All family historians, novice or experienced, know to review and check all types of vital records when gathering information on ancestors. However, try as one may sometimes it appears one will never locate the desired information. Luckily, newspapers of decades ago are filled with the comings and goings of our ancestors; not just births, marriages and deaths. They still can serve as a method of communication even to us in the 21st century.

No matter what size town or city, they were all served by a daily or weekly newspaper. It was not only the community's primary means of learning local, state and national events but also who was visiting from out of town, who added a new porch to their house or who was ill with pneumonia.

The use of newspaper archives can prove to be an invaluable resource for every family researcher. By starting with known ancestors; using their name, an approximate time period and location, you could possibly gather new data about property they owned, the church they attended, any military service or memberships in civic organizations.

True, much of such information can also be gathered from a person's obituary, especially the lengthy style ones written decades ago. However, a reminder, obituaries are usually written from information supplied by survivors, who might not be aware of an individual's full history. Following an ancestor over a period of years or even decades in the newspaper articles as events occurred can provide a far clearer picture than one obituary.

The very best incentive to using newspaper archives is the chance of locating family members previously unknown to the researcher. For example, you believed your grandfather only had a younger brother and sister. Now you start covering various newspaper articles about your grandfather and you find mention in one about an older brother who had traveled out west at the turn of the 20th century to make his fortune.

The article referred to the individual parting the family homestead and leaving his widowed mother and three named siblings, one who turns out to be your grandfather. Here is a relative the family never spoke, possibly because of his moving away and never returning home and you have now filled in a piece of the family puzzle.

The same could happen in reverse but just searching using a surname, especially if it is not a common name. You come across an individual with the same ancestral surname and the article mentions their hometown. It turns out to be the same as one of your ancestors. It might not produce a positive family branch but it is worth additional research.

With seeing the advantages, the following are some good sources of newspaper archives. First check your own Public Library. Each have many rolls of microfilmed newspapers, dating back for decades, although those papers are usually for the general region (that town, county or district) the library is located in. However, many libraries also have Interlibrary Loan Program for the sharing of microfilm from other counties and states.

A disadvantage to microfilm is that most are not indexed, so instead you start with a year and go through the pages scanning for any similar family name or location (like a business name). This can be time consuming but also can be very productive. The public library may also have Internet access computers and people to help you navigate and use online newspaper archive databases like ProQuest Historical Newspapers, NewsBank and Godfrey Newspaper Archives. The big advantage to most of these databases is they are indexed, making the locating of an individual much easier.

Next check the information available at your local genealogical society and a local Family History Center of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. They also have microfilm copies of newspapers and possible Internet access to the above newspaper archives.

Most of these services are free through your library, society or Family History Center will only an occasional small rental fee. You might live near a major university; their library may a store house of newspapers usually covering greater vicinity. Again, you will find personnel available at the university to assist you.

If you prefer using your home computer with Internet access, there are many web sites with newspaper archives. Start with the Library of Congress site - loc.gov/rr/ElectronicResources/ with a full array of databases to select from.

If you really want to get into newspaper researching a good source is NewspaperArchives.com (a fee based service). Just by placing a name and narrowing your search to a state or city you have a preview list of articles to select from and then you can read the entire article. If you find an article of special interest with the Abode Reader software, found on most computers, you can even copy the text of the article or capture an image.

There is also World Vital Records (a fee based service) with a collection of hundred of small town newspapers in digital form. Another archive online is The Olden Times.com (free service) with over 6,000 indexed historical news pages. Now it won't have every newspaper but it adding to its database and it is a good place to start.

Going to Google Search Engine with its News section is a great place to research. Just put in an individual's name (in quotes), along with a location and click 'all dates' or just selected dates and you just might find a full assortment of articles to check.

Newspaper research is very time consuming but a treasure chest in the possibly of what can be learned about your ancestors, especially those lost relatives.