Centre County
Newspapers
NEWSPAPERS. One of the most valuable clues to solving genealogical puzzles is to be found in the newspaper, which some claim to be the first draft of history.
Centre Countians are richly blessed with an array of newspapers with as many as 11 (and perhaps 13) being published in the county in a given year. Today, however, the only flourishing general circulation newspapers are dailies: Centre Daily Times and Penn State's Daily Collegian. Recent archived editions (9/28/1995-present) of the Centre Daily Times can be accessed free of charge at some libraries or with a library card through NewsBank.com's America's Newspapers. Check with your local library for access and information. Recent archived editions (1996-present) of the Centre Daily Times can be also accessed online for a fee through NewsLibrary although searching is free. Online news concerning Central Pennsylvania -- primarily the Philipsburg area and Clearfield County -- can also be found at GantDaily.
Penn State has put online a collection of Pennsylvania Civil War Newspapers to include four Centre County newspapers: the Central Press (issues from 1858-1868), Democratic Watchman (issues from 1855-1871), Bellefonte National (issues from 1868), and Bellefonte Republican (issues from 1869).
Penn State has put online the Historical Digital Collegian Archive which includes the Daily Collegian and its predecessors from 1887 to 1987.
Hard copy versions of many Centre County newspapers of the 1880-1925 era, of the Centre Democrat until its demise in the late 1970s, and of the Centre Daily Times can be found in the basement of the Centre County Library and Historical Museum in Bellefonte.
Microfilm copies of the following newspapers (not all years for all newspapers) can be found upstairs at the Library:
Bellefonte National Bellefonte Patriot Bellefonte Republican Central Press Centre Democrat Centre Hall Reporter Democratic Watchman Democratic Whig Howard Hustler Keystone Gazette Millheim Journal Philipsburg Journal
A more complete collection of these newspapers can be found in the microforms area of Penn State's Pattee Library in State College. It also houses Spring Mills' Centre County Times from the late 1880s, as well as State College's Centre Daily Times and Daily Collegian and their predecessors as well as the Pennsylvania Mirror. One exception is that Penn State is missing the Centre Democrat from 1945-1950; however these issues can be found in hard copy format in the Centre County Library's basement.
OBITUARY INDEXES. Centre County researchers also are richly blessed with obituary indexes covering the period from 1856 to the present. All of the following indexes are to be found at the library in Bellefonte. The only Centre County death indexes within the small section of genealogy reference materials in Penn State's Pattee Library Microforms department cover a period from the 1880s through 1920s.
1821-1869 Centre County, Pennsylvania Newspaper Death Notices 1821-1869 is a compilation of Nancy Lee Stover's of death notices appearing in the Bellefonte Patriot, Bellefonte Republican, Centre Berichter (Aaronsburg), Centre Democrat, Central Press, Centre Reporter (Centre Hall), Democratic Watchman, Democratic Whig, Der Centre Berichter (Millheim), Millheim Journal, Philipsburg Journal. This book is available for use in the Centre County Library in Bellefonte, but it is also available for purchase ($18.00, $21.20, if shipped) by the Friends of the Library, Centre County Library & Historical Museum, 203 N. Allegheny Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823.
1868-1879 Many death notices particularly for persons from Centre Hall and the Penns Valley region of the county can be found in Gerri Aitkin's Centre Reporter of Centre Hall, 1869 thru 1879, Obits, Marriages, Births, Moving, etc. (1999). It is available in the Centre County Library in Bellefonte. Copies may also be purchased ($12.00 plus $1.50 for postage) from the compiler Gerri Aitkin, 3044 Old Stage Road, Lewistown, PA 17044-9501 or by emailing her at jha@acsworld.net
1856-1925 Index to Centre County, Pennsylvania Newspaper Obituaries, 1856-1925 represents R. Fred Houts' compilation of works by Harry Garbrick, John Wion, Harry and Vera Lingle, and J. Marvin Lee of obituaries appearing in the Democratic Watchman and Lee's compilation of 1924 obituaries appearing in the Keystone Democrat.
1926-1942 Obituaries from a broad range of Centre County newspapers were clipped and pasted into scrapbooks by Adella Fink Spangler for the years 1926 to 1942. The names can be found in the 250,000 card file to the Spangler Collection with an SB (for Scrap Book) designation on the card. The scrapbooks were photocopied and bound in green.
1943-1949 Index to Obituaries in the "Centre Democrat," 1943-1949 produced as a Centre County Library project (under the direction of Gladys Murray with the assistance of Sue Winters and Peggy Gordon).
1950-1959 Index to Obituaries in the "Centre Democrat," 1950-1959 produced as a Centre County Library project (under the direction of Gladys Murray with the assistance of Sue M. Winters and Helen M. Alters).
1960-1969 Index to Obituaries in the "Centre Democrat," 1960-1969 produced as a Centre County Library project (under the direction of Gladys Murray with the assistance of Sue M. Winters and Helen M. Alters).
1970-1979 Index to Obituaries in the "Centre Democrat," for 1970-1977, and from notebooks of clipped obituaries in the "Centre Daily Times" for 1978-1979 produced as a Centre County Library project (under the direction of Gladys Murray with assistance by Sue M. Winters, Stacey M. Alters and Helen M. Alters).
1980-1989 Index to Centre County Obituary Notebooks, 1980-1989 created with clipped items from the "Centre Daily Times" and produced as a Centre County Library project (under the direction of Gladys Murray with assistance by Judy R. Spangler).
1990-1999 Obituaries from the 1990s can be found in Notebooks that have been produced as a Centre County Library project (until July 31, 1998, under the direction of Gladys Murray, and since August 1, 1998, under the direction of Joyce Adgate, with the assistance of many volunteers) with cards identifying each deceased person for whom an obituary exists with the cards found in an index card file located to the right of the Spangler Collection's card file index in the Pennsylvania Room.
2000-present Obituaries since January 1, 2000, can be found in Notebooks that have been produced as a Centre County Library project (under the direction of Joyce Adgate, with the assistance of many volunteers) with cards identifying each deceased person for whom an obituary exists with the cards found in an index card file located to the right of the Spangler Collection's card file index in the Pennsylvania Room.
Philipsburg Area Persons Selected obituaries of individuals with a connection to the Philipsburg area were collected and maintained in a scrapbook that was eventually donated to the Clearfield County Historical Society. It, in turn, photocopied the scrapbook for the Centre County Library in Bellefonte where it sits on the file cabinet in the Pennsylvania Room.
Philipsburg Journal Also, the full run of the Philipsburg Journal has been indexed and a copy of this index is available at the Philipsburg Historical Foundation in Philipsburg as well as the Centre County Library. Note also that while the Historical Foundation has a complete run of the microfilmed issues of the Philipsburg Journal, the Centre County Library does not. Penn State's Pattee Library has more of the issues of the paper microfilmed, but no index.
TODAY'S OBITUARIES View obituaries appearing in today's Centre Daily Times.
POSTING OBITUARIES AND NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS ONLINE This website is also looking for transcribed obituaries and news clippings about persons with a Centre County connection. To submit an either online, you may use our Centre County Obituary Board or Centre County Newspaper Clipping Board. Please enter your information carefully, and if you make a mistake, contact the web site coordinator immediately so that your entry can be edited.
Prior to June 2001, a separate Obituary Message Board for Centre County was maintained at RootsWeb.com, but in the middle of June 2001, a change (wrought by its merger with Ancestry.com) resulted in a merger of all RootsWeb message boards so most browsers can only find these mixed in with other queries on one merged board. If you wish to look at the specific set of Obituaries actually posted, go to that only Centre County Board and click on advanced search. Click on the "Centre Board" button, then look in the middle of the page for an instruction that says, "Message Classification," and use the pull-down menu until you reach one for "Obituary."
We encourage the continued posting of Obituary and Newspaper Clipping material, but browsers are advised (1)to do this in the future by using the message boards for Obituaries or Newspaper Clippings at Pa-roots.com, and (2)to read the Advisory about the changes at RootsWeb.