A birth announcement or an obituary may list an individual's birthplace. The most interesting part about looking up birth announcement and obituaries is that you may also find a picture of the individual.

The directories listed below will help you find the current owners of old newspapers from the time and place when the obituary was published. If the individual spoke a foreign language, check to see if there was a newspaper in that language, too. An obituary in a foreign language newspaper is likely to print the name of the town where the individual was born, whereas an English newspaper may only list the country. Once you have located the current owners, you can request to search the appropriate copies. The current owners should be able to direct you in your search.

Ayer Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals, available at most community libraries.

Winifred Gregory's American Newspaper, available at community and genealogical libraries.

The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) microfiche. The OCLC has a database of the U.S. Newspaper Program National Union List. You can access the OCLC at most university libraries and some community libraries.

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