Classic Holiday Film Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

In 1946, It’s a Wonderful Life debuted in theaters across the country. This iconic family Christmas film was based on the short story and booklet The Greatest Gift. Initial tickets sales were disappointing, and reviews mixed. Though it received five Academy Award nominations, it did not win any Oscars. The film did not even come close to breaking even. Years later, the movie lapsed into the public domain, which allowed it to be broadcast without royalty fees. Television audiences rediscovered the film, and its popularity grew. It’s a Wonderful Life is now considered one of the greatest films of all time. It is No. 1 on the American Film Institute’s list of most inspirational movies. In 1990, the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry.

When author Philip Van Doren Stern began writing The Greatest Gift in 1939, he could have never dreamed that his story would one day become one of the most beloved holiday films of all time. Stern was a respected historian and best known for his books on the Civil War. This story was his first attempt at fiction. He finished the story, loosely based on the Charles Dickens novel, A Christmas Carol, in 1943. Unable to find a publisher, Stern printed 200 copies and sent them to friends as Christmas cards. One copy went to a producer at RKO Pictures, who then bought the motion picture rights. He showed the story to actor Cary Grant, who became interested in playing the lead role. Before anything concrete materialized, RKO sold the rights to director Frank Capra’s production company, Liberty Films, for $10,000. Capra adapted the story for the big screen.

Jimmy Stewart played the lead character, George Bailey. Initially, Stewart was hesitant to accept the part. He was still recovering from his traumatic experiences during the war and considered giving up acting altogether, seeing it as frivolous and unimportant. However, when Stewart read the script, he was touched and signed on to do the film. The plot centered on Bailey, a discouraged man who was contemplating suicide and wished he had never been born. Bailey then meets his guardian angel, who grants him his wish. Bailey soon realized that his absence left a gaping hole in the lives of his family and friends. The realization brought a renewed zest for life and joy in living.

The film debuted the first Christmas after WWII ended. The nation was in a celebratory mood, and though It’s a Wonderful Life ended on a joyful note, the film didn’t immediately resonate with audiences. “Our movie just got lost,” said Stewart. In 1974, the copyright for the movie lapsed, allowing television stations to broadcast it at no cost. A whole new generation discovered the film, and its popularity soared. More than 80,000 people purchased a videocassette copy of the movie in 1986. In 1987, that number nearly doubled. Watching the film became a Christmas tradition for many American families. Later in his life, Jimmy Stewart said that It’s a Wonderful Life was his favorite film.

Seventy-five years later, audiences continue to cherish It’s a Wonderful Life. Do your holiday plans include this Christmas classic? To see more newspaper clippings related to this iconic holiday movie, search Newspapers.com™ today.

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New South Carolina Paper!

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

We’ve added another South Carolina paper to our archives! The Herald is published in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and includes news from York, Chester, and Lancaster counties. If you are interested in South Carolina history or have ancestors from Rock Hill, you will love searching through the pages in this archive.

Rock Hill was named when the Charlotte/Columbia/Augusta Railroad was constructed through the area in 1852. Crews encountered a small, flinty knoll and named the spot Rock Hill. The town was a transfer point for Confederate troops and supplies during the Civil War. Following the war, a local Confederate soldier named James Morrow Ivy returned to Rock Hill and started the town’s first newspaper. He called it the Lantern, and it began publication in 1872. In 1874, the paper’s name was changed to The Herald and would be known as The Evening Herald until 1986, when a Sunday edition was added.

Ivy had a flair for businesses and is credited with championing the growth of Rock Hill. Our archives for The Herald date back to 1880, when the town’s population was 809. With the establishment of cotton mills, including the first steam-powered cotton factory in South Carolina, Rock Hill’s population increased three-fold in just ten years. When Ivy died in 1885, all the prominent businesses in town closed shop. Residents draped the buildings along Main Street in mourning fabric as a tribute to Ivy.

The Herald has chronicled important history in the region, including the civil rights movement. In February 1961, nine Black students from the now-closed Friendship College in Rock Hill were jailed following a sit-in at the segregated McCrory’s lunch counter. The men became known as the Friendship Nine, and their case garnered national attention. They were eventually released, and in 2015, a Circuit Court judge vacated their convictions saying, “We cannot rewrite history, but we can right history.”

If you have ancestors from Rock Hill, explore society columns like Local and Personal or In Society to read news about residents. You can also search for your ancestor’s birth announcements, wedding announcements, and obituaries.

Start searching The Herald today on Newspapers.com™.

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The Cocoanut Grove Fire: November 28, 1942

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

On November 28, 1942, a crowd of about a thousand people crammed into the Cocoanut Grove supper club in Boston, Massachusetts. The swanky club, known as “The Grove,” was a popular attraction in the city. It contained elaborate decorations, including artificial palm trees, bamboo and rattan accents, and fabric draped ceilings. The club filled up to twice its legal capacity that night, and some of the emergency exits were blocked. About 10:15 p.m., a fire broke out in the basement. It spread quickly, fueled by the flammable decorations. Patrons became trapped inside and nearly 500 died. The fire ranks as the deadliest nightclub fire in American history. It also spurred new fire safety laws to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again.

The Cocoanut Grove supper club was a single-story building with a basement that contained a bar known as the Melody Lounge. It was owned by Barnet Welansky, a lawyer with ties to the mafia. The club had become a popular place and often entertained celebrities.

On the evening of the fire, 16-year-old busboy Stanley F. Tomaszewski was working in the basement bar when the bartender asked him to replace a missing light bulb. The lightbulb was in the corner of the room and was purportedly unscrewed by a young man seeking more privacy while kissing his date.

Tomaszewski lit a match until he spotted the empty socket. He screwed in the missing light bulb and blew out the match. Moments later, patrons noticed a small fire near the ceiling over the palm tree. Initially, Tomaszewski attempted to extinguish the fire, burning his hands and face in the process. Other employees joined the effort to douse the flames but were unsuccessful. Tomaszewski noticed crowds pressing towards a staircase already blocked by panic-stricken patrons. He flung open a camouflaged door that led to the kitchen and guided several patrons to safety in a walk-in refrigerator. By now, the fabric-draped ceiling caught fire as well, creating a toxic gas that filled the room.

Upstairs, patrons ran for the revolving door as flames and smoke quickly filled the room. The revolving door was the only source of egress in the room and became jammed with a pile of bodies as smoke overcame patrons. Some guests dropped to their knees and crawled through the darkness, looking for a way out.

The fire raged and ultimately claimed the lives of 491 victims. In the days following the fire, Tomaszewski was held for questioning. Friends and teachers rallied to his defense, defending his character as a bright, capable young man who excelled in school and was captain of his high school military battalion. Eventually, authorities cleared Tomaszewski of any charges, and owner Barnet Welansky was charged with manslaughter because three exits were locked and impassable. The tragedy led to improved building codes. Revolving doors would now be required to be flanked by stationary doors. The new laws also banned flammable materials for decorations and required well-marked exits in public buildings. The cause of the fire remains a mystery to this day.

If you would like to learn more about the Cocoanut Grove fire, search Newspapers.com™ today.

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New Papers from Mississippi and South Carolina

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

We are pleased to announce that we have added new papers from Mississippi and South Carolina to our archives.

Mississippi: The Sun Herald based in Biloxi, Mississippi, celebrates its 137^th birthday this month. It began as The Biloxi Herald in 1884 and was later known as The Daily Herald. In 1985, The Daily Herald merged with The Sun to form The Sun Herald. Our archives date back to 1888 and have chronicled the history of the Mississippi Gulf Coast since that time.

In the late 1800s, the rise of commercial fishing made Biloxi the Seafood Capital of the World, bringing seafood canneries and factory workers to town. Among the workers were exploited immigrant children, some as young as 3-years-old. They worked long days and had little opportunity to attend school. From 1908-1916, photographer Lewis Wickes Hine photographed these workers. His images helped spur action that changed child labor laws in the South.

Biloxi has felt the brunt of many hurricanes over the years. Two of the most notorious were Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As Katrina approached the shore, some of the Sun Herald’s staff evacuated to Columbus, Georgia, where they continued to publish daily editions of the Sun Herald for 11 days until workers restored power to Biloxi. The paper earned the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of the storm and its aftermath.

South Carolina: We have new papers from the Palmetto State, including the Cities of Columbia and Greenville. The State began publication in 1891 and later purchased its rival, The Columbia Record. This archive also contains issues of The Sunday Record dated 1918-1932.

Throughout its history, The State has maintained a progressive editorial policy, championing issues like suffrage and civil rights. One legal case brought the legal rights of women to center stage in South Carolina. Benjamin Ryan Tillman, Jr., was the son of a popular U.S. senator from South Carolina. When he and his wife and Lucy Tillman divorced in 1910, they engaged in a bitter custody battle over their two children. Lucy wanted custody, but Benjamin argued that his parents should raise the children. Benjamin “deeded” the children to them, igniting women around the country. They demanded that Lucy (and all women) should have equal rights. The state Supreme Court eventually sided with Lucy, saying children could not be deeded without the consent of both parents.

About 100 miles northwest of Columbia is Greenville, South Carolina, and home of The Greenville News. Our archives date back to 1881 when Greenville was on the cusp of becoming a major mill town and textile center. The Greenville News chronicled the population surge in the early 1900s and the new trolley linking the mills to downtown. Greenville’s prosperity took a hit when the boll weevil decimated crops in 1926. Banks failed, and the ensuing depression impacted the city in an economic downturn that lasted until WWII ended. If you have ancestors from Greenville, be sure to check out the society page, birth announcements, wedding announcements, and obituaries.

Explore these new Mississippi and South Carolina papers on Newspapers.com™ today!

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The New England Vampire Panic

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

In the late 1800s, a sense of panic invaded New England. An alarming number of people were dying of consumption, and residents became convinced that vampire-like creatures were the cause. They believed the vampires were gradually sucking the blood out of innocent victims. To combat the threat, locals sometimes exhumed the bodies of loved ones and ritually burned their organs. They believed this would stop the vampires and prevent the spread of the disease. One of the most famous vampire stories involved Rhode Island resident Mercy Brown.

Consumption (now known as tuberculosis) is spread through bacteria and was one of the leading causes of death at the time. Those infected gradually became sicker and often spread the illness to other family members. Consumption hit the Brown family of Exeter, Rhode Island, especially hard. George Brown was a respected farmer, who along with his wife Mary Eliza, raised seven children. Mary Eliza contracted consumption and died in 1883. The following year, daughter Mary Olive, a 20-year-old dressmaker, also died. In January 1892, daughter Mercy, 19, died, and son Edwin, 24, was sick.

Superstitious neighbors approached George and convinced him that he should exhume the bodies of his wife and daughters. It was, they suggested, the only way to save Edwin. The superstition held that vampires slowly drained the blood from the living and put it into the hearts of the dead. Thus, a buried body with blood in the heart evidenced that vampires were at work. The only way to stop the vampires was to find corpses with blood still in their organs, remove the organs, and ritually burn them.

Hesitant but desperate to save his son, George agreed to the plan. On March 17, 1892, several men from the community went to work digging up the remains of the Browns. Mary Eliza had been dead nine years, and her remains were in an advanced state of decomposition. Mary Olive’s body had also decomposed. But when they disinterred Mercy, they found blood in her heart. She had died two months earlier, and the freezing temperatures had preserved her body.

They removed Mercy’s heart and liver and ritualistically burned them on a stone. The ashes were mixed with a tonic and given to Edwin to drink. The ritual proved ineffective, and Edwin died two months later. By 1899, George lost six of his seven children. Over the next few years, the belief in vampires waned. It took another 40 years until scientists carried out the first clinical trials for the treatment of tuberculosis.

If you would like to learn more about the New England Vampire Panic, search Newspapers.com™ today!

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150th Anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

On the evening of October 8, 1871, Catherine O’Leary stepped outside her house in Southwest Chicago. She fed the horses and led them to the barn before retiring for the night. Catherine and her husband Patrick were already in bed when a neighbor noticed flames coming from their barn. He alerted the O’Learys’, but dry and windy conditions allowed the fire to grow out of control. Within ten minutes, two blocks were ablaze. The fire came to be known as the Great Chicago Fire, and by October 10th, it consumed some five square miles. More than 17,000 buildings burned to the ground, and 300 people died. Although folklore states that the fire began when Catherine’s cow kicked over an oil lamp, no one really knows how it started. This month marks the 150^th anniversary of the fire.

Chicago was incorporated in the 1830s and grew to become the world’s largest grain port by the 1850s. The city was built predominantly of wood and was prone to fires. It had been unusually hot and dry in Chicago that fall, and the area was experiencing a drought. When the fire started at the O’Leary farm, tinderbox conditions quickly led to a firestorm that overwhelmed the city. Firefighters attempted to douse the massive flames, but the city’s waterworks burned and cut off water to the hydrants.

As the fire spread, it jumped the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago before jumping the river again and consuming the Near North Side. Windswept sparks landed on roofs and sheds, starting new fires. The fire burned for about another 24 hours, essentially unchecked.

Emma Schultze was 8 years old at the time. She recalled that her family woke at 2:00 a.m. to friends pounding on the door, telling them the city was ablaze. Although they lived on the outskirts of town, the Schultze family saw flames headed in their direction. Emma’s father dug a hole in the front yard and dumped in the family linen, silver, dishes, bedding, and even furniture. Emma’s mother quickly dressed her in layer after layer of petticoats and dresses. Finally, with their arms laden with household items, the family set out on foot towards the home of a friend. Several days later, they returned to find the smoldering foundation of their home. As they explored the ruins, hot ashes burned the soles of their shoes off. The Schultze family joined more than 100,000 people left homeless in the wake of the fire.

The Chicago Tribune, unable to publish papers on October 9^th or 10^th, described the scene in the October 11^th edition. “This city has been swept by a conflagration which has no parallel in the annals of history.” By the night of the 9^th, the fire began to burn itself out. A light rainstorm that night helped douse the final hot spots.

Reconstruction began almost immediately, and relief poured in from around the country and abroad. Railroads offered free passage to those who wanted to leave. Improved building techniques and updated fire standards helped Chicagoans rebuild and emerge as a modern city. Just two decades later, Congress named Chicago the host city for the 1893 World’s Fair.

If you would like to learn more about the Great Chicago Fire, search Newspapers.com™ today or visit our Great Chicago Fire Topic Page to see curated clippings related to the fire.

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The Rational Dress Society and Victorian Dress Reform

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

In 1881, a group of high society women gathered in London to form a new organization. They named their group the Rational Dress Society, intending to reform Victorian women’s dress. The group came up with criteria for the perfect dress. It included:

Freedom of Movement
Absence of pressure over any part of the body
No more weight than is necessary for warmth, and both weight and warmth evenly distributed.
Grace and beauty combined with comfort and convenience
Not departing too conspicuously from the ordinary dress of the time

Their ideas were revolutionary and controversial. Typical Victorian dress styles incorporated heavy fabrics, tight corsets, bustles, hoop skirts, and extravagant ornamentation. The women argued that dress reform would allow them to participate in activities like cycling. Bicycles had become a symbol of freedom for many women who found the sport liberating and emancipating.

A founding member of the society was Viscountess Florence Wallace Pomeroy, also known as Lady Harberton. Lady Harberton, the daughter of wealthy landowners, married James S. Pomeroy. He later became the 6^th Viscount Harberton. In 1880, Lady Harberton took up the cause of dress reform. She loved to cycle, but heavy, long skirts prevented her from enjoying the activity. She championed the reformed dress, which consisted of baggy pantaloons worn underneath a knee-length skirt. She also invented the divided skirt, which initially evoked jeers on both sides of the pond. Some feared that trifling with a traditional women’s dress was a step down a path to loosening moral values.

In 1883, the Rational Dress Society sponsored an exhibition held in London. The exhibit included shorter dresses, divided skirts, “costumes for climbing for lady mountaineers, and a costume for walking.” One man reported to The Times that the women in his family discarded their corsets and found new freedom in dancing, walking, tricycling, lawn tennis, and other open-air exercises. They vowed never to return to corsets and heavy skirts. Attitudes for many women (and men) were undergoing a seismic shift. The “woman of the future” wanted freedom in her clothing – and freedom within other aspects of her life.

The struggle for rational dress came to a head after an incident in 1898. Lady Harberton went cycling in Surrey. She stopped for lunch at the Hautboy Hotel but was turned away for improper dress. Lady Harberton sued the hotel but lost the case because the hotel had offered alternative seating in the bar. Nevertheless, the case brought attention to rational dress and a victory for women who advocated for it. Lady Harberton spent decades promoting clothing that would make life easier for women. Later in her life, she also became an advocate for the women’s suffrage movement. Lady Harberton died in 1911. The Guardian eulogized her as an “enthusiastic and undaunted advocate” for dress reform.

If you would like to learn more about Lady Harberton, or the Rational Dress Society, search Newspapers.com™ today!

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Twentieth Anniversary of 9/11

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

September 11, 2021, marks the 20^th anniversary of four coordinated terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda, an Islamist extremist group, against the United States. The attacks began at 8:46 a.m. EST on September 11, 2001, when terrorists crashed a hijacked commercial jet into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. A second hijacked jet crashed into the South Tower at 9:03 a.m. A third hijacked plane hit the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m., and a fourth hijacked plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field at 10:03 a.m., after passengers and crew aboard attempted to retake the aircraft from terrorists. In less than two hours, 2,977 innocent people lost their lives, and our country changed forever. Many remember where they were and what they were doing the moment they heard the news of 9/11. Newspapers around the world worked feverishly in the hours and days following the attacks. Reporters gathered facts and reported the news. Soon the human toll emerged as heartbreaking stories came to light. We’ve combed through our archives to bring you a sample of 9/11 headlines from across the country and around the world.

*Los Angeles Times* – September 11, 2001

New York *Daily News* – September 12, 2001

*The Independent*: London – September 12, 2001

*The Sydney Morning Herald*: Sydney, Australia – September 12, 2001

*Calgary Herald*: Calgary, Canada – September 12, 2001

*Evening Standard*: London – September 12, 2001

Where were you on the morning of 9/11? See more headlines from this tragic chapter in American history on Newspapers.com™.

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New Papers from Washington and Michigan!

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

We have recently added new papers from Tacoma, Washington, and Michigan to our archives. With these new titles, we’ve added over 7 million images in July and will add another 8 million in August. We’re on track to add 40 million new pages by the end of the year! Our archives keep growing and we’re working hard to bring added value to your Newspapers.com^™ subscription.

Washington: In 1873, the Tacoma area was chosen to be the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Tacoma was incorporated in 1875, and in 1880 the weekly Tacoma Ledger was founded. The News Tribune traces its roots back to that paper, which became The Tacoma Daily Ledger. The Daily Ledger merged with The News and the Tacoma Tribune to form the Tacoma News Tribune and Ledger in 1918. The paper adopted the name Tacoma News Tribune in 1979, and our archives for The News Tribunedate back to 1889.

In July 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened to traffic. Engineers realized the bridge swayed in windy conditions, earning it the nickname “Galloping Gertie.” Just four months after the bridge opened, it collapsed spectacularly on November 7, 1940. The bridge began to sway in 40-mile-per-hour winds, then oscillated and twisted until finally breaking apart. Before its collapse, college student Winfield Brown paid a dime for the thrill of walking across the bridge in high wind. When the bridge began to rock, Brown described the terror. “I was certain I wasn’t going to make it…sometimes the bridge tipped right on its side, and I could look straight down at the water, 190 feet below.” Brown said when the motion became too intense to stand, he crawled. He saw the bridge cracking up as pieces of concrete whistled past his head. He finally made it off the bridge just before the collapse. His only injuries were bruises and abrasions.

Michigan: Our new Michigan papers include The Pigeon Progress and The Progress-Advance from Pigeon; The Huron County News from Harbor Beach; The Huron Tribune from Bad Axe; The Elkton Advance from Elkton; The Saginaw Daily News from Saginaw; and The Huron County News from Port Austin.

These papers date back to 1862 and include news from the Civil War. Nearly one-quarter of Michigan men served in the Union forces during the war. Following the war, Michigan’s economy prospered. State officials invested heavily in public education and dedicated more money to education than any other state in the nation.

If you have ancestors from Michigan, be sure to check out columns like this “Locals” column in The Pigeon Progress. Residents were encouraged to call the paper to report on any visitors. If your ancestors are German immigrants, they may be part of a group of about a thousand families that settled in the Saginaw Valley. The immigrants moved from Germany to Russia, and later to Michigan. They found the Saginaw Valley’s climate conducive to growing sugar beets, a crop they had cultivated successfully in Russia. Search the Michigan papers to find wedding announcements and obituaries for your ancestors.

To learn more about the history of Washington and Michigan, explore our collection of new papers today on Newspapers.com™.

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Using Passenger Lists and Newspapers to Research Immigrant Ancestors

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft

Passenger lists are important records for tracing immigrant ancestors. Before air travel became more common in the 1950s, ships were the primary mode of intercontinental travel. Passenger lists usually included passenger name, place of origin, birth date, departure date, arrival date, and the ship name. Using this information, a search through Newspapers.com may shed light on your ancestor’s immigration journey with new details not found in a passenger list. Here’s a couple of questions to ask yourself when researching ancestors that immigrated aboard a ship.

Why Did Your Ancestor Immigrate?

A search of newspapers might provide insight into the events that led to your ancestor’s decision to immigrate. For example, a search of Irish papers in the 1840s reveals countless articles about the Irish Potato Famine. The famine led to more than a million deaths between 1845-1849 and prompted many emigrants to leave Ireland.

What Was Your Ancestor’s Voyage Like?

Newspapers can yield details of your ancestor’s journey. For example, on August 24, 1848, the Ocean Monarch departed Liverpool, England, bound for Boston. A fire broke out on board, and after attempts to extinguish it failed, passengers began jumping into the sea. Several ships came to the rescue but not before 180 perished. The following month, Boston papers reported as survivors from the Monarch began arriving in Boston aboard a different ship. Search newspapers for the name of your ancestor’s ship, then search the departure and arrival dates. You might uncover a story about their journey.

Can Newspapers Reveal the Story Behind Those Who Were Born at Sea?

Thousands of mothers gave birth to babies during their immigration voyage. Babies born at sea are often listed at the bottom of the ship’s manifest or on the final page. This Boston Globe article from 1895 reported that a baby born at sea aboard a ship flying the American flag was entitled to automatic citizenship. In 1900, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch profiled nine city residents, all born at sea, and shared their individual immigration stories. If you have an ancestor born at sea, you might find details of their experience in the newspaper.

What Was Happening at their Port of Arrival?

If you had an ancestor that arrived in New York City in August 1906, you might learn that the city was experiencing a terrific heatwave. The New-York Tribune reported a temperature of 106 degrees and described the impact the heat was having on immigrants. At Ellis Island, immigrants from Russia arrived in heavy clothing, coats trimmed with fur, and cumbersome boots and shoes. Some collapsed from the heat, and the paper published a list of heatwave fatalities. Meanwhile, anchored in the bay, nearly 5,000 passengers waited in sweltering ship holds for Ellis Island to open after a Sunday closure. The paper described the “haggard faces of the immigrants and the almost physical collapse of many women and children” as they finally disembarked the hot holds of the ships. Search the news at your ancestor’s port of arrival to learn more about their experiences after arriving in America.

Did Newspapers Publish Ship Schedules?

Yes! Newspapers can be used as a cross-check for immigrant departures and arrivals. Shipping companies endeavored to maintain a timetable, but sometimes unforeseeable circumstances led to delays. Newspapers reported on delays and when ships finally arrived at their destination.

What If you Can’t Find a Passenger List for Your Ancestor?

Sometimes you may be unable to find ship records for an immigrant ancestor, perhaps because the records no longer exist or were destroyed. One example is the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 which flooded the island and destroyed the building that housed immigration records. If you can’t find a passenger list, you can search newspapers. Sometimes papers published the names of arriving passengers. You might also find immigration details in obituaries or other published stories. On a few occasions (and for various reasons), immigrants arrived as a stowaway or traveled under an assumed name. Newspapers may provide the clue necessary to unlock that immigration mystery.

To learn more about your ancestor’s immigration experience, explore Newspapers.com™ today!

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