MUSKINGUM COUNTY, OHIO NEWSPAPERS
When researching don't overlook newspapers as a resource for
information
and clues. Besides announcements of births, marriages and deaths there
are
other little gems that can aid in your ancestor search. The first
newspaper
in the Zanesville area was the Muskingum Messenger which began ca 1810.
Among other bits of information it printed articles on the War of 1812.
Below is a compiled list of newspapers that can be found at
the
John McIntire Library in Zanesville, Ohio. Due to some disasters such
as
fires and floods not all issues or years are available. Some years are
sporadic.
Since 1810 newspapers have been continuous but the publication names
changed
. Whenever a publisher sold the newspaper, the new owner would change
the
name and that happened often. Besides the ones listed below there were
other
newspapers for this area and I would refer you to the GUIDE TO OHIO
NEWSPAPERS
1793-1973 by Stephen Gutgesell for further reference on them. The dates
given are approximate and refer to only the holdings in the John
McIntire
Library.
Zanesville Express- Dec 1812-Sep 1920
Muskingum Messenger - Oct 1813-1819-sporadic
issues
Ohio Republican- Jan 1823-Jan 1831
Aurora- Jan 1838-July 1843
Harrisonian- January 1840 to Oct 1840
Tri-Weekly Courier- April 1846-1847
Zanesville Courier- July 1847 to Oct 1847
Zanesville Gazette- Jan 1852-Apr 1856- sporadic issues
City Times - Aug 1860- Dec 1862
Zanesville Signal- Oct 1864- Nov 1959
Zanesville Courier- Apr 1872- Dec 1883
Weekly Zanesville Signal - Jan 1878- Oct 1886
Zanesville Daily Courier-Jan 1884- Jan 1915
Times Recorder- Jan 1886 thru 2002
Weekly Courier- Feb 1893- Jan 1913
Sunday TimesRecorder- Sep 1894-1897
Zanesville News- Dec 1950- Jan 1954
New Concord Enterprise- July 1880-1882
New Concord Leader- Jan 1980-Apr 1977, Dec 1979
Adamsville Register- Aug 1891-Dec 1939
Tri-County America(Frazeysburg)- Jan
1928-Jan
1931
The very early papers do not have many obituaries. Unless you
were
a noted person they did not include deaths in the news. There was,
also,
a time period when the annoucement of deaths was listed free but an
obituary
cost 5 cents a word. You have to search carefully as the items were
placed
anywhere and usually contained ca 3 lines in small print. I found them
mostly
in the early papers in with the classified ads outlined in bold. The
later
papers are more consistent with their placement and easier to find.