Some of our old newspapers that are searchable
In speaking with a fellow historian from the Kittatinny Lake area, I found out that the Sussex County Library system now has digitized most of our old county newspapers for a long period (early 1800s) up to around 1940. So, you can now take a key word, put it in, and find out information. You can do this on your home computer, anywhere! We must thank our County Commissioners and our Library people for support so that this could take place.
I tried it. I put my last name in and got 65 hits from 1917 through 1940 where the digitation ended. I found out Harty Truran’s draft number and status in 1917 for WWI, and that he sang a hymn in our church in 1921. I will do the same with the same hymn on the same date 105 years later this May.
I work frequently with the historical archivist at the library, Tara Schaberg, who does a great job and helped organize this. Here are a few words from Tara.
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As the United States begins the celebration of its 250th anniversary, we have an opportunity to reflect on our shared history. The story of this land stretches back far beyond two and a half centuries, beginning with the oral traditions and lived experiences of the Lenape and their predecessors, continuing through European colonization, and into the founding of the United States. While no historical record is complete, the past 250 years have produced a wide range of surviving sources that help us better understand that period.
Among the most valuable of those records are newspapers.
From their earliest days, newspapers served as more than just sources of information. Many were specifically associated with political parties and acted as partisan bulletins, rallying readers around shared beliefs. That shared political ideology created a sense of community among subscribers.
As newspapers grew into reliable and thorough records of public life, they reported major events and documented the rhythms of local communities. Marriages and deaths were noted alongside court cases, illnesses, and weather events. Social columns recorded visits between friends, travel plans, church gatherings, and social events. Advertisements filled the pages, promoting local businesses and services, while legal notices described farms and properties for sale in remarkable detail, sometimes listing the number of barns and houses, or even the types of trees growing in an orchard.
For today’s researchers and family historians, these details are invaluable. A property sale notice may help narrow down when a farmhouse was first built. A small mention in a society column might reveal that a great-great-grandfather was known for his humor. An advertisement could pinpoint the location of a great-great-aunt’s millinery shop. Through such glimpses, the people of the past become more than names and dates – they become relatable, human, and vivid.
The Sussex County Library System (SCLS) has held local newspapers on microfilm in its research collections for over 50 years. Countless historians, genealogists, and curious residents have relied on those reels to explore the stories of this community.
Now, thanks to a recent grant opportunity from the New Jersey State Library, SCLS is proud to offer five of these newspapers, ranging in date from 1814 to 1950, in a searchable online database that will transform how we access and use these rich historical resources. In the past, locating a single name or event often required hours of scrolling through reels of microfilm, carefully advancing page by page in the hope of spotting a familiar reference. While microfilm remains an important preservation format, it can be time-consuming and sometimes discouraging for researchers looking for something specific.
The Sussex County Library System’s Digital Newspaper Archive changes that experience dramatically. Instead of scrolling through pages, users can enter a keyword, a name, an event, or even a specific year and instantly pull up relevant results. What might once have taken an entire afternoon can now be accomplished in minutes. Researchers can quickly compare multiple dates, follow a story across several issues, or discover unexpected references that would have been nearly impossible to locate manually. And it is free and available anytime, anywhere with an internet connection at this link: https://sussexcounty.historyarchives.online/home
Made possible through a grant from the New Jersey State Library’s REV 250: Examining the Semiquincentennial through a Jersey Lens program, the completed digitization project provides searchable online access to the following historic Sussex County newspapers that cover northern, central, and southern portions of Sussex County and represent Whig/Republican, Democratic, and Independent political focuses:
The New Jersey Herald (1849-1906), Stanhope Eagle (1885-1950), Sussex Register (1814-1943), Sussex County Independent (1871-1930), and Wantage Recorder (1894-1937).
REV 250: Examining the Semiquincentennial through a Jersey Lens is an initiative of the New Jersey State Library that offers public libraries the opportunity to celebrate New Jersey’s contributions and place in American history.
The archive was digitized and is hosted on the Community History platform by Advantage Archives, a provider specializing in preserving historic newspapers and making archival collections accessible online for libraries and cultural institutions.
SCLS hopes that this digital collection will make local history easier for all to access and that it will bring valuable information within reach for anyone interested in learning more about our community’s past. Questions about this new resource can be directed to Local History and Genealogy Librarian Tara Schaberg at tschaberg@sussexcountylibrary.org.
Bill Truran, Sussex County’s historian, may be contacted at billt1425@gmail.com He is the author of “Franklin High School: Two Basketball Dynasties (with Mike Ferrara).”
