Newspapers

Newspapers and journals can provide useful information to the genealogist. Almost all newspapers have dedicated crime reporters and where a subject of research is known to have been involved in a criminal case it is always worth investigating the archive of the local newspaper to see if it made the press.

Often a newspaper article can provide supplementary information not necessarily recorded in official court records. It should always be remembered however, that newspapers often sensationalise and they are not always the most accurate of reports. Liberties can be taken with strict facts as reporters and editors place their own interpretation on events.

Newspaper obituary columns can also provide information on people; particularly those in the public eye. A full obituary can provide extensive informartion about a famous ancestor.

In Edinburgh we are fortunate to have both the National Library of Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Library, both of which have extensive newspaper archives available. Also, The Scotsman, one of Scotland's leading national newspapers has its own extensive archive going back to the first ever edition on January 25th 1817 to which we can gain access.