Denise Bates, historian and author of Breach of Promise to Marry: A History of How Jilted Brides Settled Scores, explains why local newspapers are often more useful for historical research than national newspapers. ************** Breach of promise was a legal claim. It allowed a man or woman to demand financial compensation from their ex-fiancée or ex-fiancé if they broke their engagement to marry. Newspapers are the best source of information about breach of promise cases, but there is …
Your newspaper discoveries
Newspapers are a fantastic resource for family history research. They can reveal incredible details about your ancestors. View 3 newspaper articles for free You’ll find millions of pages from local British and Irish newspapers at The British Newspaper Archive. They date from the 1700s to the 1950s. Register a free account and the first three newspaper articles you view are on us. Create a free account Find a photo of your ancestor Lisamarie has …
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Gill Hoffs, author of The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the ‘Victorian Titanic’ used The British Newspaper Archive extensively for her research. She got in touch to tell us the touching story of the ‘Ocean Child’. We’d love to hear about what you’ve discovered too – email press@britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk ************** Put simply, my book could not have been written without The British Newspaper Archive. The 1854 disaster made headlines around the world, but has since been …
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Geoff Dibb, author of Oscar Wilde – A Vagabond with a Mission, got in touch to tell us about his research and how The British Newspaper Archive has helped. We’d love to hear about your own research experiences – email press@britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk to tell us your story. ************** Researching Oscar Wilde in libraries I began researching Oscar Wilde’s lecture tours of Britain and Ireland after reading a letter from Wilde, written while lecturing in Leeds. I live about 10 miles south …
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Hannah Velten recently got in touch to tell us how she uses The British Newspaper Archive to research a rather niche subject – the history of animals within society. Show us what you’re researching at the moment by emailing press@britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk ************** One day it could be a toad emerging from a rock or a person kicked by a horse – I never know what I’m going to find when I log into The British Newspaper Archive each day. …
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A 19th-century police officer named Jerome Caminada died 100 years ago today. Angela Buckley, author of The Real Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Story of Jerome Caminada, explains what newspapers can tell us about the detective’s incredible life. ************** On 10 March 1914, just five days before his 70th birthday, Detective Jerome Caminada died at home. Born in the slums of Manchester, he had enjoyed an extraordinary career, earning him a place in history as one of the city’s finest police …
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Michelle Higgs, author of A Visitor’s Guide to Victorian England, got in touch to share this shocking story she found in The British Newspaper Archive. What have you found in the newspapers? Let us know by emailing press@britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk ************** Victorian Britain was a hazardous place to live, and not just because there was a potential accident around every corner. The trading standards and food hygiene we take for granted today simply didn’t exist, so shoppers often risked illness or even …
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Writer and historian Denise Bates sent us a message recently to explain what The British Newspaper Archive and the family history records available at findmypast have helped her discover about a nineteenth-century mining family. Denise wrote Pit Lasses: Women and Girls in Coalmining c1800-1914 after discovering her great-great-great-great-grandmother listed as a miner in the 1841 census and wondering what her life would have been like. ************** Many people are surprised to learn that until 1842, women and girls worked underground in coal …
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Gordon Martin recently got in touch to show us what the newspapers have helped him find out about his great-great-uncle Charles Alfred Martin. We love hearing about your finds, so please do let us know what you’ve discovered by emailing press@britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk ************** Charles Alfred Martin I had long known the existence of great-great-uncle Charles, the youngest child of a seaman born in Magdeburg, Prussia who served on HMS Achille at the Battle of Trafalgar of 1805. His father had arrived …
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Introduction and background We love hearing about your discoveries in The British Newspaper Archive. John Bland of the Lincolnshire Family History Society dropped us a line to tell us about his family history research in The British Newspaper Archive. John has been researching the millers and blacksmiths in his family (research that involves learning about major legislation such as the Enclosures and the Corn Laws) and, thanks to The British Newspaper Archive, has just learned that one of his ancestors also …