The Ancestor Hunt
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Newspapers
  • Newspaper Links
  • Obituaries
  • BMD Links
  • Photos
  • Yearbooks
  • Genealogy News
  • California Genealogy
  • Videos
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy




Historical Newspaper Research - Lesson 11 - Use Special Keywords in Searches

9/21/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
This is part of a series of educational posts, intended to provide you with information that will rapidly improve the skills needed to find pertinent newspaper articles from historical newspapers.

Lesson 11 is all about searching old, historic newspapers using specialized keywords in your search criteria to help get better results.

When entering our search criteria in the search box on an online historical newspaper site, we often focus primarily on the name of the target ancestor or family.  We might also search for a location or an address. or combine these with a name.


My guess is that well over 95% of online newspaper searches employ the above techniques.

I offer you some additional ways to hone in on target ancestor articles, and this is to use keywords in your search criteria. Here are some examples, that if used will get you more and better results:

  • If you are searching for obituaries, add the keyword "beloved" or "beloved son" or "beloved wife" etc. The word beloved is used frequently in obituaries. So entering these keywords plus the surname may focus in on obituaries.
  • Similar to "beloved" try the word "dear", as in "dear husband" or "dear sister." This will also focus in on obituaries.
  • A third keyword used in obituaries is "loving".  For example, "loving daughter" or  "loving husband".
  • If you are searching for a birth announcement, add in the keywords "born to the wife of"  or "born to" along with the name and that will focus in on articles about births.
  • Was your ancestor a business owner?  Add the word "president" or "proprietor" to the name.
  • How about lodges and clubs? Try "president" or "chairman" or "secretary" for example.
  • Try using the occupation in your search criteria, such as "electrician" or "plumber" in conjunction with the name.


There are likely many more examples. Try adding keywords - you will be glad you did.


___________________________________

Please Share!


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome Ancestor Hunters!


    Popular Articles

    Recently
    ​Updated Resources

    ​The Photos page in the Tab bar above has 1,796 free photo archive database links from the U.S. (870 new)

    The Newspaper Links page in the Tab bar above has over 25,500 free historical newspaper links from the U.S. (1,800 new)

    Facebook Page
    Picture

    Subscribe

    Enter Email

    Search This Site



    Archives

    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    November 2010
    October 2010


    RSS Feed

Home
Blog

Newspapers
Newspaper Links
​Obituaries
BMD Links

Photos
​
Yearbooks

Genealogy News
California Genealogy
Videos
About
​Contact
Privacy Policy
Picture
©2012-19 -Thanks for Visiting The Ancestor Hunt
By Kenneth R Marks