We all know that we should search out obits on our ancestors in order to fill in the blanks of our stories, but does everyone search out all those gossipy tidbits from the small town newspapers and really analyze them? It may be a bit of tedious work poring over that small print on the microfilm reader and very time consuming especially if you have a job and other extracurricular activities like me, but if you think you are at a standstill with your research, well, you just may want to delve into newspapers. They are ususally available through interlibrary loan. Remember not everything is on the internet and to be found in the convenience of our homes. People like us have to put the info there, you know. The leprechauns, fairies and elves don't do it. They are too busy ornamenting my lawn. I will be sending a few articles to the list in the next few days on newspaper research and how a few little newspaper tidbits led me to futher valuable information on a few roadblocks that had been thrown in my path. (You may call them brick walls but it's easier for me to drive into or over roadblocks than drive through brick walls!) Hope the articles help get you started down the road to newspaper addiction. Dont make the decision to start reading old newspapers lightly - Oh, no, there is no cure for newspaper addiction. And, hey, pass those transcribed articles you find on to Iowa Old Press or to Ireland Old News. We'd love to have you! Cathy Joynt Labath Iowa Old Press http://www.IowaOldPress.com/ Ireland Old News http://www.IrelandOldNews.com/ Irish in Iowa http://www.celticcousins.net/irishiniowa/index.htm USING NEWSPAPERS FOR RESEARCH How I Found My GGG Grandmother was named Margaret Herron Walsh and was from County Kilkenny, Ireland I knew from research that my gg grandmother was Catherine WALSH BRENNAN and her father was John WALSH. I had no idea who my ggg grandmother was that had married John WALSH. I didn't even know her first name and never even dreamed I would ever know her since I knew she was probably born around the late 1700s and searching for records for that time frame is very frustrating- especially if you were Irish, darn it. (Who says there is such a thing as "luck of the Irish"?) One day I was going through old newspapers for Palo Alto Co, IA, where most of my Irish ancestors eventually settled after emigrating from Ireland and I found the following article: Emmetsburg Democrat Emmetsburg, Palo Alto, Iowa Wednesday, Dec 11, 1912 John HERRON of the firm MENTON & HERRON, who have published the Boone Democrat during the past fifteen years or more, spent Saturday and Sunday with numerous relatives in this locality. He is a cousin of M.F. BRENNAN, T.B. and W.H. WALSH, and other members of the families named. Mr. HERRON visited Emmetsburg about sixteen years ago. He has built up a good business at Boone and finds it difficult to be away from home for any length of time. He favored the Democrat with a fraternal call while in town. The Boone Democrat is one of the best weekly newspapers in the Tenth district. ~~~~~~~~~~ Well, I had NEVER heard of the surname HERRON mentioned in the family, let alone related to BRENNANs or WALSHs. And as for Boone County, the only relative I knew that remained there on their journey from Canada was my great grandaunt, Anne BRENNAN MUGAN. So here was a puzzle: How exactly was John HERRON a cousin to my Brennans and Walshs? I just had to find out. Next I searched Boone County Biographies for anything on HERRON and found a bio for JOHN R. HERRON dated 1902 as follows: History of Boone Co, Iowa ; New York & Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1902 John R Herron In the promotion and conservation of advancement in all the normal lines of human progress and civilization, there is no factor which has exercised a more potent influence than the press, which is both the director and the mirror of public opinion. Iowa has been signally favored in the character of its newspapers, which have been vital, enthusiastic and progressive, ever aiming to advance the interests of this favored section of the Union, to aid in laying fast and sure the foundations of an enlightened commonwealth, to further the ends of justice and to uphold the banner of the Hawkeye state. In a compilation of this nature, then, it is clearly incumbent that due recognition be accorded the newspaper press and in this connection we are glad to mention The Boone County Democrat and its proprietor, John R Herron. Mr. Herron was born in Des Moines township, Boone county, Iowa, March 19, 1874, and is a son of Richard and Sabina (Payton) Herron. The paternal grandfather also bore the name of Richard and was a native of Ireland. Crossing the Atlantic to America at an early date, he located in Canada and followed the occupation of farming. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Henneberry. In their family were four children, three sons and a daughter: Richard; Mary, the wife of T. McDermott, of Eagle Grove, Iowa; William of Missouri Valley, Iowa; and John, deceased. The father of our subject was also a native of the Emerald Isle and when he sought a home beyond the Atlantic, took up his abode in Stratford, Ontario, in 1847, making his home there until 1865. In the meantime, in the year 1858, he wedded Sabina Payton, a daughter of Patrick Payton who was born in Ireland but in the '30s removed to Canada and there spent his remaining days. His wife bore the maiden name of Hogan and died when her daughter, Mrs. Herron, was quite young. In the family were eight children: Catherine, Bernard, Thomas, Jane, Sabina, Ann, Alice and Margaret. While residing in Canada Mr. Herron engaged in farming and in 1865 he came to Iowa, residing for two months at Cedar Rapids, after which he removed to Boone. The railroad at that time extended only to Nevada and there were but two houses in what is now the city of Boone. Mr. Herron and his family took up their abode in the little hamlet where they remained until 1869 when they settled upon a farm in Des Moines township, three and one-half miles southeast of the city. It was there that our subject was born. The family resided continuously upon the farm until the spring of 1886, when the parents removed to Boone, where they yet make their home. Their children are Mary, deceased, and John R. In the common schools John R Herron began his education, attending the parochial schools of Boone, and also the high school of this city. His connection with journalistic work began when he was sixteen years of age, in the capacity of a printer's devil in the office of the Boone County Democrat. There he remained, winning advancement from time to time until he became the owner of a half interest in the plant, purchasing this on the 1st of January, 1899. He had previously served as an apprentice and local editor. His partner in the enterprise is W.F. Menton, the partnership designated by the style of Herron & Menton. They are both wide-awake, enterprising young business men and are publishing a journal which is creditable to the city and which is ever found as the champion of movements and measures for the general good. Socially Mr. Herron is connected with the Woodmen of the World, the Fraternal Choppers of America and other social and fraternal organizations. ~~~~~~~~~~ That bio gave a lot of information and took me back to Stratford (or Gore of Downie), Perth, Ontario, Canada records. I also passed along the newspaper item and bio information to a group of researchers with whom I had been communicating. All of our ancestors in our little email group are all inter-related when it comes to Stratford records. Ok, that filled me in some but not quite enough! The hunt was on. Later some kind soul then sent me the following bit of information: ----- Original Message ----- Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 10:20 AM Subject: Information on WALSH and MORRIS families of DOWNIE Township On 31 May, 1836, in the Gore of Downie Township from the Canada Company, the following farms were purchased -- lot 11, concession 9, by John Walsh Sr., lot 10, concession 9 by Richard Herron, and lot 9, concession 8, by Edward Herron. The wife of John Walsh Sr. was Margaret Herron. The Morris farm does not adjoin the others, but it is only separated from the others by one farm. John Walsh Sr. (from his son Edward's obituary in the Stratford Beacon, 13 April 1904) had eight children. The family moved from County Kilkenny in 1834, and settled in what has since become the City of Stratford. They lived in an old log cabin, which stood in the area south of the present hall, known as Market Place. In 1836, the family moved to the above noted farm in Downie Township. ~~~~~~~~~~ So, there it was, John Walsh Sr., who I knew was my ggg grandfather, was married to Margaret Herron!! (Or at least someone told me so.) Many more records, especially those from the Stratford area, and especially St. Joseph's RC Church, helped to fill in some of the other blanks on this family and ithat left us with purely speculation that Margaret HERRON WALSH also had the following siblings: Richard, Edward, William & Patrick, all of whom left from Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny and settled in the area of Gore of Downie / Stratford. Richard Hearne/Herron arrived in Canada around 1836. Richard and two of his brothers purchased land in 1836. They were also found in the 1842 Huron County Assessment Roll. By 1865, most of the Herron's had left the Stratford area - although a few remained. A lot of the HERRON descendants settled in Iowa - where I remain to this day. ----- Cathy Joynt Labath Admitted Old Newspaper Addict (the "old" refers to newspapers, not me).

I say "amen" to Cathy's remarks. If I'd ignored the tidbits from small town newspapers, I'd have never found what really happened to my great grandfather. My dad said his mother told him her father was "shot"...when he asked her about her parents. He was an only child and said his mother never discussed her family and he asked only one time when she told him he was shot. My grandmother's family was very difficult for me to find even though I knew she'd been born in Jefferson Co. IA. It was years before I found proof she'd been adopted and I could find who her biological parents were. If I'd not been reading the old newspapers on microfilm in the State Historical Library in Des Moines, I'd never have known her father died after a 3-4 da. illness, probably pneumonia. No mention of him being "shot". There was no death record in the court house, no burial record in the cemetery....nothing but the small article in the newspaper about him dying. I'm still trying to find what happened to my grandmother's mother after the death of her father. Again, the last thing I've been able to find about her was a notice in the local newspaper that her home was being sold for non-payment of taxes - $1.82! She was about 25-26 yrs. old. As for her father being "shot" - I don't know what my grandmother meant unless she was referring to her adoptive father. She never revealed to my dad that she was adopted. The adoptive parent was terrible from the accounts I was able to find about him - drunk, wife beater, etc. and when his wife filed for a divorce she told the court the last she knew about him was he was in prison in Illinois. I have no idea why and haven't persued it since these people weren't really in my family line. My grandmother was in their home about 9-10 yrs. before she married at age 14-15. I don't have access to the library collection of newspapers now and hope I'll be able to see them online. Thanks so much to all the people who can put them on the internet. juanita > We all know that we should search out obits on our ancestors in order > to fill in the blanks of our stories, but does everyone search out all > those gossipy tidbits from the small town newspapers and really > analyze them? Cathy Joynt Labath > Iowa Old Press > http://www.IowaOldPress.com/

Cathy: Just to let you know, we have four more of our newspaper scrapbooks ready to transcribe. These will be of The Fairfield Ledger for the years 1867, 1869, 1880, & 1881. Each of those cover the full year except the 1881, which covers April through June. As you may remember these are articles cut out of the newspapers that contain any names of people for any reason. We are also indexing these articles for these names as we go along. These, along with what we already have on line, will provide ten's of thousands of names for Jefferson County. Will you want copies of these transcriptions when we get them done? Bill Rathbun ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cathy Joynt Labath" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 6:41 AM Subject: [IOWA] Newspaper Research - Part I > We all know that we should search out obits on our ancestors in order to > fill in the blanks of our stories, but does everyone search out all those > gossipy tidbits from the small town newspapers and really analyze them? It > may be a bit of tedious work poring over that small print on the microfilm > reader and very time consuming especially if you have a job and other > extracurricular activities like me, but if you think you are at a > standstill > with your research, well, you just may want to delve into newspapers. They > are ususally available through interlibrary loan. Remember not everything > is > on the internet and to be found in the convenience of our homes. People > like > us have to put the info there, you know. The leprechauns, fairies and > elves > don't do it. They are too busy ornamenting my lawn. > > I will be sending a few articles to the list in the next few days on > newspaper research and how a few little newspaper tidbits led me to futher > valuable information on a few roadblocks that had been thrown in my path. > (You may call them brick walls but it's easier for me to drive into or > over > roadblocks than drive through brick walls!) Hope the articles help get you > started down the road to newspaper addiction. Dont make the decision to > start reading old newspapers lightly - Oh, no, there is no cure for > newspaper addiction. And, hey, pass those transcribed articles you find on > to Iowa Old Press or to Ireland Old News. We'd love to have you! > > > Cathy Joynt Labath > Iowa Old Press > http://www.IowaOldPress.com/ > Ireland Old News > http://www.IrelandOldNews.com/ > Irish in Iowa > http://www.celticcousins.net/irishiniowa/index.htm > > > > > USING NEWSPAPERS FOR RESEARCH > > How I Found My GGG Grandmother was named Margaret Herron Walsh and was > from > County Kilkenny, Ireland > > > I knew from research that my gg grandmother was Catherine WALSH BRENNAN > and > her father was John WALSH. I had no idea who my ggg grandmother was that > had > married John WALSH. I didn't even know her first name and never even > dreamed > I would ever know her since I knew she was probably born around the late > 1700s and searching for records for that time frame is very frustrating- > especially if you were Irish, darn it. (Who says there is such a thing as > "luck of the Irish"?) > > One day I was going through old newspapers for Palo Alto Co, IA, where > most > of my Irish ancestors eventually settled after emigrating from Ireland and > I > found the following article: > > > Emmetsburg Democrat > Emmetsburg, Palo Alto, Iowa > Wednesday, Dec 11, 1912 > > John HERRON of the firm MENTON & HERRON, who have published the Boone > Democrat during the past fifteen years or more, spent Saturday and Sunday > with numerous relatives in this locality. He is a cousin of M.F. BRENNAN, > T.B. and W.H. WALSH, and other members of the families named. Mr. HERRON > visited Emmetsburg about sixteen years ago. He has built up a good > business > at Boone and finds it difficult to be away from home for any length of > time. > He favored the Democrat with a fraternal call while in town. The Boone > Democrat is one of the best weekly newspapers in the Tenth district. > > ~~~~~~~~~~ > > Well, I had NEVER heard of the surname HERRON mentioned in the family, > let > alone related to BRENNANs or WALSHs. And as for Boone County, the only > relative I knew that remained there on their journey from Canada was my > great grandaunt, Anne BRENNAN MUGAN. So here was a puzzle: How exactly was > John HERRON a cousin to my Brennans and Walshs? I just had to find out. > > Next I searched Boone County Biographies for anything on HERRON and found > a > bio for JOHN R. HERRON dated 1902 as follows: > > > History of Boone Co, Iowa ; New York & Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing > Co. 1902 > > John R Herron > In the promotion and conservation of advancement in all the normal > lines of human progress and civilization, there is no factor which has > exercised a more potent influence than the press, which is both the > director > and the mirror of public opinion. Iowa has been signally favored in the > character of its newspapers, which have been vital, enthusiastic and > progressive, ever aiming to advance the interests of this favored section > of > the Union, to aid in laying fast and sure the foundations of an > enlightened > commonwealth, to further the ends of justice and to uphold the banner of > the > Hawkeye state. > In a compilation of this nature, then, it is clearly incumbent that > due > recognition be accorded the newspaper press and in this connection we are > glad to mention The Boone County Democrat and its proprietor, John R > Herron. > Mr. Herron was born in Des Moines township, Boone county, Iowa, March 19, > 1874, and is a son of Richard and Sabina (Payton) Herron. The paternal > grandfather also bore the name of Richard and was a native of Ireland. > Crossing the Atlantic to America at an early date, he located in > Canada > and followed the occupation of farming. His wife bore the maiden name of > Mary Henneberry. In their family were four children, three sons and a > daughter: Richard; Mary, the wife of T. McDermott, of Eagle Grove, Iowa; > William of Missouri Valley, Iowa; and John, deceased. The father of our > subject was also a native of the Emerald Isle and when he sought a home > beyond the Atlantic, took up his abode in Stratford, Ontario, in 1847, > making his home there until 1865. In the meantime, in the year 1858, he > wedded Sabina Payton, a daughter of Patrick Payton who was born in Ireland > but in the '30s removed to Canada and there spent his remaining days. His > wife bore the maiden name of Hogan and died when her daughter, Mrs. > Herron, > was quite young. In the family were eight children: Catherine, Bernard, > Thomas, Jane, Sabina, Ann, Alice and Margaret. While residing in Canada > Mr. > Herron engaged in farming and in 1865 he came to Iowa, residing for two > months at Cedar Rapids, after which he removed to Boone. The railroad at > that time extended only to Nevada and there were but two houses in what is > now the city of Boone. Mr. Herron and his family took up their abode in > the > little hamlet where they remained until 1869 when they settled upon a farm > in Des Moines township, three and one-half miles southeast of the city. It > was there that our subject was born. The family resided continuously upon > the farm until the spring of 1886, when the parents removed to Boone, > where > they yet make their home. Their children are Mary, deceased, and John R. > In > the common schools John R Herron began his education, attending the > parochial schools of Boone, and also the high school of this city. His > connection with journalistic work began when he was sixteen years of age, > in > the capacity of a printer's devil in the office of the Boone County > Democrat. There he remained, winning advancement from time to time until > he > became the owner of a half interest in the plant, purchasing this on the > 1st > of January, 1899. He had previously served as an apprentice and local > editor. His partner in the enterprise is W.F. Menton, the partnership > designated by the style of Herron & Menton. They are both wide-awake, > enterprising young business men and are publishing a journal which is > creditable to the city and which is ever found as the champion of > movements > and measures for the general good. Socially Mr. Herron is connected with > the Woodmen of the World, the Fraternal Choppers of America and other > social > and fraternal organizations. > > ~~~~~~~~~~ > > That bio gave a lot of information and took me back to Stratford (or Gore > of > Downie), Perth, Ontario, Canada records. I also passed along the > newspaper > item and bio information to a group of researchers with whom I had been > communicating. All of our ancestors in our little email group are all > inter-related when it comes to Stratford records. > > Ok, that filled me in some but not quite enough! The hunt was on. > > Later some kind soul then sent me the following bit of information: > > ----- Original Message ----- > Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 10:20 AM > Subject: Information on WALSH and MORRIS families of DOWNIE Township > > On 31 May, 1836, in the Gore of Downie Township from the Canada Company, > the > following farms were purchased -- lot 11, concession 9, by John Walsh Sr., > lot 10, concession 9 by Richard Herron, and lot 9, concession 8, by Edward > Herron. The wife of John Walsh Sr. was Margaret Herron. The Morris farm > does not adjoin the others, but it is only separated from the others by > one > farm. > > John Walsh Sr. (from his son Edward's obituary in the Stratford Beacon, 13 > April 1904) had eight children. The family moved from County Kilkenny in > 1834, and settled in what has since become the City of Stratford. They > lived in an old log cabin, which stood in the area south of the present > hall, known as Market Place. In 1836, the family moved to the above noted > farm in Downie Township. > > ~~~~~~~~~~ > > So, there it was, John Walsh Sr., who I knew was my ggg grandfather, was > married to Margaret Herron!! (Or at least someone told me so.) > > Many more records, especially those from the Stratford area, and > especially > St. Joseph's RC Church, helped to fill in some of the other blanks on this > family and ithat left us with purely speculation that Margaret HERRON > WALSH > also had the following siblings: Richard, Edward, William & Patrick, all > of > whom left from Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny and settled in the area of Gore of > Downie / Stratford. > > Richard Hearne/Herron arrived in Canada around 1836. Richard and two of > his > brothers purchased land in 1836. They were also found in the 1842 Huron > County Assessment Roll. By 1865, most of the Herron's had left the > Stratford area - although a few remained. > > A lot of the HERRON descendants settled in Iowa - where I remain to this > day. > ----- > Cathy Joynt Labath > Admitted Old Newspaper Addict (the "old" refers to newspapers, not me). > > > > > > _____________________________________________ > > For additional information concerning how the list > works, how to sub and unsub and list rules, visit > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~richard/ialist/ > _____________________________________________ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >