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 60th 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]

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:

Title

Years

Repository/Link

The Presbyterian Banner [Philadelphia, Pittsburgh]

1852–1871

[Jun to Dec 1852, Jan to Dec 1853 through 1870; incomplete]

Presbyterian Historical Society

Presbyterian Advocate [Pittsburgh]

2 Feb 1853

GenealogyBank

[subscription site]

Presbyterian Banner & Advocate [Pittsburgh]

27 Sep 1856–3 Mar 1860

Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive

Presbyterian Banner & Advocate [Pittsburgh]

1856–1860

NewspaperArchive                              

[subscription site]

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

10 Mar 1860–14 Sep 1864     

[10 Mar 1860–29 Dec 1860, 21 Sep 1861–28 Dec 1861, 4 Jan 1862–27 Dec 1862, 3 Jan 1863–30 Dec 1863, 6 Jan 1864–14 Sep 1864.]

[Weekly, switched from Saturday to Wednesday publication after the 3 Jan 1863 issue.]

Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1860–1864

NewspaperArchive

[subscription site]

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

26 April 1865. Vol. 13, no. 32

Internet Archive

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

21 Sep 1861–14 Sep 1864

Penn State University; search 157 issues from 1861–1864 using Elephind

Note: The search returns hits but you are unable to access the newspaper pages. Search hit transcriptions are in view.

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1 Sep 1875–30 Nov 1876

Penn State University Libraries

[requires a Penn State account]

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

4 Jan 1900, vol. 86, no. 29

Electric Scotland

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1902, vol. 88

Google Books

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1902, vol. 88

2 Jan 1902–12 Jun 1902

Hathi Trust

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1902, vol. 89

Google Books

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1902, vol. 89

19 Jun 1902–11 Jun 1903

Hathi Trust

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1903, vol. 90

Google Books

Snippet view only

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1903, vol. 90

18 Jun 1903–9 Jun 1904

Hathi Trust

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1906, vol. 93

Google Books

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1906, vol. 93

14 Jun 1906–6 Jun 1907

Hathi Trust

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1907, vol. 94

Google Books

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1907, vol. 94

13 Jun 1907–4 Jun 1908

Hathi Trust

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1908, vol. 95

Google Books

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1908, vol. 95

11 Jun 1908–3 Jun 1909

Hathi Trust

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1909, vol. 96

Google Books

Presbyterian Banner [Pittsburgh]

1909, vol. 96

10 Jun 1909–2 Jun 1910

Hathi Trust

Paul K. Heckethorn, Genealogical Abstracts of the Presbyterian Banner and the Presbyterian Banner and Advocate, vols. 1–208, 18 Sep 1852–20 Sep 1956

18 Sep 1852–20 Sep 1856

Hathi Trust

Limited access, search only


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).

 

This entry was posted in Institutes, Newspapers, Online Resources and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Advancing Your Research: A Peek at a Pennsylvania Presbyterian Newspaper

  1. Patrick Deady says:

    Thanks for alerting us to the existence of this religious newspaper! It may be useful to many!

Comments are closed.