Newspapers

children on swing

Newspapers provide a valuable insight into the lives and communities of past generations and can be an excellent source of information for your family tree.

What do I need to know before I start?​

  • name of the person or event

  • date of the event

  • locality - Glasgow or elsewhere​​​​

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What resources can I find in The Mitchell Library: Special Collecti​​ons?

The Mitchell Library has an extensive collecti​on of local and national newspapers, most of them available on microfilm. Library staff can show you how to use the microfilms in your research. Holdings are listed in the Periodicals catalogue or searched online via the SALSER database. Only The Glasgow Herald has an index: 1906-1984.

 

The resources include:

  • The Glasgow Herald

  • Evening Times

  • Evening Citizen

  • The Daily Record

  • The Bulletin

  • Govan Press

  • The Times

  • The Daily Telegraph

  • The Scotsman

  • The Guardian

     

Details given in these resources vary, but can include: 

  • family notices for births, death, marriages and acknowledgements

  • obituaries

  • court cases and inquests

  • shipping announcements

  • petitions

  • examination results

  • shipwrecks

  • accidents

  • crimes

  • missing persons

  • prizes and awards

  • photographs

  • local interest stories​ 

What records can I see o​nline?

  • Glasgow Herald, Jan 17 1806- Feb 17 1990

  • Evening Times, Nov 14 1914 - Jul 31 1990

  • Evening Times Saturday, Jan 3 1987 - Oct 15 1988 

 

British Newspaper Archive

 

National Library of Scotland - Guide to Scottish Newspaper indexes

 

There is free access for Glasgow Libraries members to the following newspaper and journal databases on our Research 24/7 page: 

  • 19th Century British Library Newspapers 

  • The Scotsman 1817-1950 (Obituary search facility)

  • Pro-Quest Central database of over 17000 journal and newspaper titles (Obituary search facility)

  • Guardian from 2010

  • Ancestry - Ireland, Newspapers, 1763-1890 - This database contains issues of more than 30 Irish newspapers printed between 1763 and 1890

What other resources will help me find information?

Guide books and magazines on family history and name research, such as

  • Eve McLaughlin, "Family History from Newspapers" (1989)

  • Jeremy Gibson, “Local Newspapers 1750-1920: A Select Location List: Guides for Genealogists, Family and Local Historians” (2011)

  • Colin Chapman, “Using Newspapers and Periodicals by Colin Chapman” (2011)​