Rhode Island Archives: 94 Newspapers for Genealogy Research

If you are researching your ancestry from Rhode Island, you will want to use GenealogyBank’s online RI newspaper archives: 94 titles to help you search your family history in the “Ocean State,” providing coverage from 1732 to Today. There are millions of articles and records in our online Rhode Island newspaper archives!

Photo: beach at Narragansett, Rhode Island
Photo: beach at Narragansett, Rhode Island. Credit: Luke Campbell; Wikimedia Commons.

Dig deep into our online archives and search for articles about your ancestors from Rhode Island in these newspapers. Our RI newspapers are divided into two collections, each with their own search page:

  • Newspaper Archives (complete paper with all articles, including historical obituaries, with a number of very rare single-issue newspapers – many of them are the only known issues of the paper)
  • Obituaries (including both historical and recent obituaries, if obits are specifically what you are searching for)

Search Rhode Island Newspaper Archives (1732 – 1960)

Search Rhode Island Obituaries (1981 – Today)

Illustration: Rhode Island state flag
Illustration: Rhode Island state flag. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Here is the complete list of Rhode Island newspapers in the online archives. Each newspaper title in this list is an active link that will take you directly to that paper’s search page, where you can begin searching for your ancestors by surnames, dates, keywords and more. The RI newspaper titles are listed alphabetically by city.

City Title Years of Coverage Issues Available Collection
Block Island Block Island Times 10/08/2007 – Current Obituaries
Bristol Mount Hope Eagle 01/10/1807 – 10/08/1808 42 Newspaper Archives
Charlestown Charlestown Press 08/03/2006 – 12/05/2013 Obituaries
County Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly 03/18/2002 – Current Obituaries
Coventry Coventry Courier 01/23/2009 – Current Obituaries
Cumberland Valley Breeze 07/19/2001 – Current Obituaries
East Greenwich East Greenwich Pendulum 01/08/2009 – Current Obituaries
Hopkinton Wood River Press 08/03/2006 – 02/04/2016 Obituaries
Hopkinton South County Press 09/29/2016 – 09/29/2016 Obituaries
Narragansett, South Kingstown, North Kingstown Independent 07/16/2003 – Current Obituaries
Newport Gazette Francoise 11/17/1780 – 01/02/1781 8 Newspaper Archives
Newport Guardian of Liberty 10/03/1800 – 09/26/1801 52 Newspaper Archives
Newport Newport Gazette 01/16/1777 – 12/26/1777 41 Newspaper Archives
Newport Newport Herald 03/01/1787 – 09/17/1791 236 Newspaper Archives
Newport Newport Mercury 06/19/1758 – 12/30/1876 5542 Newspaper Archives
Newport Rhode-Island Gazette 10/04/1732 – 03/01/1733 15 Newspaper Archives
Newport Rhode-Island Museum 07/07/1794 – 12/29/1794 22 Newspaper Archives
Newport Rhode-Island Republican 10/03/1801 – 12/29/1803 117 Newspaper Archives
Newport Rhode-Island Republican 03/22/1809 – 04/21/1841 1663 Newspaper Archives
Newport Weekly Companion; and the Commercial Centinel 05/02/1798 – 07/20/1799 62 Newspaper Archives
Newport Workingman’s Journal 03/08/1853 – 06/07/1853 2 Newspaper Archives
Newport Newport Daily News 05/14/2001 – Current Obituaries
Newport Mercury 02/26/2014 – 03/06/2018 Obituaries
Newport Herald of the times 04/07/1830 – 03/19/1846 808 Newspaper Archives
Newport Newport Gazette 01/16/1777 – 10/06/1779 81 Newspaper Archives
North Kingstown Standard-Times 01/01/2009 – Current Obituaries
North Providence North Providence Breeze 02/02/2006 – Current Obituaries
Pawtucket Times 10/07/2009 – Current Obituaries
Pawtucket Valley Breeze, The: Pawtucket Edition 08/19/2009 – Current Obituaries
Pawtucket Business Directory 04/30/1853 – 04/30/1853 1 Newspaper Archives
Pawtucket New England Artisan, and Laboring Man’s Repository 01/05/1832 – 05/17/1832 17 Newspaper Archives
Pawtucket Pawtucket Chronicle and Manufacturers’ and Artizans’ Advocate 11/12/1825 – 04/19/1839 620 Newspaper Archives
Pawtucket Pawtucket Times 01/01/1898 – 02/28/1921 6804 Newspaper Archives
Providence Providence Journal 12/23/1981 – Current Obituaries
Providence American 10/21/1808 – 10/17/1809 104 Newspaper Archives
Providence American Journal and General Advertiser 03/18/1779 – 08/29/1781 160 Newspaper Archives
Providence Campaign Journal 04/01/1861 – 04/01/1861 1 Newspaper Archives
Providence Christian Soldier 03/16/1842 – 04/13/1842 2 Newspaper Archives
Providence Christian Telescope 08/07/1824 – 10/02/1828 206 Newspaper Archives
Providence Church Union 06/19/1874 – 03/11/1875 2 Newspaper Archives
Providence Clark’s Counterfeit Expositor, and Weekly Miscellany 07/09/1831 – 07/09/1831 1 Newspaper Archives
Providence Columbian Phenix 02/28/1807 – 01/08/1814 360 Newspaper Archives
Providence Extinguisher 08/25/1840 – 08/25/1840 1 Newspaper Archives
Providence Gaspee Torch Light 08/14/1840 – 10/29/1840 11 Newspaper Archives
Providence General Advertiser 12/18/1847 – 11/14/1868 22 Newspaper Archives
Providence Gospel Messenger 11/28/1840 – 11/20/1841 52 Newspaper Archives
Providence Impartial Observer 08/11/1800 – 03/06/1802 71 Newspaper Archives
Providence Literary Cadet and Rhode Island Statesman 04/22/1826 – 07/18/1829 288 Newspaper Archives
Providence Manufacturers’ and Farmers’ Journal 01/03/1820 – 09/18/1876 2395 Newspaper Archives
Providence Microcosm, American and Gazette 04/17/1830 – 03/30/1833 119 Newspaper Archives
Providence New Age and Constitutional Advocate 11/20/1840 – 03/08/1842 52 Newspaper Archives
Providence New England Artisan, and Laboring Man’s Repository 05/24/1832 – 10/18/1832 21 Newspaper Archives
Providence Providence Evening Press 03/14/1859 – 11/13/1878 5509 Newspaper Archives
Providence Providence Gazette 10/20/1762 – 10/08/1825 3525 Newspaper Archives
Providence Providence Journal and Town and Country Advertiser 01/02/1799 – 12/30/1801 157 Newspaper Archives
Providence Providence Patriot 01/15/1814 – 12/27/1834 1695 Newspaper Archives
Providence Providence Phoenix 04/28/1802 – 02/21/1807 249 Newspaper Archives
Providence Religious Intelligencer and Christian Monitor 05/13/1820 – 11/04/1820 26 Newspaper Archives
Providence Republican Herald 12/15/1832 – 12/04/1852 1117 Newspaper Archives
Providence Rhode Island Free Democrat 11/25/1852 – 11/11/1853 6 Newspaper Archives
Providence Rhode Island Press 06/29/1861 – 12/29/1877 365 Newspaper Archives
Providence Rhode-Island American 10/20/1809 – 02/01/1833 2424 Newspaper Archives
Providence Rhode-Island Farmer 08/09/1804 – 01/31/1805 12 Newspaper Archives
Providence Rhode-Island Religious Intelligencer 05/26/1821 – 11/13/1824 182 Newspaper Archives
Providence State Gazette and Town and Country Advertiser 01/04/1796 – 07/02/1796 52 Newspaper Archives
Providence United States Chronicle 01/01/1784 – 05/17/1804 1062 Newspaper Archives
Providence Providence Journal: Web Edition Articles 12/17/2016 – Current Obituaries
Providence Providence Journal 01/01/1940 – 12/31/1960 7670 Newspaper Archives
Providence Evening Bulletin 01/26/1863 – 12/30/1922 18499 Newspaper Archives
Providence Independent Inquirer 08/28/1823 – 08/20/1830 185 Newspaper Archives
Providence Daily Transcript and Chronicle 02/14/1844 – 04/13/1847 803 Newspaper Archives
Providence Providence Phoenix 07/26/2007 – 06/19/2014 Obituaries
Providence Providence Morning Star 01/01/1873 – 06/05/1877 1376 Newspaper Archives
Providence Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman 04/18/1827 – 01/07/1829 181 Newspaper Archives
Providence Literary cadet, and Saturday evening bulletin 04/22/1826 – 04/14/1827 52 Newspaper Archives
Providence Providence news 09/26/1898 – 09/26/1901 922 Newspaper Archives
Smithfield Valley Breeze & Observer 02/02/2006 – Current Obituaries
Wakefield Narragansett Times 01/21/2009 – Current Obituaries
Warren Bristol County Register 03/11/1809 – 03/31/1810 44 Newspaper Archives
Warren Herald of the United States 01/14/1792 – 12/12/1812 556 Newspaper Archives
Warren Northern Star, and Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Advocate 06/25/1831 – 06/16/1849 180 Newspaper Archives
Warren Telescope 11/06/1813 – 06/28/1817 80 Newspaper Archives
Warren Northern star, and Warren and Bristol gazette 02/25/1826 – 02/13/1830 58 Newspaper Archives
West Warwick Kent County Daily Times 06/07/2008 – Current Obituaries
Westerly Westerly Pawcatuck Press 07/01/2009 – 03/31/2016 Obituaries
Westerly Westerly Sun 04/27/2000 – Current Obituaries
Westerly Westerly echo, & Pawcatuck advertiser 09/14/1854 – 03/18/1858 103 Newspaper Archives
Woonsocket Call 10/08/2009 – Current Obituaries
Woonsocket Courrier du Rhode-Island : Organe des Populations de Langue Francaise 03/18/1874 – 03/18/1874 1 Newspaper Archives
Woonsocket Courrier Canadien 05/13/1876 – 11/23/1876 2 Newspaper Archives
Woonsocket Evening Reporter 05/02/1876 – 05/02/1876 1 Newspaper Archives
Woonsocket Woonsocket Daily Patriot 09/27/1876 – 10/28/1876 3 Newspaper Archives
Woonsocket Woonsocket Patriot and Rhode Island State Register 03/17/1876 – 12/28/1877 94 Newspaper Archives
Wyoming Chariho Times 01/29/2009 – Current Obituaries

*Date Ranges may have selected coverage unavailable.

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