{"id":108820,"date":"2026-06-08T09:29:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T13:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=108820"},"modified":"2026-06-08T09:29:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T13:29:24","slug":"genealogy-tips-did-i-already-see-that-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/genealogy-tips-did-i-already-see-that-article.html","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy Tips: Did I Already See That Article?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Introduction<\/em><\/strong><em>: In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega gives search tips for keeping track of which newspaper articles you\u2019ve already seen and which are new to you. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve conducted a search for your ancestors in historical newspapers on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/explore\/newspapers\/all\">GenealogyBank<\/a> website. You notice the relevant results. You add new information to your family tree or perhaps save it to your computer (or both). You then go on to do more research, or you take a break. Days, weeks, or months pass by and you decide to repeat that search, because GenealogyBank continually adds new content.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a great idea \u2013 but how can you guarantee you\u2019re not looking at the same newspaper article again?<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_108822\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-108822\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-108822\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/photo-0112-2026-newspapers-and-glasses.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: newspapers and glasses. \" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/photo-0112-2026-newspapers-and-glasses.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/photo-0112-2026-newspapers-and-glasses-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/photo-0112-2026-newspapers-and-glasses-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-108822\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: newspapers and glasses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Photo credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/depositphotos.com\/home.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/depositphotos.com\/home.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes, Search Again<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>GenealogyBank never stops adding to its collection. Articles on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/\">GenealogyBank blog<\/a> at the beginning of each month detail the new newspaper content added to the website. Because new newspapers are being regularly added, as well as back issues of newspapers already on the site, you\u2019ll want to take some time every so often to repeat your searches to see if you might find a new historical newspaper article about your ancestor.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from the newly added content on GenealogyBank, you\u2019ll want to revisit your searches for other reasons, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To search by a misspelling (or creative spelling) of your ancestor\u2019s first name or surname<\/li>\n<li>To search by initials and surname<\/li>\n<li>To narrow your search by a different location or multiple locations<\/li>\n<li>To narrow your search by a specific date or date range<\/li>\n<li>To add a keyword to include or exclude<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your genealogy research plan should include searching for your ancestor at regular intervals, whether that be every month, every six months, once a year or whenever you see that new newspapers have been added. You want to make sure you don\u2019t miss that important newspaper article that will break down the family brick wall. Newspaper research on GenealogyBank is not a \u201cone and done\u201d prospect.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Do I Know If I Already Saw That Historical Newspaper Article?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are a few ways to keep track of what newspaper articles you\u2019ve already looked at on GenealogyBank.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Research Log<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A research log helps you keep track of what sources you\u2019ve already looked at and what the result was. You could create a research log for researching one ancestor or a family. You can also create a research log for just your newspaper results for one ancestor or a family (a newspaper research log can be helpful when you find that your ancestor or family was mentioned in the newspaper more times than you can imagine). If you\u2019re not familiar with research logs, see my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/4-tips-for-genealogy-research-with-historical-newspapers.html\">previous article<\/a> on the topic.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Add to Your Family Tree<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Adding the newspaper articles you find to your family tree is another way to keep track of what you discover on the GenealogyBank website. Now, if you\u2019re like me, you may decide not to add every newspaper article you find, so those that you do attach to your tree won\u2019t be a complete list of all you have found.<\/p>\n<p>Why wouldn\u2019t you add every newspaper article you find to your family tree? A longer explanation is for another blog article, but suffice it to say some newspaper articles might be duplicative (like probate notices or land purchases) and are repeated over several days or weeks. You might also come across a newspaper article on topics that you don\u2019t want added to your family tree (perhaps they won \u201cBest in Show\u201d every year for their handmade quilt at the local county fair). I love that kind of information, but 10 annual articles on the topic might feel \u201ctoo much\u201d for your family tree.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notice What GenealogyBank Shows You<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Have you repeated a search? You might notice on the GenealogyBank website that those results you\u2019ve seen before \u201clook\u201d different than new results.<\/p>\n<p>For example, here is a screenshot of search results showing two articles that I\u2019ve clicked on before. Notice they look greyed out, as a visual reminder that I\u2019ve already seen these two articles.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_108825\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-108825\" style=\"width: 1460px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-108825\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-greyed-out-search-results.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot: GenealogyBank search results page showing two articles already read in a previous search.\" width=\"1460\" height=\"719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-greyed-out-search-results.jpg 1460w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-greyed-out-search-results-300x148.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-greyed-out-search-results-1024x504.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-greyed-out-search-results-768x378.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1460px) 100vw, 1460px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-108825\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot: GenealogyBank search results page showing two articles already read in a previous search.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This next screenshot of search results shows six articles: three I\u2019ve seen before, and three that are new to me. The new results I haven\u2019t seen before look \u201cnewer.\u201d They are black and white, whereas the articles I\u2019ve seen and clicked on before are greyed out. In addition, the previously viewed results show the date I viewed them. This color-coded results list makes it easy to see immediately which newspaper results you\u2019ve seen before and which are new-to-you.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_108827\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-108827\" style=\"width: 1174px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-108827\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-new-and-old-search-results.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot: GenealogyBank search results page showing three articles already read in a previous search and three new articles not yet clicked upon.\" width=\"1174\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-new-and-old-search-results.jpg 1174w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-new-and-old-search-results-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-new-and-old-search-results-1024x614.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/genealogybank-0608-2026-new-and-old-search-results-768x461.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1174px) 100vw, 1174px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-108827\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot: GenealogyBank search results page showing three articles already read in a previous search and three new articles not yet clicked upon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Search, View, Repeat<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In order to conduct exhaustive searches, you\u2019ll want to repeat your GenealogyBank search at regular intervals so that you can identify new-to-you newspaper articles. GenealogyBank makes it easy to identify which are new results and which are results you\u2019ve already looked at. Take advantage of this tool as you conduct your newspaper research.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/sign-up?destination=%2Fcampaign%2Fpurchase%3Fsession%255Bexit_point%255D%3DLz9zX3JlZmVycmVyPSZzX3NpdGVsb2M9JnNfdHJhY2t2YWw9JmtiaWQ9Njk5MTk%253D\">Create a free account<\/a> at GenealogyBank for 7 days to start your genealogy journey and discover the stories your ancestors left behind.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> a stack of newspapers. Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/depositphotos.com\/home.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/depositphotos.com\/home.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega gives search tips for keeping track of which newspaper articles you\u2019ve already seen and which are new to you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":108832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12713],"tags":[2719,1661,2020],"class_list":["post-108820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-research-tips","tag-genealogy-search-tips","tag-genealogybank-2","tag-newspaper-archives"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/photo-0112-2026-featured-graphic-stack-of-newspapers.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108820"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108833,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108820\/revisions\/108833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}