Category: Research Resources

Eastern Shore of Virginia Newspapers Online

Special collections institutions continue to digitize newspaper collections rapidly, making them openly available to researchers. These valuable resources aid genealogists, local historians, and public scholars in digging into the past. On those old pages are many print columns about the local community and the people.

While doing fieldwork on Lower Delmarva, I recently needed access to Eastern Shore of Virginia newspapers.  Specifically, I wanted the Peninsula Enterprise, an Accomac, Northampton County, VA weekly.  My first step, a Google query took, me to the Library of Virginia, which has created word searchable, e-copies of this serial, spanning the years 1881 to 1910.

The site has plenty of additional titles, as “this collection contains 48,934 issues comprising over 300,000 pages.  In addition to the online resource, the Library of Virginia offers an array of sources for researching newspapers from its broad collection of over 3,000 titles.”

“The Virginian Newspaper Project, established in 1993, has worked to locate, describe, inventory, preserve and provide public access to United States imprints housed thorough out the commonwealth,” according to the website.

Click here to go to the Virginia newspaper page.   Click here for other digital resources available from the Library.

“The Library is one of the oldest agencies of Virginia government, founded in 1823 to preserve and provide access to the state’s incomparable printed and manuscript holdings.”

peinsula enterprise, eastern shore of Virginia newspaper.
The Peninsula Enterprise, Accomac, Northampton County, VA, a Virginia newspaper published on the Eastern Shore

 

A Research Resource Shows Family Name Distribution Patterns

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An interesting page on Ancestry.com presents aggregated statistical surname data from an array of standard primary genealogical research materials. 

Drawing on sources such as census schedules, the Social Security Index, Civil War Enlistment papers, immigration records, and more, users query the searchable databases for surnames. 

In graphical and tabular formats, the inquiry yields information on where families lived in the U. S. and U.K., average life expectancy, occupations, service in the Civil War, and much more.  Family history data of this type, particularly the origin and distribution patterns over time, may offer clues to the geographical location of families and is interesting to family historians.

Distribution of PIckel family name in the 1840 census.
Distribution of PIckel family name in the 1840 census.

Here is an example for the surname Pickel.  In the 1840 census, families with that name were concentrated in Pennsylvania, but there were clusters in New York, Ohio, and Indiana.  In subsequent decades (1880 and 1920), the family spreads out across the growing nation, but a strong concentration remains in the original areas.  When the Civil War split the nation, the Ancestry records identify 82 Pickels serving the Union while 28 fought with the Confederates.

Lots of information is easily aggregated here so check it out.  The aggregated statistical data can give some idea of where to focus research and is interesting.  Of course Ancestry hopes the curious types surfing over that way subscribe in order to view the detailed data.

Click here to go to the page.

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The Flickr Commons Has Many Old Photographs and Postcards

The ferry running between Pennsville, NJ and New Castle DE. Source: Boston Public Library, Flickr Commons

As a result of developing research materials for centuries many of the nation’s largest public libraries have vast collections of photographs and postcards from earlier times.  These items, which are helpful to those digging into the past, have always been available, safely preserved and stored away for visiting patrons.  But now access is greatly enhanced as many of these institutions implement online sharing platforms that support the organization’s mission by increasing access for education, research, and personal enrichment.

The Boston Public Library (BPL), following the example of the Library of Congress, is one of the institutions that has embraced this approach.  It has about 86,000 images on the Commons.  BPL’s photostream is organized into collections and sets. clustered by major topic and state.  It has many historical treasures, including posters, postcards, labels, sheet music, trade cards, and much more.   There are 189 Delaware and 380 Maryland postcards, for example.

The goal of the Flickr Commons is to increase access to publicly held photograph collections and provide a way for the general public to contribute information and knowledge.

Check it out.  You will find images there that will catch your interest as more institutions find innovative ways to share holdings found in the “world’s public photography archives.”  Beyond making the images available on the Internet, visitors are invited to contribute to the public knowledge by adding tags and leaving comments.

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Flickr, Google and Others are Out to Catalog the World’s Public Photo Archives.

The blog Indicommons has a lot of additional information about the the Flickr approach.  Check it out for details, but here are some points the site makes

  • “The Commons . . . expands creative freedom and enriches culture by pushing cultural media outside of the confines and limitation of physical media and by making this media available . . .”
  • “Participating institutions benefit from greater exposure of its collections through Flickr’s high profile and it’s large user base.”
  • “The Commons also allows participating institutions to harness the limitless power of the crowd to mine otherwise inaccessible data.”
  • “The Commons provides educators and their students a wealth of historical imagery and information from around the world. It also allows educators and their students to participate in the historical research and tagging.”

A Dover, DE postcard from the Boston Library

The Boston Library’s Flicker Commons

 

Milford Public LIbrary Digitizes Old Delaware Newspaper

The Milford Public Library has greatly increased the usability of an important research resource by digitizing its collection of local newspapers.   The new products, replacing the old, original microfilm, are not available on the web, so e-copies must be used on a computer workstation at the library.

The town on the line between Kent and Sussex counties had a strong Delaware product, the weekly Milford Chronicle.  It started publishing in 1883 and each week the editors’ packed the pages with fresh, insightful area news from the town and nearby neighborhoods.  When investigating downstate subjects, the strength and quality of this serial usually makes it one to check out for the pages are crammed with original, local news.   The library has carried the run of the Chronicle forward to present times.  A paper of more recent origin, the Beacon was also digitized.

These professionally scanned, high-quality images are valuable and join a growing body of digitized Delaware newspapers.  Thank you Milford Public Library.

Milford Chronicle
The Milford Chronicle at the Milford Public Library

The Milford Chronicle
The Milford Chronicle has been digitized by the Milford Public Library