Small South Bend Area Newspapers Index
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY SMALL NEWSPAPERS GENEALOGICAL INDEX
This index is the result of many lunch hours, weekends, and other moments reading old newspapers on microfilm at the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library. My purpose was to create a genealogical index for the smaller newspapers that researchers might not have normally consulted or simply didn’t know existed. It includes 3,575 total issues of eight various titles published in St. Joseph County. Most of this work was done during the 1990s and the following decade, so this index has been under construction for a long period. I trust you will find it useful, even if you are forced to deal with my imperfect penmanship.
Few St. Joseph County newspapers can even come close to the longevity of the SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE or the MISHAWAKA ENTERPRISE. There were a surprising number of newspapers which sprang up, briefly thrived, and then died in vain competition with the two major papers, or whose circulation seemed destined to appeal only to a smaller community. This index includes the available copies of these smaller newspapers which also carried notices of births, marriages, divorces, and deaths.
The newspapers included, with their symbols, are:
CHI: The Osceola Chieftain which began on 7 June 1972. Duration and frequency unknown. One issue indexed.
COP: The Countryman’s Press began as a local agricultural paper in 1955 by Robert A. Rhodes, Jr., for the Cooperative Publishing Company. It was published every two weeks until May, 1968 when it became a weekly. Coverage is 174 issues from 16 January 1957 to 30 June 1976 with a few scattered issues ending on 15 December 1976.
MIT: The Mishawaka Times began as a daily on 5 September 1961 for the Elkhart T ruth Publishing Company, John F. Dillie, editor. Stiff competition, costs, and declining revenue forced the paper to change from a daily to a twice-weekly format. The paper ceased publication on 5 October 1966. Coverage is 1,389 issues from 5 September 1961 – 5 October 1966.
NOR: The North Liberty News was first issued in March, 1895 by Del M. Woodward as a politically independent newspaper. Following a series of editorial and ownership changes, it became affiliated with The Walkerton Independent in 1920. In December 1957, the latter paper was purchased by The North Liberty News. In July 1962, the two papers merged to become The Independent-News and was published in Walkerton. Coverage includes 797 issues from 3 January 1947 to 28 June 1962 with some gaps between issues.
OSC: The Osceola Owl was founded by James H. Wright on 1 July 1950 as a Democratic paper. It was affiliated with The Wakarusa Tribune although the Owl concentrated more on the Osceola community. The paper was a weekly for most of its existence, ending on 23 May 1957. Coverage is 144 issues from 1 July 1950 through 28 June 1956 with some scattered issues in 1957.
SBJ: The South Bend Journal was established in 1947 by John H. Coller. John K. Hass and Floyd K. Hass took over in 1949 as publisher and editor. The newspaper ceased publication in 1952. Coverage is 149 issues from 8 October 1947 through 6 September 1950.
SBM: The South Bend Mirror began in March, 1924 under the direction of John H. Zuver, Sr., for the Mirror Publishing Company as a weekly in a magazine-style format. Following Mr. Zuver’s death in 1950, the newspaper was sold to the Record Press Company and was renamed The Record. In June, 1967, The Record combined with The Mishawaka Enterprise to form the Mishawaka Enterprise-Record. Coverage is 258 issues from 4 January 1946 through 29 December 1950.
WAK: The Walkerton Independent was established in the Spring of 1886 with the original name of The Saint Joseph County Independent, becoming the Walkerton Independent in 1898. Its history parallels the North Library News, being printed on the same printing press as a weekly. Coverage includes 158 issues from 3 January 1946 through30 December 1948.
Abbreviations used in the entries are:
Adop. Adopted
b. Born
b/d. Born and died (typically on the same day)
d. Died
dau, dau of Daughter of
div. Divorced
eloped Eloped with
m. Married
m.ann Marriage annulled
ml. Marriage license issued
re-m. Re-married
s., son of Son of
w/o. Wife of
wid/o. Widow of
NOTES:
Most names are spelled as they appear in the newspapers. Some names, however, are spelled differently in various entries, so the most common variation is used with a “see” or “see also” entry from the one(s) not used. Researchers are requested to be very careful in using names with common variants.
Individuals with identical names, or infants without given first names, are simply listed in the order of their occurrence. A Baby Boy Smith, born in 1890 will be listed before a Baby By Smith born in 1892. Infants whose sex cannot be determined from the newspaper will be listed as “Child” or “Infant.” Multiple births are listed as “Girls (Twins)” or “Boys (Triplets)” and will be listed in proper chronological order.
Be aware that not all dates listed for newspaper entries may be accurate. In some newspapers, references to a birth might simply read “born last Friday” without giving a specific date. In those cases, I may have added a “?” after the possible date. The same applies in entries for females when it cannot be positively stated whether her listed husband is still alive or not.
We could provide many sample entries to illustrate these notes, but we trust that genealogists are clever enough to figure out the meaning of an entry, barring my sloppy handwriting.
I would like to thank the South Bend Area Genealogical Society, especially Lacey King, Alice Clark, and William Minish for their excellent and patient assistance and encouragement with this project. Without them, we would not have been able to complete it and present it to you.
The above-listed Society and individuals are prepared to answer any questions you may have. Please check our web site for contact information. The same is also true if you have corrections that need to be inserted.
David Eisen