I don't know how newspapers.com works.

[Grasswire2]

I have a world class ancestry account.

I just upgraded that to include newspapers.com.

I am looking for a specific obituary, and also for a story published in October 1878 about my third gr grandmother and her encounter as a child with Lafayette in 1825. This story was published in The Watchman, North Fork Long Island. I know it exists, but I don't have a copy.

I can't get anywhere searching for that article.

Is newspapers not worth subscribing?

Very disappointing.

Any thoughts?

[turtleblossom]

1. You didn't have to do that.

I have an ancestry.com account also but accessing newspapers.com for free via my local library. Not only do I have access to newspaper.com but also my local newspaper and many other genealogical resources.

Newspapers.com is tricky to use. Try searching narrowing your search to a specific county, state whether than actual newspaper.

Sometimes the newspaper you're looking for may not include have all of the past years available.

Not sure if FamilySearch.org provide any newspaper articles.

[Grasswire2]

2. you mean through the library web site?

Because my library is closed tighter than a drum --- pandemic.

[JenniferJuniper]

3. I love it, and it's gotten much easier to search,

but many newspapers aren't in their portfolio. Is the Watchman on their list?

[Grasswire2]

4. I don't know, but the obit should be somewhere.

A prominent Long Island family name.

[WePurrsevere]

5. I didn't have luck there either but I did at this site...

https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html

When I was first given a link to the main page it threw me, and he occasionally has site attacks and issues, but I've discovered since that it's an amazing collection and quite the research gem. Maybe it will help you as well.

[seaglass]

6. Go to the bar along the top of the Home screen and click on Papers

You can type the paper name or select the state the paper comes from on the map to see if they have the paper. Note that even if they do have the paper it does not mean they have all years.

I find newspapers.com very useful but the name search does not always work as expected.

A suggestion would be to start with a wide search with a date range and last name and narrow from there.

I did a quick search and do not see a newspaper in NY with the title The Watchman.

[csziggy]

7. I think this article is about the newspaper you're looking for

Celebrating Southold's Rich History: Library Preserves Traveler Watchman Newpaper for Future Generations
The iconic newspaper, which chronicled more than 100 years of Southold's history, is now available digitally and on microfilm.

Lisa Finn, Patch Staff
Posted Thu, Mar 3, 2016 at 2:47 pm ET

NORTH FORK, NY - The rich pages of Southold's history once chronicled in the Traveler Watchman newspapr have now been preserved for posterity.

The Traveler Watchman evolved into numerous incarnations since it was created in 1850 until it was sold to the Independent in East Hampton in 2005. Over the years, the paper was known as the The Long Island Traveler, The Watchman, The Watchman of the Sunrise Trail, The Long Island Traveler Mattituck Watchman, and the Long Island Traveler Watchman.

Within its pages, the history of Southold unfolded — and a dedicated group of volunteers have worked tirelessly at the Southold Free Library to preserve those memories forever.

To that end, the project kicked off in 2010, with an eye toward putting all the content of the bound volumes onto microfilm. The entire project was just recently completed.

More, including how to access what is digital online: https://patch.com/new-york/northfork/celebrating-southolds-rich-history-library-preserves-traveler-watchman-newpaper-future-generations

Since most of the paper's content is on microfiche you may have to visit the location and hunt for it yourself, though they might have a service available to pay for finding it.

As for your original question, I didn't find the newspapers that would have carried my family's info on newspaper.com. They were just not part of the site's digital collection.

[Grasswire2]

9. thanks for that tip; I will look into it.

3,000 miles away from me, so going there isn't an option.

But I'll try other ways.

My sister has a copy, but she is a procrastinator and hasn't gotten it to me in six months of asking. Ha.

[Spider Jerusalem]

8. I would advise trying the Library of Congress online newspaper archive

you can do a date-limited search and see if the story was picked up by any other newspapers; the site is here. Genealogybank (pay site) also has archives of some newspapers that newspapers.com does not (that was the only place I could find the Washington Evening Star, which was the major newspaper of Washington DC before the Post).

[Grasswire2]

10. thanks for the tip. :-) nt

[Montauk6]

11. For NY stories, you can also try...

Old Fulton History, I found a lot of old stuff (early 1900s and prior) from Oneida County, NY that newspapers.com didn't have

https://www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html

But I LOVE Newspapers, I've packed so many more people in my tree playing "obituary calculus."

As for your search, you have to see what range of issues of The Watchman (assuming they have that publication available) they have.

Also, I've found that you can find the same subject in different papers in the same city/county/even state.

I went for the standalone Publisher-Extra subscription to access everything vs the basic version in Ancestry.

Hey, if you'd like, you can inbox me what you're looking for and I'll be glad to take a stab.

[Grasswire2]

14. from your user name, I think you might be interested to know...

...that the story I'm looking for is about my third great grandmother who grew up to be the lady of the Plum Island NY lighthouse. Her husband was one of two (in succession) keepers of that light for 43 years ending in 1901. Eleanor King Beebe Wetmore.

The story is about her meeting Lafayette when he visited NY in his year-long tour of the States. Her father was a Rev. War Major, and Lafayette -- as he went about the country -- met with Rev. War veterans. From the report, Lafayette patted her on the head, and blessed her. She was somewhere about twelve years old at the time.

[wnylib]

15. When I tried your link, I got a message that

the site is not available. Disappointing because I have some Wheelers who were supposed to be from Oneida County.

[Montauk6]

16. Sorry about that, try it again please...

I just checked and got to it. Sometimes the site is down for maintenance; I've experienced that.

[Montauk6]

12. This is more of a shot in the dark...

...but Google still has (albeit archived) its old newspaper holdings

https://news.google.com/newspapers

It's not easy searching but you could browse (if you have the patience).

[CountAllVotes]

13. My cousin has mastered it

I finally found my grandfather a few months ago after searching for him for 80+ years.

Luckily, my cousin became interested in the situation and went on a massive search on newspapers.com.

He found some shocking info. abt. my grandfather that I never knew and the foster relations I have.

It is some ugly stuff that he found.

I am in a state of absolute shock by the findings, believe me as they are so horrific that they made the front page of the newspapers where they were living at that time (c. 1920).

So, I think if you can figure out how to use it, it is a great source of information and tool.

Best of luck.