Since the founding of America, millions of people hoping for a brighter future left their home countries and immigrated to the United States. The number of immigrants increased dramatically after the Civil War with nearly 12 million arriving between 1870-1900. More than 70% of all immigrants entered through New York City. Castle Garden opened in 1855 as the primary immigration processing center and operated as such until Ellis Island’s opening in 1892 (though from 1890-1892, the center was moved to the U.S. Barge Office). We’ve scoured our newspaper archives to find the stories behind some of those immigrants’ arrivals.
Castle Garden Opens August 1, 1855 as “Emigrant Landing Depot”
The Arrival Experience: This story, published in 1855 described the arrival experience for immigrants. They registered their names, recorded the amount of money they carried, and were shown to a bathhouse where up to 24 bathed at the same time.
The Boston Globe – September 6, 1884
Children Traveling Alone: Like many families, the Slinsbys’ couldn’t afford passage for the entire family at the same time. In 1884, Maggie and Mary, 9 and 10-years-old, arrived at Castle Garden with their names painted on heavy cardboard signs attached with a “profusion of green ribbons” to their bodies. They were reunited with their parents in Ohio. In 1887, Irish immigrants living in Cleveland were finally able to send for their children who had been staying with a grandmother. Castle Garden sent a telegraph to their parents informing them that after a rough and stormy journey, the two children, ages 9 and 11, had arrived safely. In this clipping, the Superintendent at Castle Garden tagged three children after their arrival and shipped them to their father who was living in Chicago. This 1887 clipping tells the story of a 10-year-old girl who arrived at Castle Garden from Ireland. Her mother and two brothers left her in the care of nuns until they could afford to pay for her passage to join them six years later. This final clipping tells the story of a mother desperately searching for her daughters after they arrived at Castle Garden. We’re so anxious to learn what became of them, but we can’t find any follow-up stories (maybe one of you genealogical sleuths can help).
New-York Tribune – June 14, 1884
Beware of Swindlers: Sometimes unscrupulous individuals preyed upon new immigrants. Language barriers, poverty, and fear left many immigrants vulnerable. In this clipping, a swindler sold railroad tickets to several immigrants who later learned the tickets were fraudulent. This sad story tells the tale of an immigrant who showed up at Castle Garden hoping to find a way back to Hungary after he lost his fortune of $500 in America.
Reunion with Loved Ones: In 1890, a woman from Russia arrived at Castle Garden to reunite with her sweetheart who arrived two years earlier and sent money for her passage. The journey took more than a month and her funds ran out. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, she finally made her way to Minnesota. Read her story here. In another instance, a Prussian man prepared for the arrival of his wife and five children in 1897. He rented a home in Maryland and purchased some furniture, but sadly suffered a fatal fall just hours after they reunited. This final clipping tells the story of Michael O’Brien, an Irish immigrant, who left his family to seek his fortune in America. He sent letters and money until one day when communication suddenly ceased. His worried wife and four children sailed for America, arriving at Castle Garden in 1878. The determined woman searched for O’Brien, only to learn that he had remarried and had another child. He undoubtedly had some explaining to do.
Do you have ancestors that arrived at Castle Garden? Use historic newspapers to learn about their experiences. Search Newspapers.com today!
A summer night spent at the
drive-in brings nostalgic feelings for millions of Americans who grew up
listening to the tinny sound coming from the speaker hooked to the car window
at their local drive-in theater. On June 6, 1933, the world’s
first drive-in theater opened in Camden,
New Jersey. This revolutionary
concept transformed automobiles into “private theatre boxes” allowing
guests to “smoke, chat, or even partake of refreshments.”
The Morning Call – Allentown, Pennsylvania 06.04.1933
Richard Hollingshead, Jr., the inventor of the drive-in theater, developed the idea during the midst of the depression. He was out of work but figured there were two things people weren’t willing to give up – their cars and going to the movies. He tested his concept by setting up a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his family car and projecting pictures onto a screen nailed to a tree in his yard.
Courier-Post – Camden, New Jersey 06.09.1985
Pleased with the results, Hollingshead sought financial backing from his cousin and opened the first drive-in theater. Patrons paid $1 per car or 25 cents per person. Speakers were mounted atop the 60-foot screen but didn’t provide very good sound. It would take years to improve the sound problem at the drive-in. Hollingsworth’s theater design included concentric, curved rows titled at a five-degree angle to ensure that everyone had a good view of the screen.
The novelty of watching a movie
from your own car was a draw for families who could put the children
to sleep in the back seat and enjoy a movie. Viewing a movie from your car
also didn’t
require you to dress up, a common practice when attending the theater in
that era. The problematic sound issue and a depressed economy kept the idea of
drive-ins from spreading for the rest of the decade, but after WWII the era
of the drive-in movie theater entered its golden age. More than 4,500
drive-in theaters opened between 1948-1955.
Today, there are somewhere around
330 drive-in theaters remaining in the U.S. During recent months, some of those
theaters have experienced an
unexpected revival, offering families an evening out during social distancing.
Do you remember attending the drive-in when you were young? To learn more about
the history of drive-in theaters, search Newspapers.com
today!
If you have ancestors from Texas or an interest in the Old
West, we are pleased to announce that we’ve once again partnered with
McClatchy, the second-largest local news company in the U.S., to add the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram to our archives. Included in this collection are
other historic Fort Worth papers including the Fort
Worth Record-Telegram 1912-1931; the Fort
Worth Record and Register 1897-1912; and the Daily
Fort Worth Standard 1876-1877. The
Fort Worth Star-Telegram was founded in 1909 when the Fort Worth Star
merged with the Fort Worth Telegram. This archive has chronicled the
growth of Fort Worth for nearly 150 years!
At a time when the American frontier expanded westward, settlers
moved into the Fort Worth area in the 1840s. They met with local Native
American chiefs and established
a treaty where Native Americans would remain west of a line drawn through
present-day Fort Worth. The line would mark, “Where
the West Begins” – Fort Worth’s famous slogan that is still found on the
masthead of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram today.
The front page of The Fort Worth Telegram chronicles devastation after the 1908 Messina earthquake and tsunami
In 1849, construction began on a fort, one in a line of
military outposts meant to establish control over North Texas and protect
settlers from Native American attacks. The fort was named after Maj.
Gen. Williams Jenkins Worth and soon a small community of civilians sprang
up in the area.
Daily Fort Worth Standard – May 12, 1877
Ranching has long played a part in the history of Fort Worth
and ranchers herded millions
of cattle along the Chisholm
Trail. Our newspaper archive dates back to 1876, the year the first
railroad came to town and helped establish Fort Worth as a center of the cattle
trade.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram – February 8, 1920
With all the cattle being driven through Fort Worth, the meatpacking
industry developed in the late 1800s, bringing jobs
in packing houses. The Texas oil boom brought additional growth to Fort
Worth. In 1917, workers drilling for oil in Ranger, Texas, hit a gusher. More
oil nearby discoveries followed, and Fort Worth’s strategic location meant that
speculators, promoters, and interested parties set
up offices in the Westbrook
Hotel lobby bringing throngs
of people to the city. Advertisements selling
oil leases filled the pages of the Star-Telegram as many sought
their fortune.
In the early days of radio, the Star-Telegram’s
founding publisher, Amon
G. Carter, started an experimental radio station WBAP. A ringing
cowbell signaled listeners that their
program was about to start. That cowbell was the first audible
logo broadcast over the radio. The station
broadcast livestock reports, rodeos, and even church
services. In 1948, the Star-Telegram expanded its reach again and
established the first
television station in the southern half of the United States.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram – December 24, 1922
In 1982, in a time before readers consumed information
online, the Star-Telegram pioneered another way to deliver news when
they began StarText. StarText
was a subscription
service that delivered the latest news, stock
quotes, and classified ads 24 hours a day via home computer and modem.
On May 30, 1945, the United States celebrated a Memorial Day
full of conflicting emotions. The euphoria over the recently declared Allied victory in Europe
brought hope to this war-beleaguered nation. There was also optimism that the
war in Japan was winding down, bringing an end to WWII.
Fort Lauderdale Daily News – May 30, 1945
On the other hand, millions mourned
their war dead, many soldiers were still missing or being held POW, and the
country was reeling from the sudden death
of wartime president Franklin D. Roosevelt weeks earlier. Let’s take a look
at some historic newspaper clippings from Memorial Day 1945 to see how
Americans honored their veterans.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Capt. Joseph T. Marnell,
serving in a medical detachment, sent a letter to his wife back home. It
was printed on Adolf Hitler’s stationery and read, “You can see by this
very personal stationery that conditions have improved some. I picked this up
in Adolf’s private apartment in Munich when we arrived recently.”
On May 8th, we celebrate the 75th
anniversary of V-E
Day, the formal acceptance of Germany’s unconditional surrender in Europe.
To honor the legacy of our WWII soldiers, we want to help you tell their story.
Historical newspapers are a great way to research your WWII veteran. Here are
some tips and tricks for researching your soldier’s story in Newspapers.com.
Begin your search by name. Just enter your soldier’s name in the search tab. You can narrow the results by refining dates, locations, or keywords. Maybe the local paper ran a story about your soldier enlisting. This can provide valuable clues about which branch of the service your soldier served in. You might even learn what regiment or company he or she belonged to. Hometown newspapers often reported when a local soldier was injured or killed, home on leave, or discharged. If multiple siblings served from one family, search all names, including the parents. Newspapers often include photographs of soldiers too. If you don’t find your soldier in a name search, don’t despair, there are some other tricks!
Search for specific battles. If you know your soldier fought in a specific battle, use that battle as your search keyword. You might not find your soldier specifically mentioned, but others provided first-hand accounts. These details can help you construct a story.
Search by battalion, division, company, name of a Navy ship, etc. Did your soldier’s company/battalion have a famous nickname? Or do you know the name of the commanding officer? These searches can also provide valuable results. Newspapers tracked the movements of our soldiers and reported daily on skirmishes and battles. You can create a timeline of your soldier’s movements by tracking those stories.
Search by date. If you have records showing your soldier was wounded or killed on a specific date, search for battles fought at that same time and place.
Search by location. Do you know, for example, that your soldier was part of the Japanese occupation force? Use that in your search term. When we searched that term and filtered the dates from 1944-1947, it returned more than 300,000 search results. Do you have a Navy veteran that served in the Solomon Islands? You could search “Asiatic-Pacific Theater”. The more details you have, the more you can narrow your search.
Personal interviews. Over the years, many of our WWII veterans have given lengthy interviews in newspapers. These first-hand narratives provide amazing insight into what our soldiers experienced. Expand your search beyond the war years, some of these soldiers didn’t share their story for decades.
Search the names of fellow soldiers. Do you have records, photographs, or journals that mention the names of soldiers that served with your ancestor? Research those soldier’s names for more detail.
Search post-war clubs and associations. Many soldiers joined clubs, fraternal organizations, and associations after returning from their service. For example, the American Legion changed its charter after WWII to allow returning soldiers to join its ranks.
Search obituaries. Often the families of deceased soldiers shared details and stories of their military service in their obituaries, even decades later. Even if you are not related to this person, their obituary may shed light on your own ancestor’s service.
Preserving the story of our WWII veterans is a great way to
honor their service! Please share your finds in the comments below. Get started
searching your WWII veteran on Newspapers.com
today!
Sacramento is the capital city of California and we’re happy to announce that we’re adding The Sacramento Bee to our archives. The Bee is the longest-running newspaper in Sacramento’s history and the flagship paper of McClatchy, the second-largest local news company in the U.S. James McClatchy was an Irish immigrant and young journalist when the lure of the California Gold Rush brought him West. He became the second editor of TheBee, taking over just days after the paper began publication in 1857.
California was part of Mexican territory until the 1848
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo annexed California as part of the United States. In
1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, about 45 miles outside of
Sacramento, thousands converged
in the area. Many of them passed
through Sacramento and the city experienced tremendous growth.
When a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906,
residents of Sacramento felt the shaking and observed the dome
of the Capitol building sway back and forth. The front
page of TheBee contained numerous updates throughout the
morning as the extent of the damage became more clear.
April 18, 1906
During the Great Depression, high unemployment rates
resulted in a rising
rate of homelessness in the city. Some destitute families banded together
and formed tent
cities called Hoovervilles, named after President Hoover, whom they blamed
for their economic situation. Although not officially recognized, these
shantytowns located along the Sacramento River were overseen by elected
officials and city charters. The cities, however, lacked systems for waste
removal and officials found residents living
in squalor and ordered them closed. Though evicted, some
continued to camp out along the river throughout the 1930s.
Residents of Hooverville Seek Food – October 7, 1931
The Sacramento Valley’s fertile soil brought many farm workers
to the area. In 1965, Filipino
American grape
workers organized a strike to protest poor pay and working conditions. The protestors
joined forces with Latino
farm workers led by Cesar Chavez. Together they walked
300 miles to Sacramento to raise awareness and pressure growers into
changes. The two groups formed the United
Farm Workers. Their strike lasted
five years but eventually led to growers agreeing to better pay and working
conditions for all farm workers.
Occasionally we come across an old newspaper story that is
so amazing, we can’t help but wonder if it’s really true. This
story about Civil War soldier Otis H. Burton seems to fall into that
category. After a little fact-checking, however, all available records seem to
support this sweet love story. With all the heavy news lately, sit back and enjoy
this 19th-century tale with miraculous twists and a happy ending!
Otis H. Burton was born in Bangor, Maine in 1837. As a young
man, he decided to move west and seek his fortune. He ended up in Missouri
where he fell in love with an accomplished young woman named Susan Mary Payne.
Before he had a chance to profess his love to her, she moved to another state.
They soon lost touch.
About this time, the Civil War broke out and Otis enlisted
in the 25th Missouri Regiment of the Union Army. While serving
in the war, he was severely wounded and not expected to survive. He wrote a farewell
letter to his mother but against all odds, he eventually recovered. After
feeling well enough to rejoin his regiment, Otis
joined them on a mission to transport supplies across the plains. During
the journey, a band of Native Americans attacked the party, killing everyone in
the company except for Otis, who received severe wounds.
Otis was taken prisoner and led back to the tribe’s mountain
home in the Southwest. He gradually recovered from his wounds, adapted to his
new surroundings, and started to gain the trust of his captors. All the while
he was looking for an opportunity to escape.
One day, after about six months in captivity, tribe members returned
to camp with several stolen ponies. Otis observed the horses and noticed
one that was of a high breed and showed promise for speed and endurance.
Otis cared for the horse, petting and feeding the animal. Eventually, they
allowed him to ride the horse.
During one ride, Otis ventured out further than usual. Seizing
the opportunity, he took off at top speed, riding furiously with his captors in
close pursuit. Finally evading them, Otis rode
hard for three days before finally clearing hostile territory.
In the distance, Otis saw smoke rising from the chimney of a
small house. He shouted for joy, glad to finally be free. He approached the house
and made his way to the door. After knocking, the door opened and there
stood Susan Mary Payne, his love from Missouri. After the initial shock,
Susan shared her story. She had married a Confederate
officer, Joseph L. Robey, who was killed during the war. She was now living
alone. Otis shared his story and the two happily reunited. They started to
rebuild the relationship began so many years earlier in Missouri.
Turtle Mountain is located in a picturesque section of
Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta. In the 1880s, settlers
discovered a seam of coal in the area. In 1901, American entrepreneurs Henry
Frank and Sam Gebo opened a coal mine, and shortly after the town of Frank
became the first incorporated village in the Pass. By 1903, 1000 people lived in
Frank and a dozen
nearby coal mines were operating.
When the residents of Frank went to bed the night of April
28, 1903, they had no idea of the power of nature about to be unleashed in
their town. At 4:10 a.m. on the morning of April 29th, a loud
rumbling awakened them. The sound was reportedly heard by residents living
nearly 100 miles away. An avalanche of rock broke free from the mountain and
careened down, traveling over 180 miles per hour. It
reached the valley floor in just 100 seconds.
The Province, Vancouver, British Columbia – December 14, 1946
George Hie was a miner in Frank and recalled hearing a
cracking noise coming from the mine about two weeks before the slide. “The
pressure was so great at this place that a six-inch timber was broken,” he
said. The morning the Frank Slide broke loose, Hie was sleeping in his bunk. “I
was thrown violently out by pressure. I ran outside and was startled to see
a gigantic mountain passing down only twenty-five feet away from me.” After the
dust settled, Hie saw the corner
of a house protruding from the rocks. He heard a cry for help and
frantically helped dig
out a trapped woman. Her two children died. Later, Hie found the bodies
of two boys about 200 feet from their cabin. “They were clad in pajamas.
Their bodies never had a mark on them.” Hie wondered if they had time to run or
if the force of the blast carried them there.
The Vancouver Sun – August 12, 1944
Three young girls were among the survivors, dug out alive
hours after the slide. Sadly, their parents and brothers perished in the
disaster. The three sisters were adopted by separate families and reunited
for the first time in 41 years in 1944. The bodies of most of those killed
remain buried under tons of rock in Frank, and the scar from the rockslide serves
as a visible reminder of the tragedy that occurred 117 years ago this month.
We are pleased to announce that we’ve added the Breese
Journal to our archives! Breese, Illinois, is located in Clinton County
in South Central Illinois. We have issues dating back to 1923
when Breese had a population of around 2,000. The headlines back then announced
the installation of the town’s first
stop signs and plans to build
a sewer system (although according to this
clipping outhouses were still around for another 35 years!)
Breese Families Without Food During the Depression
The city of Breese was founded in 1855 and settled in part
by German
immigrants who were drawn to the area’s fertile farmland. It was named
after Sidney Breese, a senator and contemporary to Abraham Lincoln. The city is
located about 40 miles from downtown St. Louis, so if you have ancestors from
Eastern Missouri you might
find them mentioned in this paper.
The Breese Journal is a wonderful resource for
researching ancestors that lived in the area. This
clipping shows all the births and deaths in Breese during 1930! The paper
reported when residents spent
time in the hospital or made a visit
to grandma, and notable events like when the Westermann family purchased
a new Studebaker. Each page provides a historical snapshot of the time.
Many of the area’s residents worked in the railroad and
mining industry. You can learn about Breese’s
first coal mine that opened in the 1800s, and mining tragedies such as the East
Mine accident in 1906.
Have you received your invitation
to complete the 2020 Census yet? In 1790, about one year after George
Washington was inaugurated, the United States conducted
its first census. Since that time, the government has conducted a census every
ten years. These decennial census records provide a historical snapshot of
families and are key records for genealogical research. Check out some of the
headlines surrounding the census over the years and find out what made each
census unique!
News From the First Census – 1790
1790: Enumerators gathered the name of head of
household; number
of free white males 16 years and older; number of free white males under 16;
number of free white females; number of all other free persons; number of
slaves; and sometimes town
or district of residence.
1800:Name
of head of household; number of free white males and females broken down
into age categories; number of free white persons except Indians not taxed
(Native Americans are referred to as Indians throughout these early records);
number of slaves; town or district
and county of residence.
1810: Name of head of household; number of free white
males and females broken
down into age categories; number of free white persons except Indians not
taxed; number of slaves; town or district
and county of residence.
1820:Name
of head of household; number of free white males and females broken down
into age categories; number of free persons except Indians not taxed; number of
slaves; and town or district and county of residence; number of free
white males to be naturalized; number engaged in agriculture, commercial,
or manufacture; number
of “colored” persons; and number of other persons except Indians.
Census Marshall Says Those Who Take The Newspaper Make His Job Easier – 1830
1840: Name of head of household; number of free white
males and females broken down into age categories; the name of a slave owner
and the number of slaves owned by that person; the number of male and female
slaves and free “colored” persons by age categories; the number of foreigners
(not naturalized); the number of deaf, dumb, and blind persons within a
household; town or district, and county of residence. For
the first time, the 1840 census asked the ages of Revolutionary War
pensioners and the number of individuals
engaged in mining, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, trade, and the
navigation of oceans, lakes, and canals. Questions relating to education and
learned professionals were also included.
1850: For the first time in 1850, enumerators recorded
the name of every person in the household. Also included were: age; sex;
color; birthplace; occupation of males over 15; value of real estate; whether
married within the previous year; whether deaf-mute, blind, insane or
“idiotic”; whether able to read or write for individuals over age 20; and
whether the person attended school within the previous year. In addition, the
1850 and 1860 Federal Censuses included Slave
Schedules that recorded age, sex, and color, and whether the slave was a
fugitive, freed, deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic. However, the name of
the slave was often omitted.
1860: Names of every person in the household;
age; sex; color; birthplace; occupation of persons over age 15; value of real
estate; whether married in previous year; deaf, dumb, blind, insane, a pauper, or
a convict; whether able to read or speak English; whether the person attended
school within the previous year. As noted above, 1860 also included Slave
Schedules.
1870:Names
of every person in the household; age; sex; color; profession; occupation
or trade of every male and female; value of real estate; place of birth;
whether mother or father were of foreign birth; whether born or married within
the year and month; those who could not read or write; whether deaf, dumb,
blind, insane or “idiotic”.
Residents Prepare for Census – 1870
1880:Name;
address including name of street and house number; relation of each person to
head of household; sex; race; age; marital status; ability to read and write;
birthplace; birthplace of parents; occupation; whether blind, deaf, dumb, crippled,
maimed, idiotic, insane, bedridden, or disabled.
1890: Most of the 1890 census records were destroyed
in a fire. You can read about
it here. There are very few surviving fragments. If you’re lucky enough to
find your family, you’ll see that each family has an individual page. Enumerators
gathered information including name; surname; relationship; race; gender; age;
birthplace; birthplace of father and mother; and a Veterans
Schedule that included information about military service.
1900:Name;
address; relationship to head of household; color or race; sex; month
and year of birth; age at last birthday; marital status; number of years
married; total number of children born of mother; the number of those children
living; places of birth of each person and parents of each person; if
individual is of foreign birth, the year of immigration and the number of years
in United States; citizenship status of foreign-born individuals over age 21;
occupation; whether person could read, write, and speak English; whether home
was owned or rented; whether the home was on a farm; whether the home was
mortgaged.
Definition of a “Census Family” 1910
1910: Name; name of street; house number or farm;
number of dwelling in order of visitation; number
of family in order of visitation; relationship to head of household; sex;
color or race; age; marital status; number of years married; for mothers,
number of children born and living; place of birth, place of birth of father
and mother; year of immigration; whether naturalized; whether able to speak
English, or if not, language spoken; trade or profession, industry, employer,
employee, or working on own account, whether person was out of work during
1909; whether able to read or write; farm or house, whether survivor of Union
or Confederate Army or Navy; whether blind, deaf, or dumb. There were also
separate Indian population schedules for 1910 in which the tribe and/or band
was recorded.
1920: Name; name of street; house
number or farm; number of dwelling in order of visitation; number of family
in order of visitation; relationship to head of household; whether home owned
or rented and mortgaged; sex, color or race; age; marital status; year of
immigration; whether naturalized or alien; near of naturalization; whether
attended school; whether able to read/write; place of birth; mother tongue;
father’s and mother’s place of birth; whether able to speak English; trade
or profession; industry or business; employer, salary or wage worker;
number of farm schedule.
1930: Name; address; home owned or rented and value;
whether home has a radio; sex; race; marital status; college attendance;
ability to read and write; birthplace,
birthplace of parents; language spoken before coming to the US; year of
immigration; naturalized or alien; ability to speak English;
occupation; military information.
It’s Census Time Again – Los Angeles Times 1940
1940: Name; address; home
value and rented or owned; relationship to head of household; sex; race;
age; marital status; education; place of birth; citizenship; residence
in 1935; employment status; occupation; income in 1939; birthplace of
father and mother; native language; veteran status; social security details;
occupation; industry; class of worker; marriage information; number of children.
Genealogists are eagerly awaiting the release of the 1950 census which is scheduled for April 2022. To learn more about each decennial census and to see how newspapers reported on the census over the years, search Newspapers.com today or visit our Topics Page!
