Simpson Library: Genealogy: Newspapers

Newspapers

Click here for Simpson Library's guide to newspaper articles.

Simpson Library has an extensive collection of historical newspapers, on microfilm and in our electronic databases. Listed on this page are newspaper resources that may be useful to genealogists. For a complete list of newspapers at Simpson Library, please see the Newspapers guide.

Accessible Archives / History Commons This link opens in a new window
An electronic database of full text articles from American newspapers and magazines published between 1728 and 1902. Includes a collection of African American newspapers.
UMW pays for a subscription to this database. Access it with a UMW password, or by visiting Simpson Library.

Chronicling America
Lists of American newspapers published from 1690 to the present. Full text scans are available for hundreds of newspapers published between 1836 and 1922. Provided by the Library of Congress.

Early American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
18th- and 19th-century American newspapers, searchable via an interface called America's Historical Newspapers.
UMW pays for a subscription to this database. Access it with a UMW password, or by visiting Simpson Library.

Google News Archive
Free scanned copies of old newspapers. The scans are technically searchable, but the search feature isn't great, and often misses things, so you may want to browse day-by-day instead.
Newspapers on microfilm at Simpson Library
Simpson Library has over two dozen early newspapers on microfilm, including many Fredericksburg newspapers. Indexes are available for some titles. For indexes in print, see the above link. For online indexes, click here and scroll down to "Fredericksburg Newspapers."
The Virginia Newspaper Program
A list of newspapers available in Virginia libraries. Users can search for newspapers published in particular counties, cities, or towns. For each newspaper, the VNP provides a list of Virginia libraries that have that newspaper in their collections.