Presented to the Genealogical Society of Bergen County
on September 23, 2002
by Joe Suplicki
First the good news: Old newspapers contain a huge amount of genealogical information.
Finding genealogical information is very easy, just pick up any old newspaper (or roll of microfilm) and you will find dozens of statements about family relationships in each issue.
Next the bad news: Old newspapers contain a huge amount of genealogical information: but it may not be easy to locate those items that are of interest to you.
Were your ancestors mentioned in their local papers? Probably. But how do you find those items pertaining to them? You won't know until you actually spend some time reading the newspapers. But be prepared, it is not a weekend project. You will need to familiarize yourself with the newspapers of the area and time period that you want to search. There are not many newspapers that have been indexed, especially for smaller towns. But do not despair; your search may be very rewarding.
Where do you start? Where in the paper do you look? This varies from paper to paper and from time to time. When you begin you should read the first issue of a newspaper completely to find out how it is organized, so you know where to look for what you want. Obituaries are sometimes grouped together, but often if they occurred in a town other than the home of the paper, they were mentioned in the news of that town. If it was someone important, a major event or a catastrophe, it might be on the front page, or wherever local news was placed. Some papers would put items under the heading of the town or locality name. In other papers the news was grouped by the railroad line.
Start with known dates. Make a list of important dates for the person you are interested in. Births, marriages, and deaths are the places to start. Not just for the person, but for parents, siblings and children as well. Just because you already know a date, don't think you don't need to read an obituary, for instance. I would suggest searching backwards; death, marriage, birth; in descending order of the amount of information usually found.
Remember that the name we know something by may not be what our parents called it, nor necessarily what their parents called it. Boundaries and names changed. For example, the Ridgewood Public Library is on Maple Avenue. This road runs from the Passaic River in Fair Lawn opposite Paterson to the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook opposite the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn, and was previously called the Paterson Road, or the Paterson to Ho-Ho-Kus road. But if they were referring to the section north of Ridgewood Avenue, it might be referred to as the Ho-Ho-Kus Road. And in one deed I read, this same road was even earlier called "the Paramus road." Elmwood Park was formerly East Paterson. But before that it was Dundee Lake, and before that, Saddle River Township. Townships grew smaller as population grew and sections broke off, frequently as boroughs. What was left of Saddle River Township became Saddle Brook, partly to eliminate confusion with the Borough of Saddle River, which was originally called Saddle River Valley, a part of Franklin and Washington Townships, later Hohokus and Washington Townships; and partly because they were hoping for their own postal identity (which they did not get).
Obituaries
An obituary can contain a wealth of information, or it might merely repeat (or confirm) information you already have, but you won't know until you read it. If you can find an index for a newspaper, it can save some time. But if not, don't be discouraged. If you know the date of death, you can always check for death notices around that time. If you only know the year, try to narrow it down somewhat. From tombstone or cemetery records, you might find the date of death or interment. If a stone only has a year, try the cemetery office to see if they can give you the date of interment. Greenwood Cemetery (www.Green-Wood.com) has an on-line burial inquiry that contains the date of interment. Using this, I was able to find death notices for 8 of 11 members of the Graydon family in the New York Times. Why couldn't I just use the Times Index? Because the index is only for the column headed Obituaries, not the columns headed DIED, or Obituary Notes. From one of these notices, I got the names of two sons-in-law of John Graydon, which led me to another family plot in Greenwood and five more family members to look for. I also got the addresses for several of these people, which can help when doing a census or city directory search. For Samuel Dayton, I knew that he must have died in late May or early June of 1873, from a June 27 Bergen County Democrat mention that "The clods have hardly lain a month upon his grave," and I subsequently found a New York Times death notice that told of his death on May 31, with the funeral to be held June 3, following the arrival of the 11 o'clock train from the Pavonia Ferry.
Ancestry.com has recently added historic newspapers to their available databases. The New York Times is included in this, but I am not sure yet how useful this site is. I have found a few helpful items, but I have also gotten some strange results when trying to find something. When I searched for "John Dobler", the president of the West Side Bank of New York, I also got results for a horse named Doble, which is the opposite of what I would have expected from a search. I guess this is a result of "search spelling variations." And they don't tell you that this database is not complete. For instance, for 1878, the searchable issues only include 32 dates. So even though I knew the date of Mr. Dobler's interment, nothing appeared in the search because there were only six issues for that month included in the database. So I used the microfilm, instead. And the site only includes 1881 to 1890 and 1905 to 1906. It is important when using any index to find out what is included and how it is indexed or searched, if possible.
A more useful New York Times database is the ProQuest Historical Newspapers. This has a better search engine, and I was able to find John Dobler's obituary in it. It has a lot more available, but it is not complete either. It found the first page article on the death of Theodore Houston on January 13, 1888, but not the death notice the following day. It has images that are broken down into articles, columns and display ads, whereas Ancestry has an image of the whole page. This is now accessible here at the Ridgewood Public Library, as well as in Ramsey. Remote access to the ProQuest New York Times database is available to members of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and may well be worth the membership fee if you will be doing a lot of searching. But remember, no matter how good an index is, it may still miss something you are looking for, so if you are sure of a date, but nothing shows up in the index or search, try looking at the microfilm anyway.
While I am on the subject of obituaries, now would be a good time to mention an old use of women's names. When Miss Jane Smith married Mr. John Jones, she became Mrs. John Jones, which is what she would be called if she died first. However, if her husband died first, as a widow, she would frequently be called Mrs. Jane Smith, not Mrs. Jane Jones as you might expect today. I have not found any reference to this practice, so I don't know the time period that it was in vogue, but I have noticed it in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1907 one Ridgewood paper announced the death of Mrs. Sarah C. Berdan, and the other paper reported the death of Mrs. Andrew Van Dien. If you are not aware of this convention, you might not realize it is the same person, especially if you did not know the widow's maiden name.
Once you have found an obituary, try looking several weeks before and after the date of death. Frequently someone's illness or accident will be mentioned prior to their death. There may have been an epidemic or a natural disaster. A recap of the person's life or importance to the community may have appeared a week or two after the funeral. Sometimes, the disposition of the estate will be mentioned.
Weddings
Notice of a wedding can appear in many guises. An item in the Hackensack Republican, March 19, 1894, said
"John Ackerman is now a Benedict."
Not much, but at least you know approximately when a wedding took place. The Evening Record and Bergen Herald in 1918 used "City Clerk To Become a Benedict" as a headline for a marriage notice. Wedding announcements were also placed under the heading Hymen or Hymeneal. Engagements were announced, and notice of an upcoming wedding often appeared about a month before the ceremony. I have found mention of an upcoming wedding, but not the wedding itself, in a few cases. Society pages might contain articles about wedding showers, including a list of guests, with relationships mentioned. Often an announcement would be made of the return of the happy couple from their wedding tour and where they had set up housekeeping.
Wedding stories can contain a wealth of family information. Frequently an attendant is a relative of the bride or groom, and will be identified as such. Or there may be an interesting item about the wedding tour. From the Bergen County Democrat in 1878,
"On Wednesday next Capt. Isaac Demarest, a seafaring man, will lead into matrimony, Jane Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas V. B. Zabriskie, Esq. The happy couple will take a trip to Europe."
The trip to Europe is not surprising for a ship's captain, but Thomas was a great-great grandfather of mine, a farmer on Paramus Road in Paramus. Why was a farmer referred to as Esquire? This probably means he was Justice of the Peace at one time. Something else to investigate!
The following week this item appeared under the Paramus heading
"A lady at this place, by marriage, is a sister-in-law to her father."
This referred to the above marriage. Captain Isaac D. Demarest was the youngest brother of Tom Zabriskie's second wife, Hannah Demarest.
Wedding anniversaries should not be overlooked, as sometimes the guest list will reveal some previously unknown relationship or location. Fifth, tenth, twentieth, and golden were some of the more popular to write about. Just the mention that there are 17 grandchildren can either make or ruin your whole day, depending on what you already know, but it is important information.
Births
Old birth announcements are usually less informative, but at least they can offer some clues. For instance, my grandmother's birth was announced in the Bergen County Democrat of July 31, 1885 as,
"Mr. Stephen Zabriskie has been made a happy father by an increase in his family."
Slightly better was this from September 25th of the same year,
"Mr. Will. Rosencrantz has become the happy father ofa girl."
This was Mary Elizabeth Rosencrantz, the last owner of the Hermitage. There are periods when only the elite of a town are mentioned, and other times when almost every birth in the area seems to be mentioned. I have not found any mention of my mother's 1919 birth in the Ridgewood papers, possibly because they were newcomers to Ridgewood, but more probably because birth announcements did not seem to be in vogue at that time.
Other Events
Don't overlook other important events that you know of in someone's life. Try looking at commencement articles. You may find mention of a graduation, an ancestor may have done something special at the ceremony, or check honor roll announcements. Remember that your ancestor may not have graduated from high school, or from the local high school, so check grammar school graduations. Or look for any other significant event that you know of.
If an ancestor was a merchant, look at some of the advertisements he might have placed in the papers. Nothing genealogical perhaps, but often interesting. Want ads and legal notices can also give some interesting insights into the life of the town or possibly point to some legal documents that you did not know existed.
Probably some of the most interesting and potentially rewarding reading, though, is just surfing the papers. You never know what gems you might come across. Summertime is always good for vacationing or visiting. If your family always vacationed at the same place, they may be mentioned in the papers there. Someone's aunt or sister may be visiting, and will be mentioned, or vice versa. Merchants moved frequently, and were often mentioned. I found a very informative article about one of the merchants in Ridgewood on the thirteenth anniversary of the opening of his store. Not something I would have thought to look for, even if I had known before then when he had come to town.
Just in passing, let me mention other print media you might explore. Magazines, both popular and professional, may contain an article on someone you are researching. You might even find a specific reference to a magazine article in a newspaper. This might take some sleuthing to locate, but you can start with the Readers Guide or PERSI.
Where do you find newspapers?
If you are in the area you are searching, start with the local library or historical society. For Ridgewood and Bergen County, I have used the Ridgewood Library, Bergen Community College in Paramus, Johnson Library in Hackensack, the Ramsey Library, and Ramapo College in Mahwah. The Paterson Library has all of the Paterson papers that are available, and the Passaic County Historical Society at Lambert Castle has some also. The Clifton Library has some Passaic papers. I have noticed that for a certain time period, the Passaic papers covered Garfield (formerly East Passaic), better than the Bergen Evening Record did.
Check the holdings for any place before you make a trip. Check the web sites of libraries. A good place to try is the United States Newspaper Project (www.neh.fed.us/projects/usnp.html). All states are linked here and you should be able to get a list of all the papers that are available for any locality. New Jersey does not have a list available at the website that is linked to this site. The New York Public Library has nearly all the available New York State papers. The New City Public Library has most of the Rockland papers. You probably do not have to go to a distant library. Many papers are available through inter-library loan. I got The Cloud County Kansan and The Western Nationalist from the Kansas Historical Society this way.
While I cannot say for certain that you WILL find something about an ancestor, it is possible that you can find out quite a bit about him or her. But keep in mind that newspapers are not totally reliable sources of information. Just as today, there were frequent typographical or factual errors in a story. If possible, try to get the same item from another paper. I found one wedding article where the bride's mother was listed as the bride, but the facts were correct in another paper.
An Example
Following is an example of what can be found in the newspapers on one person. While researching John Henry Terhune, who became a famous magician, Harry Rouclere, I found his uncle, John Ackerman mentioned several times. I checked the Ackerman genealogy, and found that he was not listed, but as the papers were very specific that he was the brother of Jane Maria Ackerman Terhune, I thought I would look into it. For a while, I thought I must be crazy to look for a John Ackerman that even the D. A. D. (David Ackerman Descendants) does not know about, but here is what I have found so far.
I have concluded that John J. Ackerman was the third and last child of John A. Ackerman's second wife, Agnes Gould Van Houten, born in late January or early February of 1861, his mother dying at or shortly after childbirth. His mother died on February 4, 1861. He was about five and one-half years older than his nephew, John Henry Terhune (Harry Rouclere). I suspect that they were close as children and maintained this relationship throughout their lives.
It appears that Johnny Terhune purchased a printing press, and that later John Ackerman came into possession of it, and became a printer. I think it is quite possible that John Ackerman printed posters for Mildred & Harry Rouclere.
The following newspaper (and a few other) items are examples of what may be found:
John J. Ackerman, Printer
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The Bergen Countv Democrat. Friday. February 9.1877 Saddle River. Johnny Terhune is arranging for the purchase of a printing press to supply his young friends with the name cards which are so popular with the young folks in the country. The Bergen Countv Democrat. Friday. February 16. 1877 Saddle River. Johnny Terhune, the hotel keeper's son, has received his new press, and has commenced business as a printer of name cards for his young friends at Saddle River. A handbill for The Boy Magician (Johnny Terhune), appearing January 22, 1879 in Ramseys, N. J. was printed by "JOHN ACKERMAN, CHEAP CARD & JOB PRINTER, PARAMUS. P. O. Address: Ridgewood, N. J." NOTES: This was pictured in an article about Mildred and Harry Rouclere that appeared in The Sphinx, the official magazine of the Society of American Magicians, in 1940. John J. Ackerman is listed in the Paterson City Directory for 1879-80 at 38 North Main Street as a printer, living with John A. Ackerman. (But he was not listed in the 1878- 79 Directory) The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. March 26. 1880 Ridgewood. John H. Terhune & Co. is the name of a Ridgewood firm advertising in the Guardian, at Jackson, Kansas. [Apparently no copies of this newspaper exist] The Western Nationalist. Friday. February 3. 1882 John Ackerman, our former foreman, left for Jamestown Sunday where he will engage on the Cloud County Kansan. John is a noble good boy, honest to a fault, and we wish him success. The Cloud Countv Kansan. Saturday. February 11. 1882 John Ackerman, our former foreman, left for Jamestown Sunday where he will engage on the Cloud County KANSAN. John is a noble boy, honest to a fault, and we wish him success. Beloit Nationalist. The Cloud Countv Kansan. Saturday. April 1. 1882 Our foreman, Mr. John J. Ackerman, started last Sunday for Ridgewood, New Jersey. Mr. A. is a gentleman of exemplary character, and a first-class printer. We, together with his many friends, wish him a safe journey and a speedy return. |
The Bergen Countv Democrat. Friday. April 7. 1882 Ridgewood John Ackerman, who formerly lived at this place, is on a visit to his sister, Mrs. Abram Terhune. Mr. Ackerman is a full fledged editor of a Kansas paper. The Bergen Index. Tuesday. April 18. 1882 COMING! THE GREAT ROUCLERE UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF J. J. ACKERMAN BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE W. S. WHEELER Anderson Hall, The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. April 21. 1882 Ridgewood
John Terhune, the young magician, is meeting with success around the country. John J. Ackerman, editor of "Cloud Co. Kansan," Jamestown, Kansas, is visiting his friends in the East. John went West a few years ago a mere lad. He has grown up with the new country and finally became editor of a paper. Like all newspapermen generally he has not an easy road to travel. The Cloud County Kansan. Saturday. June 3.1882 In a lately received letter from J. J. Ackerman, who is at present in Patterson, New Jersey, John says he has been kept busy ''as a western curiosity." We suppose they so seldom see any life in staid little New Jersey, that when they get hold of a real live Kansan, like our John, they just hang to him. NOTE: There is now a ten-year gap for which I have not yet found any mention of John J. Ackerman. The Bergen Countv Democrat. Friday. September 9, 1892 Ridgewood John Ackerman, father of Mrs. Abram Terhune, starts for St. Louis next week, on an extended visit. Mr. Ackerman is 76 years old. |
John J. Ackerman, Printer Continued
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The Bergen County Democrat. Fridav. Mav 19. 1893 Ridgewood John Ackerman and family, of St. Louis, are in town and will make their future home in Ridgewood. Mr. Ackerman was connected with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Hackensack Republican. Thursday June 29. 1893 Ridgewood The Taft Printing & Publishing Company of this place has filed a certificate of incorporation in the County Clerk's office at Hackensack. Its capital is stated at $5,000; it will commence business on $2,500, and the stockholders are: L. N. Taft, I share; W. A. Taft, I share; Francis I. Heidenthal, Matamoras, Pa., 96 shares; Miles H. Dickinson, Paterson, I share; Catharine A. Decker, I share. The purpose of the company is to print and publish books, newspapers, etc., and to carry on a general publishing business. The Bergen Countv Democrat. Friday. June 30. 1893 Ridgewood Taft Printing & Publishing Company has been organized to transact business in Ridgewood and New York. Capital stock, $5,000, and business was started with a capital of $2,500. Par value of shares, $25 each. The stockholders are Leonard N. Taft, and Catharine A. Decker, of Ridgewood; Wm. A. Taft, of Passaic Bridge; Miles H. Dickinson, of Paterson, I share each; and Francis I. Heidenthal, of Matamoras, Pa., 96 shares. The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. July 21. 1893 Paramus John Ackerman and family, after a sojourn of a couple of months at Wynetta manor, have moved to Ridgewood. The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. August 25. 1893 Ridgewood John Ackerman of the St. Louis Dispatch and now a resident of Ridgewood, proposes to start a semi-weekly paper on town. The Hackensack Republican. Thursday. August 31. 1893 Ridgewood The Ridgewood News is hereinafter to be managed by Mr. John Ackerman late of St. Louis, but who was born in this region. He is a practical newspaper man, and promises to improve The News. The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. September 8. 1893 Ridgewood The Ridgewood News has been purchased by John Ackerman. |
The Hackensack Republican. Thursday. November 16. Ridgewood The wind whistled good-bye to the bicycle men through a broken window pane last Tuesday morning, and in the same breath which was ominous, it welcomed The Argus. The old brick building has a hoodoo, and it is looked upon as a highway which leads into the soup tureen. The Hackensack Republican. Thursday. November 30, 1893. Ridgewood Ex-Editor Taft has opened a combination grocery and meat market in the Westervelt building. The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. December 1. 1893 RIDGEWOOD. Taft, who lately tried journalism, proposes embarking in the grocery business. Quite a change. The Hackensack Republican. Thursday. December 7. Ridgewood Two of our public men are being sharply criticized. Ex-Editor Taft, for trying to put the present editor of the Ridgewood News into a hole after selling him the property and Elder Cruse for signing the McManus recommendation instead of the remonstrance of the church to which he belongs The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. December 8. 1893 RIDGEWOOD The sheriff on Saturday closed out the Ridgewood News. There is a dispute and a rather interesting rivalry between Mr. Taft, former owner of a paper known as the "Ridgewood News," which has experienced a checkered career with brief existence, and Mr. Ackerman who succeeded Taft. The plant was transferred to Mr. Taft by purchase, the sheriff having levied upon it. Now Ackerman refuses to discontinue the publishing of a paper, and insists that the sale did not abandon his privilege to continue publishing the News, no matter it be done elsewhere. Mr. Taft, on the other hand announces his intention of re-entering the journalistic field and publish the News himself, so that the town will have two papers of the same name. The Hackensack Republican. Thursday. December 14, 1893 Ridgewood The Ridgewood News forms an interesting etude in the journalism of Bergen county, and the last movement in the study is not the least suggestive. According to the records in the county clerk's office at Hackensack, The News is an example of the happy-go-lucky system of conducting business "on paper." The original proprietor formed a company in which he was a small stockholder; last September the company sold the plant to John Ackerman, for $100 cash and a chattel mortgage of $2,500; last week the company foreclosed the mortgage and bought the concern in. Now, it is said, there is a dispute as to who owns the "good will" of business to print a paper bearing the title. Should this prove to be the case, Ridgewood will certainly have plenty of News. This is what the Passaic Daily Herald says: "Mr. John Ackerman who came from St. Louis on the Missouri river where they have lots of snags, all the way up to Bergen county, to edit The Ridgewood News, has struck a worse snag than any steamer ever struck in western waters." |
John J. Ackerman, Printer Continued
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The Bergen Index. Tuesday. December 19. 1893 ERIE R. R. The Ridgewood News is now being published by the Taft Printing and Publishing Company, with L. N. Taft as editor and business manager. It has a rival called The Argus. The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. December 29. 1893 Ridgewood A reception was recently given at the home of John J. Ackerman. John J. Ackerman has retired from the newspaper business. His experience here was quite brief. John J. Ackerman, formerly of the News, is now on the Pencilings. The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. January 19. 1894 Ridgewood Mr. Bunce has severed his connection with the Argus and is engaged in New York city. The Hackensack Republican. Thursday. Apri1 19. 1894 Ridgewood The Argus announces it will retire from the field of journalism because its expenditures are greater than its receipts. The Bergen County Democrat. Friday. April 20. 1894 Ridgewood The "Argus," has suspended publication, after an eventful career of several months. The reason given for this step is that the paper has not been a paying institution. The Hackensack Republican. Thursday. March 21. 1901 Ridgewood John Ackerman, aged 85, was buried on Saturday. |
Other Clues and Sources to Investigate: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch for 1892-3 to see if it mentions his leaving, and possibly earlier, to see how long he might have been there. This will require the purchase of Missouri Newspapers on Microfilm at the State Historical Society of Missouri for $14.00 before I can find out the reel numbers that I need to request. Unfortunately, only three issues of the Ridgewood News for 1893 survive, so I could not find anything there. Wouldn't I love to find that first issue printed by John Ackerman, where he introduced himself to the readers. Maybe there is a copy in some one's attic or basement. As far as I know, no issues of the Argus exist, although I have seen it quoted in another paper. I don't know if John Ackerman was affiliated with that paper. Paterson and Passaic papers to see of there is any more mention of him. With the controversy involved in his short ownership of The Ridgewood News, there may be more in those papers. There may be a better obituary for his father, listing survivors and maybe where they lived. Since he lived for a time in Paterson, his death may be mentioned in one of the Paterson papers. I cannot use the Paterson Library Obituary Index, because it only lists Paterson residents, except maybe for someone important like former Senator and Mayor Hinchliffe, who was living in Florida when he died. The 1870 Federal census and 1865, 1875 and 1895 New Jersey censuses for Bergen and Passaic Counties. There is a poster of the four Roucleres that was printed by Ackerman & Quikley, Kansas City. The picture was probably taken around 1910. It appeared on the cover of The Sphinx in 1912. I have a Mildred & Rouclere poster that was printed in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I don't know the time period, so I would leave this for last. |
Finally, In Summary
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If your ancestor lived in a town, he or she did something newsworthy. What is newsworthy? Almost anything. Your ancestor might have:
Every one of your ancestors did some of these things during their lifetime, and the chances are good that several of them made it into print in the local paper. You just have to find them. And it can be very rewarding when you do. |
From The Ridgewood News, October, 1918: Has anyone in Ridgewood, Hohokus, Glen Rock, Allendale, or vicinity
That's News!
Phone it, Send it, or Bring it to
From The Record August, 2002: Before it was in the history books, And I might add: Even if it is not in the history books, |