Hi,
How do you go about finding out certain things from history? My father has passed away and I’m now taking care of my Grandfather (which my father had done for 20 years before he died).
My Grandfather started telling me stories about events that happened when my father was young that would have made the newspaper. It was hard to understand Grandpop and the stories were hard to believe at times.
How do I start looking? My father grew up in Trenton and would have been a teenager back in the 1930s and 40s.
Hope you can help me,
~ S
Hi there S,
Thanks for thinking to write to me.
Some (but not all) newspapers have librarians — like me — whose job is to archive newspaper stories as they are printed. Each library's system is a little different, but stories are usually archived alphabetically by subject (for example "Falls Township") or surname (for example "Jackson").
In more recent years, many libraries have transitioned to digital archiving, which makes stories much easier to find, as the entire text of the article is searchable. Stories filed before the digital transition, however, are still filed as physical clippings in filing cabinets or something similar.
Many old newspapers are also viewable on microform (usually microfilm (on reels) or microfiche (on small cards)) that can be viewed on a machine, and sometimes even printed out in large format. Microform is especially useful if have a specific date in mind, which helps minimize your search.
Some newspapers also maintain a photo library, where photographs or negatives that accompanied an article are organized in a similar manner.
If you're looking for news articles that may have run in Trenton in the 1930s and 40s, a good place to start would be with newspapers existing today that would also have been around in that time period. Give them a call and ask if they employ a librarian or archivist.
The librarian will probably want as much specific information as possible, such as:
• Last and first names, and / or nicknames, of persons involved in the event
• As narrow a date margin as possible
• Specific places (such as a township, borough or city) where the event occurred
• Keywords associated with the event (such as "arson," "Trenton Central High School," or "murder"). Imagine you're looking in the index of a book. What words would you search under?
If the newspaper you speak to doesn't employ a librarian or archivist, try contacting a historical society (such as Trenton Historical Society) and give them the same information. Local libraries and historical museums are also good places to contact.
Hopefully this is a good place to start. There are also online services (some free, but mostly pay-sites) that can be very helpful. If you're willing to part with the cash, Newspaperarchive.com and ancestry.com possess a wealth of information.
Best of luck to you! Let me know how your search goes.
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