Did you know that your relatives, the Myers and Goldsmiths, were among the founders of a local Jewish congregation and that their request for incorporation was published in the local newspaper? Or that Uncle Charles served in World War I and The Brooklyn Daily Eagle announced that he was “killed in action.” Or that Great-Grandfather Isaac attended a dance in 1892 and that “many lasses had hoped for a turn on the floor” with him? Or that in 1895, Great-Great-Uncle Gerson of 448 Grand Street in Manhattan was charged with “secreting jewelry” and his arrest was reported in The New York Times? Colorful (and sometimes sensational) family tidbits as well as swaths of cultural, social, military, and historical information can be found in historical newspapers. Buried within them are clues that may suggest and lead you to additional new and important genealogical records and resources. Many United States newspapers are now digitized and searchable online. This lecture will discuss this wonderful resource and provide examples of why historical newspaper research should not be overlooked.

Nancy C. Levin, CG® has worked as a professional genealogist for almost 30 years. Licensed by the Board for Certification of Genealogists® since 1997, Nancy specializes in Jewish family history. She has extensive experience researching individuals and families who immigrated to the United States from the early-1800s onward and has traced families back into Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands, Alsace-Lorraine, Galicia, Ukraine, Latvia, and more. The author of two chapters in the Avotaynu Guide to Jewish Genealogy (Avotaynu, 2004), Nancy has lectured at numerous IAJGS Jewish genealogy conferences, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, synagogues, libraries, and more. Nancy is a member of the JewishGen USA Research Division’s Honorary Advisory Board.