How often do you seek out newspaper articles about your ancestors? If they lived in the 19th century, you might locate a handful of interesting pieces of information, but unless your ancestor was famous, or infamous, there probably won’t be too many mentions found in news articles.
That scenario changes considerably with the start of the 20th century! Reporters actively sought news items of interest to the local townspeople, whether it be of business, criminal or social interest to everyone.
We worry about online privacy today, but not very many years ago, everyone knew everybody’s business because it was printed right there in the newspaper!
However, all of the local gossip printed in the newspaper was not unwanted. The “society editor” took phone calls from those reporting everything from the family pet to birthday parties to engagements and weddings to local young men serving in the military. School graduation lists were published, as were the names of young men and women heading off to college. Illnesses, anniversaries and vacations were also duly noted.
All of these news items provide social context to the lives of family members, providing glimpses into their daily lives.
My family was pretty typical, I’d say, living in New Jersey in the 20th century. My dad’s life is a good example of learning more about him as he was growing up and, by extension, learning about my grandparents, too.
The Passaic Herald News was the daily local paper and everyone I knew had a subscription. My dad was born in 1926 and, while that was a bit early for general birth announcements, it wasn’t long before Nana was busy keeping the newspaper updated on her son.
There were several birthday party announcements, with the first appearing in 1929. Not only did I learn that Dad received “many lovely gifts,” I know who attended, what the entertainment was, where the party was held, that Nana provided a “dainty repast,” and there is a full list of the adults who attended, which gives me an instant FAN club list. I actually recognize most, but not all of the surnames. It’s also interesting that none of the children attending are mentioned and I know that there were cousins at the party.
There were several other birthday articles, but these three give an idea of what was reported.
My grandfather had died of tuberculosis in 1936, so there was a pause in the articles until 1941 when Nana sent in an announcement about Dad’s 15th birthday.
Dad attended Fairleigh Dickinson, a junior college at the time, and is mentioned in the 1944 class of freshmen.
Dad also happened to be chosen to appear in a career counseling ad, too, about the same time:
Dad isn’t identified in the photo, but Nana saved the news clipping.
In 1946, Dad got engaged to a young lady and their engagement was announced in the paper. A few months later, the engagement was over. Although the young lady is also deceased, she did marry and have children, so I’m choosing not to included that article in this post.
However, in July 1947, my dad had a car accident. His friend, John Mastrobuono, was not only injured, but he sued my dad and others involved in the accident. $50,000 was a LOT of money in 1947 and I have no idea what kind of settlement he received, but in 1949, there was an additional article about the accident and the lawsuit against the others.
Ads can even add to the family story. I don’t know if the car involved in the 1947 accident is the same one in this 1949 ad, which I found by searching our home address:
Dad apparently sold the ’42 Chevy and bought another car, perhaps the Ford sedan that I remember, a short time later because he was fined – $3.00 – in East Rutherford for improper parking! I’ve no idea what he was doing in East Rutherford.
Even dog bites made the news. I remember this little girl, who lived next door. I used to play with her older sibling. This article is from 1957 and, while it sounds like the dog was at fault (Mickey, our pet), this child was often running around outside unsupervised. Later that year, Mom had my infant brother napping in the baby carriage on our side porch (on the opposite side from 51 Summer Street). This child came up on the porch (remember, just over 2 years old at the time) and tried to take my brother out of the carriage, dropping him in the process! So. . . it might well be that Mickey was protecting himself from her!
Of course, as you can see, there are many other kinds of articles to be found in newspapers, aside from the obligatory birth, marriage and death announcements.
What new tidbits have you learned about family members from the local newspaper?
