Australia, New South Wales, Alphabetical Index to Newspaper Cuttings - FamilySearch Historical Records

This wiki article describes a collection of records that is available for free online at FamilySearch Record Search – Pilot Site. To access the collection, see [Australia, New South Wales, alphabetical index to newspaper cuttings 1841-1987]

Collection Time Period
Most events included in the records date from approximately 1841-1987. Information included in the cards may predate 1841. A very few earlier records do exist.

Population Coverage
Population coverage is not comprehensive. The majority of the records are from New South Wales, but there are a few from Queensland.

Collection History
People used to place an ad in the local newspaper to announce a birth, marriage, or death. This information was later extracted into an alphabetically filed card index. Information included in these cards is primarily for marriages and deaths, but does include some births. There are a few cards with information extracted from the 1811 census, Thomas Mutch index, probate index, vital records, etc.

Why Was this Collection Created?
This collection was created to more readily assist in locating information regarding a birth, marriage, death, obituary or other miscellaneous information about an individual that appeared in a newspaper.

Collection Reliability
Information related to the immediate event is probably accurate. The accuracy of other information given would depend on the knowledge of the informant.

Collection Description
Newspaper cuttings are pasted to the cards. In some cases the information is extracted or typewritten on the cards, and these include the name of the newspaper that published the event.

Collection Content
==== The key genealogical facts which may be found in the cards are:  ====

• Name of individuals who were born, married, or died • Date of birth • Place of birth • Place of marriage • Date of marriage • Place of death • Date of death • Place of burial • Name of spouse • Names of children • Names of parents • Names of siblings • Short biography (in case of obituaries) • Date of arrival in Australia • Place of residence

How to Use the Collection
If a person is unable to find an ancestor in the vital, church, or immigration records, this card index would be a good next source to check.

Source List
Greenwich Stake Genealogical Library, Greenwich, New South Wales, 1987

Related Articles
Australia Newspapers

Queensland Newspapers

Australia Obituaries