By Ann G., CRDC Assistant Manager
Newspapers.com is one of the best benefits of your library card! It is a database of newspapers that have been filmed (digitized) and are searchable by key word, date, and title. The newspapers are from all over the U.S. (and even some from the U.K., Australia, Ireland, and Panama) and span different years.
Now, it doesn’t cover every newspaper or all time periods. There are other newspaper databases that have different papers, so come see us in the Crossroads Discovery Center for other places to find access if you don’t see the area you are looking for. There are still some newspapers that are not digitized yet or are closely held and not available outside the owning institution.
We have used Newspapers.com to find house histories, replace lost sports article clippings for a high school athlete, and, my favorite use, fill in the picture of your ancestors’ lives in genealogy research! Let me share my story.
I had the joy of road tripping with my mom to visit her family in Ohio. My aunt would invariably bring out old photos, and we would look through them and share stories. This photo of their grandfather, Mox Adrian Horger, was a bit of a mystery. He is wearing such a distinctive hat.
Photo of Mox A. Horger, family collection of Ann Grilliot
My aunt thought that he had been a guard at the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus and that this was taken during that time. This seemed strange as the family had always lived on the eastern edge of the state along and near the Ohio River in Gallipolis and East Liverpool. Why would one pick up and move to the middle of the state in 1911?
Newspapers.com solved the mystery! By searching his name (and variations!), I found this article from the East Liverpool paper “Evening Review”:
Article “East End Man Gets ‘Pen Position’” Evening Review (East Liverpool, Ohio) Friday, 19 May 1911 page 1. Accessed through Newspapers.com on 24 July 2024.
Newspaper clipping reads: East End Man Gets ‘Pen’ Position: M.A. Horger, Upon Mayor Sam’s recommendation, Lands Place. Mayor S.W. Crawford was today notified by Warden T.H.B. Jones of the Ohio state penitentiary that, in view of the endorsement given M.A. Horger of East End by him, he would be appointed night guard at the institution to fill a vacancy. While the present appointment is only temporary, it will be made permanent later by the board managers. Mr Horger is well known in the city and was formerly interested in the Horger hardware in East End. He is a prominent member of the Democratic party. He will probably leave for Columbus within the next few days.
Apparently, the hardware store he was running with his father, father-in-law, and brother had gone bankrupt a year earlier, and his father had sued. One can see the appeal of a job some distance away, in a bigger city and with a steady income!
Article “Receivership Prayed For” Evening Review (East Liverpool Ohio) Thursday, 21 July 1910 page 1. Accessed through Newspapers.com on 24 July 2024
Newspaper clipping reads: Receivership Prayed For. Lisbon, July 21. (Special.) John W. Horger of East Liverpool has filed in common pleas court against Max K. Horger, Warren Horger and William Thompson in which he asks for a receiver to be appointed for a partnership formed July 14, 1910, of plaintiff and defendant. The plaintiff says that the partnership was formed to engage in the business of retailing hardware in the city of East Liverpool. He also states that the company is perfectly solvent, but that the business is being neglected and that there are creditors who threaten suit unless their claims are paid. He asks that the partnership be dissolved and that the court appoint a receiver to take charge of this property, pay claims against the firm and divide the money among the creditors.
I can now verify that Mox A. Horger did work in Columbus as a guard at the Ohio Penitentiary. It also helps with the family timeline and their eventual move back to East Liverpool after the death of his wife:
Article “Mrs. Adrian Horger” Evening Review (East Liverpool Ohio), Saturday, 9 May 1914, page 6 Accessed through Newspapers.com on 25 July 2024.
Newspaper clipping reads: Mrs. Adrian Horger. Word was received by relatives here today announcing the death of Mrs. Adrian Horger, former local resident, whose demise occurred at her late home in Columbus, following a recent operation. Adrian Horger, her husband, has been a guard at the state penitentiary for several years. J. W. Horger of St. George street, is father-in-law of the deceased.
Give it a go! Look for marriages, births, obituaries, accidents, and social and school functions. Marriage announcements will add details to the facts you find on a marriage license. You may get lucky, and it will have descriptions of the dresses and flowers, names of friends and family attending the ceremony, music played, and the honeymoon destination. I have even seen a listing of the wedding gifts given in one small community newspaper! Obituaries often included extra details, like religious, community, and political affiliations. Even if you don’t find articles on your relatives, it can be fascinating to look at the stories and advertisements that they would have read in their local papers.
You have access to Newspapers.com from home with your library card! Your pin is the last 4 digits of your library card unless you have changed it. Of course, if you have questions or problems, call or visit us here on the 2nd floor of the Noblesville Library in the Crossroads Discovery Center.