Overview

This project began as an attempt to locate my great great grandfather, Alvin Antisdel.  After filling out a DAR application form, there was one blank date, that of Alvin’s death date and location.  Although my application was accepted, I still wanted to find whatever happened to him.  He was a pioneer in Richland County, included in the state census of 1855.  He was last seen in Richland Center August 9, 1881.  Making a long story short, there are several clues that indicate he moved, but left several children and grandchildren in Richland County.  After exhausting all possible data sources, the only thing left to explore was to start reading the newspapers of the time, hoping that if news of his death reaches his children, it will be published.

When I began reading, two things became apparent,
1.  There were several articles that seemed to be very important to someone researching that family
2.  Reading the paper was almost hypnotizing, as the images rolled down the microfilm reader screen
I made a simple Excel file, entered publication information and began copying names. Typing names kept me from becoming bored and missing segments of an issue.  Only local names were entered, except in a few special cases.

As time went on, Alvin was still nowhere to be seen.  By the time I finished two major newspapers from late 1880 through 1900, I was resigned to the idea that this plan would not locate Alvin, although I did uncover several interesting facts about the family.  I do not have any idea now where to look for Alvin, but the project itself, seems to have taken on a life of its own.  I have met some very interesting people who have had breakthroughs in their research because of the Index.  The Richland County History Room has had more visitors as people have made it a stop on some of their trips.  So, unable to stop completely, I will attempt to look at the microfilmed papers for the years before the Index.