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March 2012 Newsletter


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Family History Treasures in Historical Books Section

In addition to its core of more than 5,850 online newspapers, GenealogyBank has other family history resources to offer genealogists.

As GenealogyBank combs through archives and repositories for the oldest American newspapers, we find many one-of-a-kind early printed items of high genealogical value. These can range from one-page keepsakes to small printed books.

We digitize these and put them in the "Historical Books" section of GenealogyBank.



These historical books and other non-newspaper items were printed between 1800 and 1900; most of them were printed before 1840. These publications can be one page or hundreds of pages long. All of these historical printed materials are of high genealogical interest and are a permanent family treasure to be passed down and kept. Here is a list of some of the books and other printed materials you can discover in our Historical Books archive:
  • Rare books including autobiographies, biographies, genealogies and memoirs
  • Historical maps and atlases
  • Directories and subscribers lists
  • Ad cards and vintage advertisements
  • Church and funeral sermons
  • Travel literature
  • Invitations
  • Old concert and play programs
Imagine finding a copy of the actual sermon preached at the funeral of an ancestor, or the invitation to the 25th anniversary party for your 2nd-great-grandparents.



The best way to search our historical books collection is by surname.

Click on the "Historical Books" section and then enter only the surname of the family that you want to research. For example, type in: Bristow.



This will pull up 12 relevant hits, ranging from a biography of Benjamin Bristow to the "Patriotic Concert" concert program of popular American composer George Frederick Bristow (1825-1898).



Dig deeply and mine GenealogyBank for all of its valuable content.

You especially want to sift through the Historical Books collection, with its wide variety of printed ephemera.