much valuable family history information can be found in newspapers’ social columns. Newspapers report important events and breaking news on the local, national and international level. They document accidents, crimes, politics,... (Read More)