England Genealogical Value of Newspapers (National Institute)

Vital Events
The upper classes were the first to have vital events noted from the late 18th century since inserts had to be paid for. Ordinary folk would not be included until the late 19th century unless there was something unusual, for example some physical deformity, a great disparity in age of marriage partners, or unusual cause or extreme age at death. By the late 19th and 20th centuries even some of the poor managed a death announcement for a senior family member.

The vital events notices are often the first consulted and indexed and may give all the NDP (names, dates, places) or at least clues to them, and photographs may be included in more recent times. There will be announcements of births (perhaps with details of the forthcoming baptism), engagements, wedding and divorce reports, notices of death, reports of funerals (often incredibly detailed), inquests, obituaries and annual in memoria.

Many of these newspapers items will give names of relatives and their addresses, as well as occupational and social connections. Prior to WWI it was common for a bride’s fortune (dowry) to be announced with the engagement or wedding notice, and the latter could name everyone who attended.

Sometimes reports for siblings or cousins contain the nugget of information that you need such as the fact that your ancestor was widowed, or had emigrated within the last month. Some examples are given below.

Chart: Examples of Vital Events from Newspapers

Lifetime Events
All kinds of ancestral items occur in newspapers, for example news about professions, trades, appointments and promotions within organizations, honours from government, societies and organizations, scholarships, bankruptcy, works outings and business gatherings can all illuminate individual careers: some examples are show below.

Chart: Trade and Career Items from Newspapers

Newspapers report family who have moved away, for example a son marrying across the country, or dying in the Crimea, or perhaps a daughter and her husband having children in Australia, or in my family even being deported!

Chart: News of an Uncle’s Deportation!

The Times index has produced letters to the editor from numerous Jupps on subjects as diverse as Christian teaching in schools (W. Theodore Jupp 1913) and the longevity of butterflies (Bertram E. Jupp 1885) giving me a great deal of insight into their interests and beliefs. Social duties and participation in such events as garden fetes, Sunday school outings and concerts will be recorded and hobbies such as gardening can be found in horticultural shows and agricultural competitions. A relative’s interests in sports like cricket, tennis, football, or darts can be detailed in the local press.

Chart: A Cricketing Relative

There will be much detail if you have the good fortune to have an ancestor engaged in criminal activities, or in witnessing or prosecuting them.

Chart: Newspaper Crime Reports

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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course English: Education,Health and Contemporary Documents offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com] We welcome updates and additions to this Wiki page.