Today N is for Newspapers in British Columbia
Blogging about British Columbia Genealogy Resources
Herman Koelkenbeck,
The Chase Tribune, 7 June, 1912, Chase, BC, page 1.
Newspapers must be my very favourite source for genealogy. I have spent many happy hours reading papers on microfilm and now online too - takes me right back in time.
If in the right period and covering the right places they offer not only specific information about your families - on births, marriages, deaths, accidents, work experience, opinions, friendships, illness, holidays, perhaps even a photo or a cartoon... but background information too. Use the papers to learn about the places and time periods people lived in. What would people likely be talking about? What was the weather like? What stores were local and what did they sell (and for how much)? How did the crops do that year? Who was who in town?
For British Columbia, Canada we are lucky that many older newspapers have now been digitized and added to online databases - most of them free. These digitizing projects continue so always have another look to see if the paper you want has been added somewhere. There is no one body co-ordinating this, unfortunately.
Be aware that some historical newspapers and some issues have not survived (or not yet been located in someone's attic!) and that a few digitized newspapers appear on different sites, paid and free. And for some newspapers only a few issues or years are digitized and online.
If a newspaper can be accessed a couple of ways, or on different sites test out the searches to see if there's a difference, The British Colonist website, for instance, versus the Internet Archive.
If you do not find anything in a newspaper, check with the local library, archives or genealogy group to see if there is a local index. Only a few of these indexes are online.
Many modern obituaries are indexed, or searchable online through the newspaper's website. Some sites, like Ancestry, may have indexed obituaries but do not provide the copy. Check the lists below to see if the papers are available elsewhere.
If you are looking for information on families who spoke languages other than English, check any North American newspapers printed in their first language. And check newspapers from their home area too. Letters from emigrants were often printed.
NEWSPAPER SEARCH TIPS - I do have lots more tips and a newspaper search log. Just e-mail me if you'd like these.
If a newspaper can be accessed a couple of ways, or on different sites test out the searches to see if there's a difference, The British Colonist website, for instance, versus the Internet Archive.
If you do not find anything in a newspaper, check with the local library, archives or genealogy group to see if there is a local index. Only a few of these indexes are online.
Many modern obituaries are indexed, or searchable online through the newspaper's website. Some sites, like Ancestry, may have indexed obituaries but do not provide the copy. Check the lists below to see if the papers are available elsewhere.
If you are looking for information on families who spoke languages other than English, check any North American newspapers printed in their first language. And check newspapers from their home area too. Letters from emigrants were often printed.
NEWSPAPER WEBSITES FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA GENEALOGY & FAMILY HISTORY
I used to keep a list of digitized BC newspapers and indexes, but now I recommend you first go to Kenneth Marks' Ancestor Hunt website. He has links for more than BC, and he has shares a lot of helpful information on searching in newspapers.
The Ancestor Hunt: https://www.theancestorhunt.com/blog/british-columbia-online-historical-newspapers-summary
Both Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia have digitized large numbers of newspapers - UBC with a few exceptions concentrating on local ones; SFU on non-English, labour, and political papers. That being said, doing an 'exhaustive search' you may find information in unexpected places - UBC has the Canadian Farmer Labor Advocate and Canadian Labor Advocate (1925/26), for instance, and The British Columbia Retailer (1920/27).
UBC, BC Historical Newspapers: https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers
SFU, Digitized BC/Canadian Newspapers: https://newspapers.lib.sfu.ca/
If you cannot find the newspapers you seek online, check these two guides for existing microfilmed newspapers.
Microfilmed newspaper holdings of the British Columbia Archives (.pdf): https:/royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/assets/BCArchives_newspapers_Dec2012.pdf
British Columbia, Geographical Microform List by province or territory. Library and Archives Canada: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/newspapers/newspaper-collection/Pages/microform-holdings-geographical-bc.aspx
Sidelights on Some of our Leading Citizens -
The Chase Tribune, 3 May 1912, page 1. There are quite a few of these cartoons in the Tribune. In one issue, even the cartoonist is "cartooned".
