52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 30: Easy: Newspaper Articles Tell the Social Life of Women

This is my second year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

The theme this week is “Easy.” It was suggested to write about which ancestor was the easiest to research. In general, the easiest ancestors to research are those ancestors who lived during the 20th century, when vital records, city directories, and newspaper records are available.

My grandfather, William Cyril Hork’s family lived in Hamilton, Montana. There are several newspapers that covered news in Hamilton: The Ravalli Republican, The Missoulian, and Anaconda Standard. And fortunately, they are digitized on several of the digital newspaper sites and I have been able to find many articles.

What is wonderful about small towns is the news that was printed about everyday activities. I learned a lot about the women in the family by these newspaper accounts. These articles help paint a better picture of the lives of these women. I learned about what clubs they were members of, what parties they held or attended, and the visits they made to other localities.

Here are a couple about my great-grandmother, Julia (Sievert) Hork.

My husband’s grandmother, Matilda (Davey) Gorrell was also prominent in the local newspaper where she lived in Webb City, Missouri. There, the Joplin Globe recorded her activities with the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), the Loyal Gleaners class of the Christian Church, and the Webb City Garden Club. Below are some examples.

Newspaper articles also helped find real estate transactions, court suits, probate notices, and the usual vital records of births, marriages, and deaths. Occasionally, I would find an article about an illness or accident. 

Newspapers are definitely my go-to source for filling out the social aspect of my ancestors’ lives. Thank goodness most of them lived in small towns where these kinds of stories are printed!

Copyright © 2019 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.