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Frequently Asked Questions What newspapers have been indexed? A wide selection of Indiana and Ohio newspapers have been indexed. In Indiana, the larger papers include The Indianapolis Star, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, and South Bend Tribune. Medium size papers such as Anderson Herald-Bulletin, Bloomington Herald-Times, Kokomo Tribune and Richmond Palladium-Item as well as smaller papers such as Greensburg Daily News and Portland Commercial-Review are indexed. Even weekly newspapers such as The Churubusco News and The Shoals News are included. Also, many defunct newspapers have been indexed. Select IN Newspapers Indexed and OH Newspapers Indexed for the complete list of newspapers indexed. What years have been indexed for each newspaper? The dates vary from as early as the 1810s in Ohio and 1840s in Indiana to as current as today. The date range indexed for each newspaper title varies and changes daily. The last twenty years are complete (all vitals on all pages) for several papers including The Indianapolis Star, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, and South Bend Tribune. Earlier issues have also been indexed but they are not complete. Some titles have just a few months or years indexed. Most entries are from the last 50 years, but there are some pre-1900 entries too. Both current and back issues are being added to the index daily. What types of articles are included in the search? The articles that are associated with the milestones in life are included. This includes births, marriages, deaths, etc. Select Types of Records Indexed for a complete list of the types of records indexed. How do I request a newspaper search? Simply submit (via regular mail) the surname(s) to be searched and the appropriate search fee. The search fee for most surnames is $20.00 per state. The fee is higher for common surnames. A combined IN-OH search is available at a reduced price from ordering separate reports for the two states. The Indiana and Ohio Newspaper Searches order form lists the complete fee schedule. You may list alternate spellings for the surname(s) and they will be included in the reports. Select Search Request Form for an order form you can print and mail. Exactly what is included in the Indiana and Ohio Newspaper Search reports? Each Indiana and Ohio Newspaper Search report consists of a title page, explanation pages and the index listing. The title page indicates the surname reported, date the report was run, and the name and address of the researcher ordering the report. The explanation pages explain the format and codes used in the report. This includes the codes for the vital record type (BI for birth, etc.) and the codes used for the newspaper titles (DCDD for Decatur Daily Democrat, etc.) The index listing may be just part of a page or several pages. Each line of the report corresponds to a single notice in a newspaper. Here are a few lines from the Indiana search report for the surname Blackwell. The actual Blackwell report lists about 1000 entries. Blackwell, Margaret S. Griffin ML INST 09/05/1908 10 Marion County Blackwell, Mark 27 DN NCA 05/14/1987 01 Ligonier Swigart, d/o Richard & Judy Blackwell BI KTRB 03/19/1991 10 Noblesville Swigart, s/o Richard & Judy Blackwell BI KTRB 06/07/1989 06 KokomoThe first line indicates that there is a marriage license (ML) in The Indianapolis Star (INST) of September 5, 1908 on page 10 for Margaret S. Griffin marrying a Blackwell. The marriage license was issued in Marion County. The second line indicates a death notice (DN) for Mark Blackwell (age 27 of Ligonier) can be found on page one of the Noble County American (NCA) of May 14, 1987. The last two lines are for births (BI) for children of Richard & Judy (Blackwell) Swigart. The third line indicates they had a daughter reported on page 10 of the March 19, 1991 issue of the Kokomo Tribune (KTRB). The fourth line indicates a son for the same couple on page 6 of the June 7, 1989 issue of the Kokomo Tribune. They were listed as living in Noblesville in the first entry and living in Kokomo in the second one. Note that entries are included which have the requested surname as a maiden name or name from another marriage if this is given in the article. How can I get copies of the actual articles? The index gives the newspaper title, date and page of the article so copies may be made easily if you have access to the actual newspapers. You may wish to write, visit a library, or hire a researcher to make photocopies or transcribe the articles. CompuGen Systems will provide photocopies or transcripts of the actual notices upon request for most entries listed on the search. For obituaries, weddings, etc. this may be an entire article while for births, death certificates, etc. it may be a single line. The fee is $2.50 per entry or $2.00 each if five or more are ordered at the same time. Can you tell me if you have anything for [specific full name] or if you have any for [specific surname]? With the size of these databases, something will undoubtedly be found unless your surname is very rare or they were not in Indiana or Ohio. The chances of finding something for a specific individual are not as high, but still quite possible. You can check the number of entries and earliest entry for your surname(s) in the Indiana and Ohio Newspaper Search databases. Just select Surname Counts and find your surnames on the lists. Keep in mind that most entries are from the last 50 years and some people and events may have more than one entry. Also, variant spellings can be combined onto one report. Can't we get all this from the Internet? Many Indiana and Ohio newspapers have sites on the Internet and some even include vital records, but these are typically for the current days only. Some have a few years worth of back issues available to search for a fee. Nowhere on the Internet can you get an index to vital records like the INDIANA AND OHIO NEWSPAPER SEARCHES. I ordered a surname search several years ago. Can I get a listing of what has been added for this surname since then? You may reorder a surname search at any time. You will receive a full report which lists what was found at the earlier date and what has been added since. If you received one more than a year or two ago, there will probably be quite a few more entries listed. The database has approximately doubled in size since 1995. The fee to reorder a listing for a surname you have already ordered is one-half the current search price ($10 for most surnames, $15 and $25 for more common names). Is this index available at the Fort Wayne library? No, these databases are not available at any library or anywhere else. Do you really index the "fine print" lists of birth, divorces, etc. from the big papers like THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR and SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE? Yes, the complete daily statistics such as the births, marriage licenses, death certificates from all papers, even the large ones are included in the database. Where do you get all the newspapers you index? We have subscriptions to several of the current papers and have some helpers saving and/or indexing other current papers. We use microfilm to index the back issues and in some cases we buy or get access to collections (large and small) of original papers. The subscriptions and microfilm are expensive and the money received from searches is used to buy more papers and microfilm to expand the project. Is this type of service available for any other states? This service is very unique and currently available only for Indiana and Ohio newspapers. Page last updated 25-Nov-2005 |
