Newspapers can be a source of the sort of anecdotes that make our family histories into something more than lists of names, dates and places and turn our ancestors into flesh and blood people, not just statistics. Through them you can learn of acts of courage, accidents, and even narrow escapes from death.

           For instance, the March 30, 1882 issue of the Richford, Vt. Gazette told this story about George W. Brock of Glen Sutton, Que. where I live:

           "George W. Brock of Glen Sutton, who is perhaps as well known by his alias of Jim Fisk, Jr. recently bought a burglar-proof safe. As the story goes, in order to carry out the impersonation of his notorious prototype, George invited a number of "the boys" in to inspect his purchase, and assist in "wetting up" the strong box.

           During the progress of the bacchanalian ceremony, George detailed to his guests the remarkable exploit of Jim Fisk in escaping from New York, during the Erie railroad troubles, locked up in a safe.

           As some guests expressed doubts as to the feasibility of such a proceeding, George proposed a practical demonstration of the feat by packing himself in his new safe.

           To this all assented, and after removing the shelves and drawers George doubled himself up like a two foot rule and was crowded inside the safe. He then told them to shut the door, which was done and the demonstration was a success.

           It was more than successfull--it was nearly a tragedy, for one of the officiating high priests, after the door was closed, gave the combination spindel a turn or two, and when Jim Jr. gave the preconcerted signal for release, behold! the door could not be opened.

           Immediately there was a terrible commotion which lasted until one of the guests happened to remember that Mr. Estey, a neighbour, had a safe of similar make, and he was sent for.

           Fortunately for George, the combination had not been changed since the safe left the factory, and as it was exactly like the one of Mr. Estey's, that gentleman speedily released Jim Jr. from his narrow quarters and restored him to the world, although in a nearly suffocated condition. And now George says he doesn't want to try another such experiment."

           Stories such as this are there to be found if you have the patience to mine the microfilm of old newspapers.

           Especially prior to World War I, newspapers in the Eastern Townships of Quebec and northern Vermont had an intense local focus. News was what was happening to your neighbours and because people were so inter-related (in genealogical terms you have to think of the northern sections of Vermont and the southern portion of the Eastern Townships as one place) the local newspapers provided alot of information valuable to genealogists today.

           It's important, when reading these newspapers, to sort through the local news columns as well as the birth, marriage and death notices which usually had their own little section. Many births, marriages and deaths are mentioned in the local news columns which never make it to the formal notices.

           Don't forget to scan the legal notices--they often mention settling of estates after a death in the family, real estate sales (sometimes you can pin down when your ancestor left an area from an advertisement for the auction he held to sell off his farm and equipment prior to leaving), and marriage breakdowns ("My wife, having left my bed and board for no good reason....")

           Usually you don't hear much from the women involved in these marriage breakdowns, but sometimes they make themselves known. In August of 1836 Sewell Scofield of Sutton, Que. put a notice in the Missiskoi Standard newspaper of Frelighsburg, Que. that his wife Wealthy had left him and he wouldn't pay her bills. Here's her reply from the Aug. 23 issue of the same paper:
 

           To our modern eyes, pre-World War II newspapers are surprisingly frank about cause of death. If your ancestor committed suicide don't expect to see something like "died suddenly"--you will most likely read exactly how he/ she performed the act, who found them, often even speculation on the reason for the suicide. Accidents and violent deaths also include details that are somewhat shocking to modern eyes.

           Also, if your grandfather ran off with another woman, the local newspaper correspondent for the community in which he lived may well report it. You just never know what you will read in these papers.

           If your ancestors reached significant wedding anniversaries (25th, 30th, etc.) don't forget to check the region's newspapers within several weeks of the anniversary for a profile of the couple. These milestones were often marked by newspapers with long stories about the couple, including anecdotes about how they met, where they lived throughout the marriage, their children and where these children lived at the time of the anniversary.

           Alot of these old newspapers are available on inter-library loan from the National Library in Ottawa. After you've used a map to identify the communities near where your ancestors lived, you can track down the newspapers of the time from a book called Union List of Canadian Newspapers Held by Canadian Libraries (ISBN 0-662-00516-2) which you can also borrow on inter-library loan.

            Quebec newspapers on microfilm is an on-line list of the holdings of our National Library in Ottawa, divided regionally.

          Happy hunting.