How to Search a Washington Newspaper Database

Whether you’re new to genealogy or you’re the resident family historian, finding records in the Washington newspaper archive couldn’t be simpler.

All you have to do is choose your desired newspaper collection and enter the last name of your relative. Click “Search,” and you’ll see all records relating to your family name.

For additional tips, you can also download our “Tips for Searching Newspapers” guide completely free of charge.

Already got more information on a certain relative? Try an advanced Washington newspaper database search.

• Step One - Include the first and last names of a specific relative to narrow down your results.
• Step Two - Add keywords to further narrow your results, such as a school they went to or the name of the town in and around Washington.
• Step Three - Maybe you keep getting irrelevant results from nearby locations? Exclude certain keywords to eliminate these results from your research.
• Step Four - Include a year range if you already have a rough idea of when your relative lived.
• Step Five - Use filters to get the oldest, newest, or best match results first.

Tips for a Successful Washington Newspaper Search

Finding a specific person across 330 years of U.S. history can be tough, especially if they had a commonly used name. This is where the challenge of sifting through Washington, District of Columbia historical newspapers comes in.

Many records contain minimal information, or they were recorded via an oral interaction. This could lead to spelling mistakes or outright incorrect statements. Unfortunately, there was extraordinarily little auditing of obituaries, death notices, and news stories in Washington historic newspapers.

Here are some useful tips for finding the right ancestors:

• Try searching by a person’s initials. Older Washington newspapers often didn’t include full names. This is more common as you work your way back through history.
• To find a female relative, search for their husband’s name. The wife’s name wasn’t included in full, especially their pre-marriage family name.
• Use common misspellings. This is extra helpful if you have a hard-to-spell family name or a name of non-English origin.

These techniques can help track down ancestors you’re having trouble finding. It’s not uncommon for family researchers to hit a brick wall while tracing their family tree. But there’s always more information to uncover! Try searching U.S. Census Records to gather more family details before exploring historical newspapers.

Remember, Washington historic online newspaper records provide details of your family that cannot be found in government records. It was once very common for everyday lives of your ancestors to be captured in the newspaper. You’ll be amazed at the family facts and stories you’ll uncover.