Pennsylvania Archives: 683 Newspapers for Genealogy Research
By Tony Pettinato on July 18, 2024
An article (with a title list) about the 683 Pennsylvania newspapers available in GenealogyBank’s online Historical Newspaper Archives... (Read More)
Tag: Pennsylvania
African American Slave Born in 1686 Dies at Age 116 in 1802!
By Thomas Jay Kemp on June 5, 2015
While doing genealogy research recently in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives, I came upon the obituary of a woman identified only as “a female slave named Alice,” who died at Bristol, Pennsylvania, at the remarkable age of 116! Alice was only 10 when she was taken from her parents in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Bristol, Pennsylvania... (Read More)
Historical Italian American Newspapers Online
By Thomas Jay Kemp on January 5, 2015
Per favore, provalo! See: Street vendors at the Feast of San Gennaro in Manhattan’s Little Italy. GenealogyBank is pleased to announce that these historical Italian American newspapers are available in our online archives. State City Newspaper Start End CA San Francisco Corriere del Popolo 1916 1962 NY New York Cristoforo Colombo 1892 1893 NY... (Read More)
What Can I Find in GenealogyBank about My Cousin Maid Marion?
By Thomas Jay Kemp on October 1, 2013
No, I don’t mean Robin Hood’s love interest from the 16th century. I’m referring to my cousin Marion Morgan Kemp (1862-1963) who owned villas in France, New York and Rome. Years ago I contacted the authorities in Osmoy, France, where she died and received a copy of her death certificate. Since Marion lived most... (Read More)
Megan Smolenyak, ‘Unclaimed Persons’ & GenealogyBank in WSJ
By Thomas Jay Kemp on September 12, 2013
Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal ran an interesting feature article about “Unclaimed Persons.” In 2008 Megan Smolenyak started “Unclaimed Persons” to help coroners track down the family details of persons who died without leaving information about their next of kin. She started this project assisting the coroner of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, and... (Read More)
‘Gencaching’ Challenge: Find Historical Maps in Old Newspapers
By Mary Harrell-Sesniak on July 2, 2013
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary shows some of the unique historical maps that can be found in old newspapers, and proposes a fun “gencaching” game to find more of these maps. Some of the greatest tools of genealogical research... (Read More)
Genealogy Find: Deaths Reported in Philadelphia Alms House
By Thomas Jay Kemp on February 22, 2013
Americans have taken care of their vulnerable neighbors in different ways over the centuries. For example, in Colonial Philadelphia there was established an “Alms House & House of Employment,” often called the Alms House for short. It was located on Spruce Street. Back in Colonial and Early America, when families, the elderly, or those... (Read More)
Using Newspaper Birthday Announcements for Genealogy Research
By Thomas Jay Kemp on June 15, 2012
Genealogists spend years getting to know their sources. We learn the ins and outs of archives and their collections of genealogical records, looking to get the maximum amount of information on our ancestors. In combing through the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper archives I noticed that they ran a regular feature called the “Birthday Bulletin,” starting... (Read More)
Tracing Genealogy with Pennsylvania Death Certificates
By Thomas Jay Kemp on March 16, 2012
Every day we get interesting genealogy questions from our members via our Ask the Genealogist service. The following is a good example: a member asked for help finding information about a great-grandfather. Question: I am looking for more information on my great-grandfather, Edgar Rhue Harner. He was born in Berks Co., PA, in 1860.... (Read More)
