Finding That Minnesota Newspaper

Reading contemporary accounts of your family's history in the local newspaper can be as addictive as the search for roots. Who wouldn't be intrigued by a newspaper account like "Ila --, the little girl who was accidentally struck in the eye with a pitchfork by her little brother, is getting along as well as could be expected" or "Wednesday August 12th was a great day for accidents. Hiram -- fell off a load of hay and broke his arm and two ribs." These bits and pieces add a lot of texture to the dates you've gathered for your family history.

Tracking down the newspaper to read can be frustrating. Finding an obituary, with knowing the date of death, can be a fruitless search. Unlike many books, newspapers are seldom indexed. Items can appear many weeks after the event. Planning an efficient search can pay big dividends.

First, define how you will know when your search is over. Do you want to find out how much it cost for a new family living in that time period? Are you looking for vital records? Are you interested in the local gossip, or what's new in technology?

Check for extracts published in the local genealogical society newsletter or other publication, or for indexes in the local library. For example, the Red Wing (Goodhue County) Public Library has an index card file of the local paper covering many years. The St. Cloud Area Genealogists, Inc. and other local area societies have published marriage and other records taken from newspapers. Extracts from the St. Paul Pioneer, the first newspaper published in Minnesota, dating to 1849, have been published in the Minnesota Genealogical Journal. And Pioneers of Superior, Wisconsin is a compilation of newspaper extracts, census records, and data from other publications about the settlers of the area. And the early Winona newspapers have been digitized and are online. A membership in the local society for your area of interest can pay big dividends!

Don't forget about specialty newspapers and serials, published by professional and fraternal organizations. They exist for all kinds of groups, from all walks of life, from riverboat workers through millers to the bar and medical associations. They could have what you are looking for. You may even find indexes for some of them.

The Minnesota Historical Society has microfilmed Minnesota newspapers ranging in date from that first Minnesota Pioneer to virtually current editions. And their catalog is on-line. Choose the "advanced search" option, which allows you to choose the MHS newspaper collection and narrow your search.

Use search terms such as the name of the community or county. You will get back the number of records that match your search, allowing you to narrow your search even further, if you so desire. When you click on the total number of 'hits,' you'll see the individual catalog records. They will tell you the range of dates, plus usually the name of any predecessor or successor newspapers. For your advanced search, use Minnesota as a search term for 'place,' too. (The microfilmed newspapers for researchers at the MHS library are filed first by place of publication, then name of newspaper and then date.)

Some immigrants continued to read their newspapers in their native tongue (German, Norwegian, etc.), and their obituaries in those newspapers could be more extensive than in the local English-language paper, with more accurately spelled villages of origin.

Or you can go to your local library, and ask the librarian to get the microfilm(s) for you through interlibrary loan. MHS has a small charge for the loan, which some libraries may pass along to the reader.

When your microfilm arrives, 'surf' through a few issues to get the feel of how the editor laid it out. Like today's newspapers, yesterday's newspapers followed a pattern for where various topics and articles appeared. Some newspapers were printed on 'boiler plate' paper, which arrived at the newspaper shop already printed with the national and international news. Local news and gossip would usually be on the same page, the recurring ads even in the same spot on the same page each week.

Remember that newspapers often had political connections - which allows for interesting reading about the communities! Who knows what you'll find about your family? Perhaps when the phone lines came, or the locusts ate the crops, or the blizzard snowed them in, or they went to visit a relative (another name to research!) or .....?

Other reading:

Newspapers on the Minnesota Frontier, 1849-1860 by George S. Hage gives a flavor of the enthusiasm the early settlers had for the new territory and its prospects. Rivalry for population and influence between St. Paul and St. Anthony (now part of Minneapolis) was mirrored through the press.

Almost 100 English and foreign-language weekly newspapers were 'born' in Minnesota before 1860 - don't overlook the Volkets Röst or the Dakota Tawaxitku Kin or the Die Minnesota Deutsche Zeitung.

It also includes the genealogies (and pedigree charts!) for the current day Minneapolis and St. Paul newspapers. For those researching early Minnesota who want to know what daily life was like and how newspapers influences its growth, this is fun reading.

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