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Newspaper Resources for Mercer County
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Microfilm copies of extant newspapers for Mercer County can be ordered on interlibrary loan from the Illinois State Historical Library, A Division of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Old State Capitol, Springfield 62701. Call 217-785-7941 Newspaper/Microfilm to find out if the dates you are interested in are available. Your interlibrary loan request will need to give the City, Title, and Date that you want (reel numbers are not used). The library will lend a maximum of five reels at a time and there is a small shipping charge. The loan period is one month and may be renewed for two weeks if a request for the film is not pending. If your library needs a copy of the instructions for ordering, call the number above to get an instruction sheet for them. (make sure your library has a microfilm reader - mine doesn’t, though they sometimes give permission for me to take the film to the LDS Library)
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Very few newspapers are remaining from the town of New Boston. It appears that the only ones that were kept in the Illinois Historical Library were those containing delinquent tax lists. The 1800's were generally cash poor times in Mercer County, and many, many families went delinquent on their taxes. Few farms were actually sold for back taxes, so they managed to meet their obligation before it was too late, but their delinquency preserved their land record for posterity. See below for a list of available New Boston papers. They are all on a single reel at the Historical Library. We have searched them all and find no obituaries. We did find a number of interesting advertisements which are included on various pages of this site.
According to the History of Mercer County, 1882, "In 1845 the first newspaper in the county was established at New Boston, under the name of the 'New Boston Advertiser.' The name and management were changed several times, being successively 'The Yeoman of the Prairie Land,' the 'New Boston Broadhorn,' 'The Golden Age,' 'The New Boston Nonpareil,' 'The New Boston Reporter,' and lastly, the 'New Boston Herald,' the last number of the latter being published in 1872, C. A. Ballard, editor. The 'New Boston Herald" was apparently published for several years, as a history of Kansas tells us that H. C. Ashbaugh (Miscellaneous Families) was one of the publishers, leaving in 1865. If anyone knows for a source for any of these papers, please share.
There are issues of the Toolsboro Times across the river in Iowa that are available but we have not pursued this source.
The most available source is the Aledo Weekly Record which did include some New Boston and Eliza Township items. The Aledo Weekly Record also published delinquent tax lists. Another interesting item published annually was a list of the prizes awarded at the County Fair. Many ancestor's names can be found on these lists. We have had several issues on loan, and will publish items that we found in the appropriate family histories. We have also listed them on our Social Life page.
In hoping to find newspaper information, researchers should be aware that very little local news was published. A librarian in Indiana informed us that in the 1800's people were not interested in seeing local news published; everyone knew everyone else and knew what happened long before it could appear in print. Neighbors were present at births and deaths and knew all the details. People were interested in seeing national news. Few newspapers survived because they were a popular wallpaper for many homes so that visitors could read the news. They were often used as insulation in the walls of buildings as well. Very few obituaries are to be found before about 1875. Some issues of the newspapers mention they will publish obituaries, but that a "bill" must be paid. Few people had cash to provide the required "bill" and few obituaries were published.
Some of the obituaries that are available have been submitted by descendants to the IlGenWeb Page and/or the Rootsweb Mercer County Boards (linked with instructions on our Resources page - use return link above).
We have checked the following issues of the Aledo Weekly Record and Aledo Democrat and found no obituaries of any significance (only a death notice of Harvey Welch and for Elias Pullen). We have included interesting advertisements that we found throughout this site.
Aledo Weekly Record: Oct. 7, 1868-Jun 19, 1872; Jun 25, 1873-Jun 16, 1875
Aledo Democrat: Nov 6, 1885 through Jan 30, 1891
New Boston Newspaper Issues Available:
Mercer County Advertiser: Vol 4 #1, New Boston, March 24, 1849
New Boston Advertiser: March 17, 1847 & March 29, 1864
New Boston Non Pareil: L. W. Myers, publisher, Vol 1 #38,March 29, 1856
New Boston Vedette: April 16, 1887
Star of the Prairie Land: Harvey Senter, Editor, Senter & Swafford Publisher, March 15, 1848
The Golden Age: F.A.C. Foreman, Editor and publisher, May 4, 1853,
March 28, 1855; J. H. Swafford, publisher, April 26, 1854
(We have checked all these and found no obituaries of any significance.)
No matter where your ancestors were from, don't forget that local newspapers often carry history columns or print happenings from prior years. To check for a newspaper on the web in your area of interest: Newslink.org or Newspapers.com.
The United States Newspaper Program is a nationwide effort to locate and preserve newspapers from the eighteenth century to the present. To check on participating states {Click)
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