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Why is old press useful for your genealogy? What can you find there? How to access it on the Internet?
©️Gallica - BnF
Old press is a useful resource for anyone looking to develop their genealogy. Many digitization campaigns have made these archives available to everyone.
« Leafing through » the newspapers allows you to find various information such as:
- Des birth, marriage, and death announcements or civil status sections: with clues about dates, places, and sometimes family members;
- Various news: searching by last name or town can give you more information about a significant event in one of your ancestors' lives;
- Lists of people: conscripts, soldiers, prisoners, donors, students who passed their exams...
- Advertisements: if you are looking for a merchant, trader, craftsman ancestor...
- Miscellaneous notices: to find information about an ancestor's estate, succession, business creation, or bankruptcy...
But above all, diving into old press will take you back in time. What were the news of the time? What view did our ancestors have on a particular subject? A historical-social vision of genealogy not to be neglected.
The portal allows you to search by Word or by Map to find articles among « local interest newspapers published in France, from the origins to 1944 ». Direct links redirect you to newspapers sorted by cities, to digitized press, or to a chronological list. Note that these periodicals are also available on Gallica (which offers foreign press titles).
RetroNews is the website dedicated to the digitized press archives of the BnF. You can access and view for free press titles published from 1631 to 1950. Simple search is free, while advanced searches and access to quick links or thematic articles will require a paid subscription. Note that these periodicals are also available on Gallica (which offers foreign press titles).
Libraries, libraries and archives have deposited over 260 periodicals for consultation to ensure their preservation and conservation.
The site offers a synthesis of archives from major national and regional newspapers available online. You thus have free access to almost all articles from L'Express since 1953, Le Monde since 1944, or Libération since 1994. Giga Press also lists archives of economic press and local and regional press.
Over 800 periodical titles from the 17th and 18th centuries are available online for free. The website, developed by Denis Reynaud, is regularly updated.
Lectura Plus - Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bretania - Brittany
Limédia Kiosque - Grand Est
Local Old Press - Hauts-de-France
Normannia - Normandy
Heritage Resources - Occitanie