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

Record Description
Most events included in the records date from approximately 1841 to 1987. Information included in the cards may predate 1841. A very few earlier records do exist.

Newspaper cuttings are pasted to 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.

In the past, ads were placed 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 this collection does include some births. There are a few cards with information extracted from the 1811 census. These cards came from the Thomas Mutch index, probate index, vital records, etc. Population coverage is not complete. The majority of the records are from New South Wales, but there are a few from Queensland.

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.

For an alphabetical list of records currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Record Content
Cards may include the following information:


 * Name of individuals who were born, married, or died
 * Date and place of birth
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Date and place 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 Records
To begin your search, it would be helpful to know the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Approximate year and place of event

Search the Collection
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

To search the collection image by image select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select the appropriate “First letter of surname” ⇒Select the appropriate “Principal's surname” ⇒Select the appropriate “Principal's given name(s)” which will take you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * To find all of your ancestor's family members, search with the name of the parents and the surname of your ancestor.

Using the Information
When you have found the information that you are looking for, the following will help you further your research:


 * Use the age to calculate a birth year
 * Use the name of the spouse (if married) to search for a marriage record
 * Use the calculated birth year to search for a birth record.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Consider looking in the "illegible surname" category in browse.

Related Websites

 * New South Wales GenWeb Project
 * Australia's First Online Newspaper

Related Wiki Articles

 * New South Wales Newspapers
 * Australia Obituaries

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from the record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you do not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Australia, New South Wales, Alphabetical Index to Newspaper Cuttings, 1841-1987," database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 17 March 2011), Algernon Thomas Smith, 1956; citing Greenwich Stake Geneological Library. Newspapers, FHL microfilm 001,514,729; Greenwich Stake Geneological Library, Greenwich, New South Wales, Australia.