Early newspapers developed ingenious ways to share community news and boost memberships. A simple marketing tool was through the use of Columns called "Local Glances," "Personals," "Local Notes," "Social Notes," "Glimpses," and other such titles. A person was a designated "correspondent" for each small town or area and these 'lay reporters' turned in the various gossip within their neighborhood and town. As such, these columns were the first "gossip columns" in print.
Well-known to genealogy researchers, these newspaper columns offer a day-to-day glimpses into individual's lives. On slow days, a major report might only be "Mr. and Mrs. Who were seen shopping at the Newest (or Oldest) store in town." The newspaper built good will with local businesses, which, seeing their store name mentioned in columns might be persuaded to buy a block advertisement for a prominent spot in the next issue.
The columns were also used to share major news events such as storm damage or the needs of persons whose homes or businesses were destroyed by stormy weather or fire. As well, town, church and social events were reported, offering a bit of free reporting for churches and clubs. Again, this generated good will within the community and encouraged subscriptions or paid ads.
An important part of these "gossip columns" were to relay information about communicable diseases (flu, cholera, meningitis, pox). The Correspondent kept track of who "has been" or "recently" became ill, who was "confined" to his or her home, and when the ill person improved--or died. Throughout the person's illness, columns showed who made Samaritan visits or showed kindness.
Gossip columns naturally became catch-alls for other items that would not fit elsewhere on that date. For example, a large wedding for the daughter of a prominent (i.e. well-off) man in the community warranted 1 or 2 short columns describing every aspect of the wedding festivities. But an ordinary bride and groom's wedding report might only get 2-lines in the "Local Glances" column.
In the 1800s, "Local Glimpses" (or reporting for a township) often included lost farm animals (#1 horses, #2 cows, bulls, #3 chickens) and suspected theft. The quicker the news was spread, the faster the livestock would be returned (or the thief/ thieves caught).
When train travel became the major form of conveyance between towns (or going "to the City"), much of the column told who went where that week. "Business callers" were regularly distinguished from visits for personal reasons (to family or friends). Vacations as well as wedding trips (or plans) were routinely included, and even the date the parties would return home! One interesting bit of trivia is that pre-1940s, newspapers used the word "in" when telling where a person lived / would live-- rather than "on" or "at". "The couple lives in Second street." Rather than "The couple lives on (or at) Second street.) In oldest papers, "street," and "avenue" were very rarely capitalized (that changed after 1940s to Street and Avenue).
Although the "automobile" had been manufactured for years, travel by car in rural areas was still dominated by mostly affluent people up until late 1920s to late 1930s. So wedding descriptions, especially, made note whether the couple left for their honeymoon by train or automobile. Surprisingly, car trips took in many western States (indicating again the couple's access to money). Of course, tales after the couple returned were high on the list, describing how the cars fared on these long trips. Tires, radiators, and belts often caused the most trouble. Pre-WWII saw more autos owned by young men, especially, but when they went to war the cars often sat unused because of high gas rationing. By 1950s, newspapers only reported very long car trips or vacations, since regular car-motoring had become so commonplace.
Gossip columns started to be criticized by the 1950s and 1960s. Individuals felt reporting on comings and goings violated privacy and people thought such reports were made only by "busy bodies." Although newspapers regularly had reported when people were absent from their homes and businesses pre-1950s, homeowners and business owners felt these newspaper items gave would-be burglars too much information. So, "Local Glances" type reporting slowly faded from most newspapers. Unless the individual/ family pays for a "human interest" notice, wedding notice, obituary/funeral notice, etc., nowadays, newspapers carry little that is not "public record." Newspapers are generally more sensitive to publishing addresses, even in obituaries, due to the same concerns about burglary.
Genealogists searching for information from late 1790s to 1940s will often find a wealth of information in these columns--IF the ancestor happened to be mentioned. In small towns, probably between 50% to 90% of every person was likely in the column at least once. Probably 10% of persons (mostly prominent, or prominent families) were written about many times. However, researchers will have to search harder for newsy items after 1950.
If you find one of your ancestors mentioned in these articles, consider submitting information about the person or family. I'll put it on a second page, linked to the page where the article appears.
If you happen to copy a column in your newspaper searches, consider submitting it to me at washington.co.pa.webmaster "AT" gmail.com
I'd like to thank Amy Denecke of New Jersey for helping me type these columns.
Happy Hunting!
Use the links below for Cities or Towns
