Advancing Your Research: A Peek at a Pennsylvania Presbyterian Newspaper

Chances are an ancestor’s obituary was annoyingly absent from their local newspaper. If the search was limited to a hometown paper, research may have stopped too soon.

Local newspapers are go-to sources for obituaries and marriage announcements, but specialty papers also deserve attention. These papers often cover a larger geographical area than a local daily. Your ancestors may have read and appeared in newspapers published far from their hometowns.

I chatted with Amy Arner after attending her Pennsylvania research course at the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh last year. We talked about religious newspapers, which sometimes printed items like marriages and obituaries, items that were not always in the dailies. Amy named titles that might be useful in my research. Hoping to find an elusive obituary, I began researching The Presbyterian Banner (whose title evolved over time). I wanted to identify digitized issues. I am sharing the resulting list with you.

A few tidbits hint at the publication’s value and reach.

• Presbyterian Banner (Pittsburgh, Penn.), 19 June 1858, p. 3, cols. 4–5:
  • The obituary of Philip Winters, who died in Mahoning County, Ohio, “in the 60^th year of his age.” Philip’s Pennsylvania birthplace, when he moved and where, where he married, that he and his wife had no children but had “at different times twelve orphan children under his roof,” and his church affiliations are included.[1]
• Presbyterian Banner (Pittsburgh, Penn.), 11 October 1862, p. 3, cols. 5–6:
  • Marriages in Mechanicstown for couples of Carroll and Columbiana counties, Ohio.
  • Obituaries for Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania residents.[2]

• For a history of the publication, or other Presbyterian publications, see the PCA Historical Center website:
  • The Presbyterian Banner
• Library of Congress (LOC) catalog information:
  • The Presbyterian Advocate, 1840–1855
  • The Presbyterian Banner, 1852–1855
  • Presbyterian Banner and Advocate, 1855–1860
  • Presbyterian Banner, 1860–1898

Digitized religious newspapers exist for various denominations and locations. If the newspaper you want is not digitized, seek microfilmed or textual copies. I encourage you to identify and use religious newspapers as part of your research plan.

I didn’t find what I was looking for … yet.

Digitized editions of the Presbyterian Banner:

Amy E. K. Arner’s Pennsylvania course, Walking in Penn’s Woods, will be held virtually this June. To learn more about it or other courses, see the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh link in the text above.

[1] Presbyterian Banner (Pittsburgh, Penn.), 19 June 1858, p. 3, cols. 4–5; digital image, NewspaperArchive (https://newspaperarchive.com/ : accessed 19 March 2023).

[2] Presbyterian Banner (Pittsburgh, Penn.), 11 October 1862, p. 3, cols. 5–6; digital image, NewspaperArchive (https://newspaperarchive.com/ : accessed 19 March 2023).

Share this...

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Linkedin