Using Ancestry Library Edition: Stories & Publications

Stories & Publications records may be searched within Ancestry Library Edition in a number of ways:

1.   The Home and Search tabs allow you to search across all data collections in Ancestry Library Edition, including the stories, memories, and histories records.

2.   Locate and click on "Newspapers & Periodicals" on the Search tab drop-down menu to use search fields specific to these records and narrow your search to only these types of records.

3.   From the Search tab search page, locate the category "Stories & Publications" found in the right-side Special Collections list, then select from three sub-categories of this content type

a. Stories, Memories, & Histories – fully indexed family histories, journals, biographies, oral histories and interviews, social and place histories, society and organization histories, military histories, and so much more that have either been transcribed or digitized

b. Newspapers – from Australia, Canada, Europe, and the U.S.

c. Periodicals & Magazines – historical and genealogical publications, such as genealogical society newsletters and magazines, from Australia, Europe, and the U.S.

 4.  Using the Card Catalog link (Search drop-down menu or right link on Search page) or button (bottom right of Search page), filter the list of data collection to view only these records.

Due to licensing restrictions, there are records that are in Ancestry.com that are not found in Ancestry® Library Edition, such as the Genealogy & Local History Books found in HeritageQuest Online®.  A full content comparison is available in the document below (also found on the Additional Materials tab).

The content category of Stories & Publications is made up of three sub-categories: Stories, Memories, & Histories (i.e., books), Newspapers, and Periodicals & Magazines.  See the three sections below for more information.

The names and dates you find in records create the framework for your family history, and putting what you know into the context of history can help you get to know more about your ancestors. Even in cases where your ancestor isn't mentioned specifically, learning about local events, social conditions, and the lives of their contemporaries can fill in some of the blanks, give you a more well-rounded view and add interest to your family story.

Historical newspapers give us the remarkable ability to see history through eyewitness accounts.  They are the day-to-day diaries of community events and include stories of the famous and ordinary people.  Beyond much-sought obituaries, newspapers tell us about births, marriages, engagements, school, sports and organizational events, accounts of accidents, and what was going on in the local courts and more.

Millions of pages of information about our ancestors have been published in a wide variety of periodicals.

Most useful for finding specific information about specific individuals are the hundreds of historical and genealogical magazines that have been published over the last two centuries. Information found in articles in periodicals will often lead to the original sources used as a basis for compilation.