Newspapers

Contemporary newspapers are a valuable resource for tracing ancestors. Sylvia Murphy's article in the FIBIS Journal (details below) provides excellent guidance on using newspapers in your research and gives details of many on and offline sources.

There were dozens of English language newspapers published in India and these often include information such as:

• Domestic Occurrences - published announcements of birth, marriages and deaths
• Military promotions, movements and stations
• Shipping news such as Arrival and Departure notices
• Court reports and police news
• Public notices

All sorts of other information can be found in the newspapers and if nothing else they are an entertaining and informative glimpse of the society in which your ancestors were living.

See also:

• Newspapers & magazines reading list
• Newspapers and journals online
• Military periodicals online
• Subscription websites-online newspapers, journals and directories

FIBIS resources

FIBIS has extensive newspaper transcriptions. Online records taken from newspapers and periodicals can be viewed here.

• Times of India Domestic Occurrences - FIBIS volunteers are transcribing births, marriages and deaths published in the Times of India newspaper. There are already thousands of records online and these can be searched or browsed in the database.

• Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce - FIBIS volunteers are transcribing births, marriages and deaths published in the Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce newspaper. These can be searched or browsed in the database.

• Sylvia Murphy, "Using Newspapers and Journals to research your family in British India," FIBIS Journal, No 22 (Autumn 2009), pages 30-41. For details of how to access this article, see FIBIS Journals.

Accessing newspapers

United Kingdom

The British Library holds extensive microfilm copies of newspapers. Some are available to view at the Colindale Newspaper Library, whilst others can be read at the Asian & African Studies Reading Room in St Pancras. Colindale based titles can be searched on the Newspaper Catalogue, whereas St Pancras based titles can be accessed via a printed list available in the reading room (on the open shelves in the microfilm reader area). It is understood St Pancras microfilms include copies of The Calcutta Gazette

For a detailed list of pre 1851 newspapers held at Colindale and background to the Indian Newspapers held at the British Library see Early Indian Newspapers

Newspapers online - external links

• (BL) British Newspapers Online 1800-1900 Mostly pay to view, unless you have free access via a library
• California Digital Newspaper Collection Free content
• Singapore Straits Times (search) Free content
• Old HK Newspapers online Hong Kong Public Libraries. Free content. The online newspapers are in TIFF format, which requires a plug-in. For more details of the TIFF format, refer Online books-Digital Library of India
• (NLA) Historic Australian Newspapers (1803 to 1954) Free content
• (NLNZ) New Zealand Papers Past (1839 to 1932) Free Content
• New York Times archive index (1851 to date) Index to free and pay articles (or search, changing to the option to NYT Articles 1851-1980).

See also

• Miscellaneous tips