Digitized Newspapers
These digitized newspapers are full-text searchable online.
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
A Library of Congress and National Endowment for the Humanities collection that archives historic newspapers from across the United States and between 1770-1963.
- Catholic News Archive This link opens in a new window
This Catholic news resource contains thousands of newspaper pages, from different cities, over multiple years. Holdings start in 1832 and continue to the present day. - African American Newspapers, Series 1 This link opens in a new window
A fully searchable collection of historical newspapers that promotes itself as a one-of-a-kind record of African American history and culture. The oldest newspaper dates to 1842.
- Dayton Daily News (OH) Collection This link opens in a new window
This collection provides access to Dayton Daily News content going back to 1990.
Newspapers on Microfilm
Using microfilm and microfiche
Recommended Historic Keywords
When searching in original primary sources such as historic newspapers, it's important to search using the terms and vocabulary that people at the time used. Using modern terminology will most likely cause you to find few, if any, relevant results. One example: the term "Great Migration" may not be used in all contemporary sources on this topic from 1910-1970 (although you may find it in some!).
Sometimes these historic terms may feel uncomfortable or even offensive, particularly when working on histories of racial issues, such as this project. It's okay to feel uncomfortable or offended! Encountering and reckoning with these terms is an often-unavoidable part of doing historical research. It's okay to pause your search and take a few minutes to process how these terms make you feel. We know now how harmful these terms are, but working with primary sources means encountering terms that were used during a time when they were considered acceptable.
With that in mind, here are some suggested terms to try in your keyword searches:
Negro OR colored
Resurrection Catholic Church OR Resurrection Parish [or similar variations]
St. John Catholic Church OR St. John Parish [or similar variations]
St. James Catholic Church OR St. James Parish [or similar variations]
You may wish to try searches that combine several keywords, such as "Holy Ghost Fathers" AND "St. John" AND Dayton.
You may come across names of pastors and parishioners associated with the parish you're researching: these can be important search terms, too! Consider expanding the range of times and places for more context on people like Fr. Egbert Figaro, Dayton's first Black priest, and searching Spiritan resources for "Dayton" to find more local leaders. Variations can be helpful here, too: "Father Figaro" OR "Egbert Figaro" can expand your results.
