Help us improve MemoirWell Optional analytics and affiliate tracking. We never send your writing or recordings. Affiliate order data is shared through Polar as described in our Privacy Policy. You can change this anytime.

MemoirWellStart free

A free log for historical family-history newspaper searches

Genealogy newspaper research log.

Keep the newspapers and dates you checked beside the names, variants and filters you tried. Add a precise article reference or a negative result, and leave uncertain readings and family connections open.

Up to 20 searches · Text download · Blank or filled printing · No account

Getting the worksheet ready…

Your searches stay in this page’s memory. They are not uploaded or autosaved: refreshing or closing clears them. Download text or print before leaving. Keep exact newspaper coverage and search terms beside what you reviewed.

Keep each newspaper search beside its source

Start with one historical newspaper search and add up to twenty. Keep the issues, terms and filters you actually checked beside the result. Every field is optional.

Search 1

Ask one historical question or label this newspaper search so you can find it again. An unnamed search can still be kept.

Keep the people, places and period relevant to your question. Leave a possible name match or family connection open rather than deciding from a shared name.

Write when you made this search. Keep it separate from the dates of newspaper issues or the events they report.

Identify the newspapers, publication places and issue dates or ranges actually searched. Note missing issues, gaps and whether you searched digital text, images, microfilm or another format.

Keep the exact names, variants, phrases and filters you tried, and whether you searched titles or page text. Record changes so you can repeat or extend the search.

If you found an item, keep its headline or a clearly marked description, newspaper and publication place, issue date, page and column or image locator. Leave this open when no item was found.

Keep the relevant reading or your clearly marked summary. Preserve uncertain words and distinguish what the newspaper reported from what you infer; do not supply missing details.

Say whether you read the page image, original, microfilm, a transcription or machine-generated OCR text. Note a difficult or unchecked reading rather than silently correcting it.

Keep the repository or website, collection, URL or catalog locator and the version you consulted. Connect a saved image or local file reference to its exact newspaper issue and page.

For a negative result, write what you searched and its coverage. Keep open questions and the next date range, name variant, issue or source to check; no search request is sent.

Newspaper research log

Keep the newspaper coverage, terms, readings and source references together.

Made with MemoirWell · memoirwell.com/tools/newspaper-research-log

Search 1

Research question or search label — search 1

People, place and period — search 1

Date of this search — search 1

Newspaper titles and dates searched — search 1

Search terms, variants and filters — search 1

Article headline, issue, page and column — search 1

Your reading or clearly marked summary — search 1

Format consulted and OCR uncertainty — search 1

Repository, URL or catalog reference — search 1

What remains open and the next search — search 1

Keep the search scope as well as the clipping

A useful search record says which newspapers and issues you checked, where you searched and which words or filters you used. If you find an item, keep its newspaper title, publication place, issue date, page and column or image reference. If you find nothing, keep the same search details so you can decide what to try next.

The New York Public Library’s newspaper genealogy guide explains that ordinary people can appear in newspapers and that these sources can add context to family history. NYG&B’s research-log guide recommends recording the question, source, search scope and both positive and negative results. This original worksheet keeps those notes together for a newspaper search; it does not search a newspaper collection or verify a family connection.

Check the image and the collection’s coverage

A keyword search and a page image are different things to consult. The Library of Congress’s Chronicling America FAQ explains that digitized coverage may be incomplete and that machine-generated OCR can misread printed words. Record which version you read, keep uncertain letters visible and check the issue and image when available. A missing keyword result alone does not show that an event was never reported.

A fictional example

Question: Was Jo in Example Town in June 1904? Search: The invented Example Weekly, issues dated June 1–30; Jo Zebulon and J. Zebulon; page text searched. Result: A fictional June 6 notice, page 2, column 3, reports a visit. Next step: Read the page image, keep its exact reference and compare other identifying details before deciding which Jo the notice describes. No relationship is established by the shared name.

Before you save your newspaper log

Is this a free printable newspaper research log for genealogy?

Yes. Type one historical search and add up to twenty, or print one blank worksheet with handwriting lines. Filled text and printing include searches with something entered, including an unnamed source-only or negative-result entry, and keep their original numbers. Untouched extras are skipped.

Does it search, clip or transcribe newspaper articles?

You do the research yourself. The worksheet does not search databases, open links, retrieve articles, clip images, upload files or run OCR or AI. Keep a reading or clearly marked summary that you checked, with its exact source. No newspaper subscription is included or required to use this worksheet.

What if my search found nothing?

Record the newspapers and issue dates actually covered, the terms and filters you tried, and any missing issues or unreadable text you noticed. Then note a different date range, spelling, title or source to check. Keep the result separate from a conclusion about what happened.

Are my entries uploaded or saved automatically?

They stay only in this page’s memory. They are not uploaded or autosaved; refreshing or closing clears them. Download text or print before leaving. Saved TXT and PDF copies cannot be reopened here as an editable log. Include only the details you want in your saved copy.

Can I print from editing or save a PDF?

Yes. Choose Review my sheet, then Print or save PDF, or use your browser’s print command while editing. Check Letter or A4 in the preview. Every further search starts on a new page; long notes can continue onto more pages. Field labels keep their search number.

Keep a remembered story beside the records

Save your log first. MemoirWell’s separate guided interview can help you develop your own memory into an AI-assisted draft chapter to check and edit. These newspaper notes are not transferred automatically.

Start a free first chapter

Download or print your log before leaving this page.