The Times Online

[Mutley]

Please could someone look up an article in the Times for me.
I am unable to access it from abroad.

The year would be about 1908. The report was about a sect called the "Peculiar People". George and Eliza were being tried for the manslaughter of their daughter, Phyllis who was four years old. I believe they received 3 months with hard labour. I am not sure of the spelling of their surname, it would be Hors***?

Thanks in advance

[oxon57]

Part 1 - there's at least one follow-up, probably more.
I do not know how to do small capitals on here, and indentation at the beginning of each paragraph does not seem to work, but at least you have the text.

In the 22 December 1908 issue, on page 2, under "The Police Courts" heading.

Charge of Manslaughter.
At West Ham, yesterday, GEORGE HORSNELL, 47,
a labourer, and ELIZA HORSNELL, 46, his wife, of Fisher-
street, Plaistow, were charged before Mr. Gillespie with
being concerned together in the manslaughter of their
daughter, Phyllis Bernice Horsnell, aged 4 years, by
withholding from her medical aid.
The accused are members of the sect known as Peculiar
People, and at the inquest held on their child on Satur-
day it was stated that it contracted measles on Novem-
ber 29. An elder of the sect was called in, and on
December 6, when bronchitis set in, the elders prayed over
and anointed the child. A week later the mother again
invoked the assistance of the elders, who in church offered
up special prayers for the child's life. On December 15
a special prayer meeting was held, but the child died on
December 17. During the illness the parents did not
call in medical aid.
Dr. Angus Kennedy, who made the post mortem
examination, said that death was due to pleural effusion
following bronchial pneumonia. Had the child had
early medical aid, it would certainly have lived longer,
but he did not think he could say he could have saved its
life.
Detective-sergeant Brown, of the K Division, said that
he was present at the coroner's inquest on Saturday, when
the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against both
the prisoners.
Detective-inspector Ball asked for a remand, saying
that the coroner had allowed the prisoners bail in
two sureties of £10 each.
Mr. Gillespie then remanded the prisoners on the same
bail.

Back after lunch.
(Me, not the court)

[oxon57]

Part 2

In the 30 December 1908 issue, on page 2, under "The Police Courts" heading, after a few other cases:

The "Peculiar People."
At West Ham, GEORGE HORSNELL, 47, a labourer, and
ELIZA HORSNELL, 46, his wife, were charged with being
concerned in the manslaughter of their daughter, Phyllis
Bernice, aged 4, by withholding from her medical aid.
Mr. A. F. Rowe, who appeared for the Director of
Public Prosecutions, said that on December 17 the male
prisoner went to the Plaistow police-station and reported
that his daughter Phyllis had died that afternoon. He
said that she had had measles and that complications had
set in, from which, he supposed, she had died. He also
said that he had not called in a doctor, as it was contrary
to the religious faith of the Peculiar People, to which sect
he belonged. At the inquest both the prisoners gave
evidence. Mrs. Horsnell said that the child first had a
rash on November 29 and the next day they called in an
elder of the sect named Southgate. The rash afterwards
disappeared, but on December 6 bronchitis set in. Mr.
G. Worm, a minister of the sect, was then called in and
he anointed and prayed over the child. The child again
got better, but on December 9 it was not so well and
another minister was called in, and the child was again
anointed and prayed over. There was improvement in the
condition of the child, and on December 13 Mr. Worm
was again called in and again prayed over the child. So
also did an elder on December 14, and after it was found
that the child had got bronchitis a special service was
held - such a service as was only held when some one of
the sect was very ill or in great distress. The child died
on December 17. Asked by the coroner why she did not
call in medical aid, Mrs. Horsnell said " We believe in
the Lord ; He has always been good to us." The male
prisoner in his evidence told the Coroner. " I did not

[break of column]

think of calling in a doctor, because I believe in trusting
in the Lord, body and soul." There was no doubt that
these people honestly and genuinely believed the teachings
of their sect, but on the other hand the prosecution was
not there to consider such sentimental questions, especially
in view of the law which set forth that any person who
wilfully neglected a child and so caused its death would
be guilty of manslaughter.
The police surgeon said that at the post mortem examina-
tion he found no indication of measles. Death had
resulted from pleural effusion, resulting from bronchial
pneumonia. Bronchial pneumonia often supervened on
measles. He could not say a doctor would have prevented
the bronchial pneumonia, but bronchial pneumonia
would be more likely to arise from neglected measles
than measles properly attended to. If a doctor had
been called in in the bronchial pneumonia stage he would
have recognized the pleural effusion and have treated it by
aspiration. That treatment would have prolonged life.
There would have been a reasonable probability that life
might have been saved had a doctor been called in at the
right time. The proportion of cases of measles in which
life was saved was about 80 per cent.
Martha Worm, the wife of a minister of the sect, living
at Beckton-road, Canning-town, said that she visited the
sick of the sect and called repeatedly at the prisoners'
house. Her husband, another minister, and two elders
of the sect were called in and prayed over and anointed
the child. When bronchitis set in she advised the use
of warm oiled flannels and a bronchitis kettle, and she
herself called on God to bless the child. She asked Mrs.
Horsnell if there was any one else she would like to call
in, and she said " No." She was not exactly referring
to a doctor then. The members of the sect were at liberty
to call in a doctor if they wished, but they believed that
it was best to put their trust in God, according to the
passages in St. James's Epistle. Both the prisoners had
always done their duty towards their children. It
appeared to her remarkable how God really answered
prayer and relieved and revived the child each time
after prayer. In her opinion He did prolong its life.
Both the accused were committed for trail to the
Central Criminal Court for manslaughter. They reserved
their defence and called no witnesses. Bail was allowed.

[oxon57]

Part 3

In the 14 January 1909 issue, on page 2, under
"Central Criminal Court, Jan. 13."
heading, with
"(Before MR. JUSTICE GRANTHAM.)"
as a general heading for the cases.
Mr Grantham is evidently not in a good mood - he has a whinge about "delay occasioned to the business of the Court by the absence of witnesses", and his back has probably been put up by the jolly rogue in the previous case to yours responding to his sentence of three years penal servitude with "Thank you, my Lord. A happy New Year to you", so the Horsnells aren't going to get off lightly - somebody is going to pay for that comment!

The Peculiar People.
GEORGE HORSNELL and ELIZA HORSNELL, husband
and wife, on bail, were indicted for the manslaughter
of their child, Phyllis Bernice Horsnell, by neglecting
to provide her with medical aid in her illness.
Mr. I. A. Symmons (with whom was Mr. Bodkin)
prosecuted for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The defendants were members of the religious sect
called " The Peculiar People." The defendants had
eleven children, nine of whom were living. The child
Phyllis Bernice Horsnell, who was four years old, was
taken ill with measles. In accordance with their tenets,
the defendants did not have a doctor, but took every
possible care of the child in other respects, and called
in elders of the sect, who prayed over her. Ultimately
broncho-pneumonia supervened. A prayer meeting was
held, but the child got worse, and eventually died. The
male defendant at once went to the police-station and
reported the death, telling the officer on duty that no
doctor had been called in to the child. The contention
of the prosecution was that if medical attendance had
been provided the life of the child would have been
prolonged. One of the members of the Peculiar People,
in reply to the Judge, said there was nothing in the
principles of the sect to prohibit the calling in of a
doctor.
Addressing the jury in his defence, the male defendant
said he believed God was sufficient for him and his
children. He maintained that the views of the Peculiar
People were merely those which were put into operation
when the King, then Prince of Wales, was suffering from
typhoid fever. Prayers were offered up for the Prince's
recovery, and he was completely restored to health,
which was a proof of the efficacy of prayer. They
adopted the same course when they and their children
were ill. The last word that Our Saviour said before
he went to heaven was, " Lay hands on the sick."
The female defendant denied that the not calling
in of a doctor was a neglect of the child, and said they
had acted conscientiously, relying on the word of God
as taught them in the Bible.
MR. JUSTICE GRANTHAM, in summing up, referred
to the male defendant's argument as to the offering of
prayers for the recovery of the King when Prince of
Wales, and said that as far as they knew the life of the
King was saved by the great care and skill shown by
his medical attendants. It was idle to say that he was
not saved by medical aid, but only by prayer. He did
not say that the highly respectable class of people
to which the defendants belonged were wanting in
intelligence, but they had little education of the world,
and most of them had not had an opportunity of seeing
the effect of various phases of life and what was done
by doctors. They put their narrow interpretation
on particular passages of Scripture, without taking notice
of the effect of other texts. They preferred to see
their children die rather than sacrifice a pet hobby.
The jury found the defendants Guilty.
MR. JUSTICE GRANTHAM, in passing sentence, said it
was shocking to see people glorifying in their obstinacy.
It was wicked to let a child die if by taking the
ordinary precautions which God had given them the
power to take - namely, to call in a doctor, its life could
be prolonged. He sentenced the defendants each to
three months' imprisonment with hard labour.
--------------
(That's it)

[Mutley]

Much Appreciated, if I can ever return the favour.....
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii288/durwood63/smiley-thankyou.gif

[oxon57]

You're welcome.

There is a typing error - of mine, not a Times error - in the third from last line of part two, where "committed for trail" should read "committed for trial".
Apologies for that one - I have severely chastised the two fingers responsible.

[Mutley]

That's OK, by the time I had finished reading it all I felt so 'peculiar'
I really did not notice:D Thanks again

[Ed McKie]

Please could someone look up an article in the Times for me.
I am unable to access it from abroad.


Thanks in advance

You can access it from almost anywhere by joining the Bedfordshire Library- you dont have to live in Befordshire.

http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/cgi-bin/vlib.sh


cheers..Ed

[Copper]

Hmm you used to be able to do that but they have discovered it is a breach of their contract. I live in this country and now I can't access the Times via the Bedford library.

[oxon57]

E-mail from Bedfordshire Library a while back...

Unfortunately we have to inform you that from Monday 4th February you will no longer be able to access The Times Digital Archive, InfoTrac Newspapers Magazines and Journals and the Gale Virtual Reference Library. This is because it has been brought to our attention that we were in breach of our licensing agreement with Cengage, the supplier.

If you are able to visit a Bedfordshire library you can upgrade your membership, collect a library card and regain access to all the above resources.

From their site:
Do you live in Bedfordshire?

If you joined Bedfordshire Libraries as a Virtual Library member
and you live in Bedfordshire - we sent you an email explaining that we had upgraded your membership to 'full' library membership so that you would be able to use the Gale databases. If you did not object to the upgrade, you may simply log in now and start using the Gale databases

Do you live outside Bedfordshire?

If you joined Bedfordshire Libraries as a Virtual Library member
and you do not live in Bedfordshire - you need to visit any Bedfordshire library to upgrade your library membership so that you become a 'full' library member OR an 'instant' library member

So, if you live outside Bedfordshire, have not visited in person to upgrade, and it is still working for you - you are lucky, it is not supposed to, somebody has accidentally failed to cross you off the list, and I would keep quiet about it!

If you live in this country, not a problem, if your local authority do not subscribe, there are others you can sign up to online, or in some cases call in and collect a card from when you have reason to visit the area. As well as my Cambridgeshire card (not recommended to others, as I think they are fussy and you have to be a resident or in an adjoining county) I have a number of others on the "don't put all your eggs in one basket" principle, in case Cambridgeshire decide that it's costing them too much and don't renew their subscription.

If you live abroad, not so easy. I am not aware of anyone who works the same way as Bedfordshire used to, and if there is, then I would doubt if it would last very long, as I would think that they too must be in breach of their contract.
If you do know of an alternative for those abroad, I would suggest contacting your overseas friends privately - if the facility is publicly advertised, there is even more chance of it ending.

[Peter Goodey]

I can't access the Times via the Bedford library.

But Poole Libraries subscribe!

[Copper]

I might venture into Poole one day then. Sadly our local council are into cuts and the library space in the main library in Poole is probably going to be halved!

Maybe I should investigate my local library and see if they have access to the Times etc. I will have a nice walk up the road to my local library and quiz them. My card is way out of date so I will need a new one and a pin number I think.

[Peter Goodey]

The Poole Libraries web page is not well laid out but the implication is that you can access the Times Digital Archive from home.

[oxon57]

While this will not help those abroad, and probably not many people in the UK, I would also point out that I know of one local authority, with whom I have had a library card for years because I do actually use their library, who subscribe to The Times Digital Archive but do not advertise the fact.

I will not name them, as it may be deliberate, because they do allow UK residents outside the area to have a card, so perhaps, knowing how popular The Times is, they are afraid of getting swamped and don't want all and sundry signing up, but the newspapers section of their site mentions only the "Custom Newspapers", the modern database.

However, if you use your library card to sign in, and then click the "Change databases" link, as I did one day for other reasons, you find that they do, in fact, subscribe to the Times Digital Archive too.

So, if you have a library card, and your local authority has any of the Gale databases advertised, they may not be the only ones who do this - it could be worth logging in and investigating further.

[Ed McKie]

Just goes to show- nothing Goodey ever lasts :-)

Obviously didnt keep up to date with what was happening on Bedfordshire pages- Use the
times on line facility quite a lot last year- and just assumed it would carry on being there if I needed to go back !!

Cheers..Ed

[Copper]

I have been to my local library. My library plasic was still valid even though I have not been in there for years.

The books had not changed in all that time! There are less books as some had to be sacrificed for the computer area.

After consulting her computer and colleague the librarian confirmed that I should be able to see the Times Digital Archive at home. If I want to use Ancestry I have to use the library computer.

I have to wait 24 hours for my updated details to go through the system.

My thanks to Peter for alerting me to this local service.

[Mutley]

They have definitely cut me off their list.

http://www.british-genealogy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25648&highlight=bedfordshire+library

[Felix1000]

Most disappointed to be unable to access the Times archives, if anyone is able to I am after any mention of a James Cliffe murdering his wife in Manchester 1/2nd January 1829 for which he was subsequently hung at Lancaster Castle 29th March 1829. I do not believe he was a relative of mine, but I believe he allowed his children to go onto Australia believing he would have been deported there but he was hung while his family were still possibly at sea.

[Barnzzz]

Hi Felix, I have it, here goes, its quite long.
Times, 26/3/1829, Execution of Cliffe for Murder
On Monday, James Cliffe underwent the awful sentence of the law at Lancaster, for the murder of his wife on 2d January last. We understand that after the unfortunate man received his sentence, he applied himself with much assuduity as his feelings would allow him to the religious instruction and consolation administered to him by the chaplain iof the gaol. He fully acknowledged his guilt : that he was undoubtedly the cause of the death of his wife by his brutal usage towards her, but still he denied, as he did on his trial, that he had any intention of committing the crime of murder when he struck her. He added that he expected to be convicted of the offence of manslaughter merely, and be transported. He also wished to palliate his offence by stating that he was really unconscious of his ferocious conduct towards her, in consequence of being so very much intoxicated at the time. He wept and sobbed most bitterly from the time of the sentence to the awful moment of his death.

At 12 o'clock he was brought on the fatal scaffold, and after a portion of the burial service had been read by the clergyman he was launched into eternity. His sufferings appeared to be of short duration. After hanging the usual time, his body was placed in a shell and given to the surgeons for dissection.

We understand this wretched man was a native of Blackburn and and was by trade a papermaker : but that latterly he had earned his livelihood by carting in the neighbourhood of Manchester. He has left several children, who by his unfeeling behaviour are thrown orphans upon the wide world. We are informed that he was a Methodist by persuasion and that a minister of that religion attended upon him in prison.

Phew

[Felix1000]

Pheww well done for reporting it as you have done--I have the Manchester Mercury report and it bears a strong resembelance to the times report. Much apreciated. I have been told his children were alrady on their way to Aussie when he was hung.So I will search the Aussie emigrants. Many thanks Felix

[ET in the USA]

I noticed an article in a recent UK genealogy mag., so dug up this old thread rather than start a new one.

The article says that "articles from over 200 years of The Times will be made available to search & download at a new version of the paper's online archive... The site is currently in the testing stage & should be launched within the next 2 months" [this mag. hit the news stand June 8, 2008].

Does anyone know more about this ? Will it be free or included on one of the pay sites?
Also, are people still unable to search the current Times archive from home if they have a valid library card ? I tried it today with my U.K. library card [from a library that shall remain nameless] & it worked fine from my U.S. home computer. I was quite surprised after reading this thread.
ET

[Procat]

Hi ET,

My state library allows residents to access the Times (and a number of other sources) from home. It is still working for me and they have not notified me that anything is going to change.

Guess it is going to be a case of wait and see.

[Mutley]

I have just tried using my UK Library Card and this is the message I received:
"Changed access!
Unfortunately access to the Times Digital Archive, InfoTrac Newspapers, Magazines and Journals and the Gale Virtual Reference Library has been restricted - this is because it has been brought to our attention that we were in breach of our licensing agreement with Cengage, the supplier of these resources"

|sad1|

[v.wells]

I applied to the local library here for them to look into purchasing the rights for access as Gale has an office in Toronto. But it seems they charge the libraries exhorbitant fees for licencing agreements so it is doubtful we will ever have it. I recently tried a free trial but it was so restrictive in what I could view that it wasn't worth the bother. Very annoying|soapbox|

[hughar]

Forget about trying to go through Gale/Infotrac. Why not just log on to the Archive at http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/archive/

The home page says "During our free introductory period access all articles in the Times Archive free. Just register when you do a search and see this symbol . Or go ahead and register now."

[ET in the USA]

Thanks for the link. Wonder why it wasn't included in the magazine snippet.

Now if I could figure out how not to get 9000 hits when I search for Thould - & most of them are "should", I'd be really happy:D
I have tried searching 'thould not should' and it helps some, but not enough !

[MarkJ]

Most of these search thingys use a phrase in all capital letters when it comes to specifying inclusions or exclusions. So "Thould NOT should" (without the speech marks) may work better. My apologies if you have already done it that way ET.

Mark

[Mutley]

Forget about trying to go through Gale/Infotrac. Why not just log on to the Archive at http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/archive/

The home page says "During our free introductory period access all articles in the Times Archive free. Just register when you do a search and see this symbol . Or go ahead and register now."


Well I've tried and I've tried. I have registered, had my email confirmed but then when I have to enter name and address it just keeps coming up with error 404 and will not let me go further.:confused:

[ET in the USA]

Mutley,
I got that 404 page too, but I had been on for a long time & I thought I had "timed out" & that it was telling me I should stop messing around & have breakfast. One thing I find is that it is MUCH harder to find the word you searched for in this mode. When I went through the UK library e-resource, my word was highlighted in pinky purple. With this mode, it is grayed - just slightly paler that the rest of the page. Also, via the library, I could select a couple of lines to copy & paste to word. With this link, I either have to save the entire page in pictures or view the plain text, which I can copy & paste ...but -the typing looks like closed caption on a TV when the speaker has an accent & the voice recognition software has no idea what he is saying. |banghead| [we watched a football match between Italy & someone once, & every time the announcer said Italy, the CC wrote "I silly". All I could do was yell - don't you even know which team is playing the game ?! ]

[Barnzzz]

Hello, I've just checked and have still got access from home via my library card. So, if anyone wants anything looking up, maybe they should ask me quickly before it disappears !

Sue

[v.wells]

:)Sue
Could you look up: C. B. Beardsworth 1948 author/illustrator of "The Boy Who Became a Pillar-Box"? I want to know if it is Charles Benjamin Beardsworth, wife Esther Ethel J. Wells.
Thanks heaps

[Barnzzz]

Hi Vanessa, I've had a good look under both C B and Charles Benjamin Beardsworth and couldn't find anything at all, sorry.

Sue

[v.wells]

Drat! He wasn't famous then to make the newspapers! I'll find him yet!|jedi|
Thanks for looking.:)

[Barnzzz]

Good luck with him

Sue

[Mutley]

Hello, I've just checked and have still got access from home via my library card. So, if anyone wants anything looking up, maybe they should ask me quickly before it disappears !

Sue

Oh Yes Please Sue,

All occurrences of Smith, it's a rather large and naughty family plus all occurrences of Brown, they married the naughty Smiths, plus all occurrences of Murphy they also married in and any references to Selbys but not the Yorkshire town, you can skip those 15,999.

I only need those that live in London. :D

What? your library card does not work anymore..... |sad1|

Oh I am sorry ;)

[Barnzzz]

Ooh Mutley, what a shame, my library card has suddenly failed. Obviously not up to this particular challenge ! ;)

[ET in the USA]

Can you get on via the link yet Mutley ?

I can get on with my UK library card through Gale CenGage learning & via the link, so I did a comparison.

Doing a search for "goodall"

Times archive link gave 13,291 hits

Times archive -library - 13, 250 hits.

Both searched from 1785 - 1985 & they listed the results in entirely different order. In spite of getting more hits with the link, the library version still seems more user friendly. As I said before, on the Gale/library version you can click on article, so only your article appears & the search word if purple. You can also copy & past the entire article to a word document, then crop out the excess.

On the links version, you have to save the whole page to a picture gallery & it is really hard to find the search word. Sometimes I never find it, so have no idea why that article came up. Of course, free & it works are pretty inportant words and it all that is available is the link, it isn't too bad. If you have both, try the library one first [only my opinion !]|soapbox|
ET

[Mutley]

Can you get on via the link yet Mutley ?

ET

Nope! I am registered, the account is active but it asks for an address and when I enter my Portuguese address it gives me the 404 error.

Am considering telling Porkies and giving a family UK address!!

[caliope]

I applied to the local library here for them to look into purchasing the rights for access as Gale has an office in Toronto.

Vanessa, I wonder if the Toronto reference library has full Gale access? If so, my sister lives in Toronto and she may be taking out a library card very soon! I asked my library as well but I am in a smaller city and the sites they subscribe to are minimal.

However, for those B-G forum members who have children in university, the kids will have online access to their university libraries. These libraries often have interesting website subscriptions which may include some Gale sites. I've seen a site which contains eighteenth century English periodicals and journals (no mention of any of my ancestors but worth the try anyway).

[v.wells]

Calliope
You are in luck then if your sister gets a full access card. I am sure Toronto has Gale as would all the major Universities in Canada. My library only has the minimum as it has a tight operationg budget.

I don't have anyone in university to plead with so I am out of luck there.

The National Archive site in Alberta is not user friendly and I let them know. They do have a genealogy forum which is pretty much like the FAQ on microsop. I finally had to order a marriage certificate from the Registry Office, a dept. of Vital Statistics, which cost $31.50 and because it was a 1908 cert (therefore 100 yrs ago) I didn't have to prove kinship to the person on the certificate.

[CanadianCousin]

Hi Calliope,

I live in Ottawa, and we do have access to a lot of Gale databases - I think it's paid for by the province (at least in part), so I'm a bit surprised that you don't have it, wherever you are.

I took a look to see if we had The Times (London), and sure enough it's there, although I had to dig through several sets of menus to find it. The problem is, the coverage is only from 1985 to present - not exactly what's needed for family history, unless you're looking for living rellies. And if you are, there are some other UK papers as well, although I don't think any of them go back much more than 20 - 25 years (I only had a quick look).

I may ask the library staff the next time I go in - we also have Ancestry access on the in-branch computers, which includes UK databases, which is nice as I don't subscribe any more.

If I find out that I can access the Times historical archive via our local library, I'll post it on here.

Tim

P.S. I was taking university courses last year and had access to a lot of journals through JSTOR, e.g., Social history, agricultural history, etc... Great stuff for learning about how your ancestors probably lived, and what types of things affected their lives.

[caliope]

I contacted the Toronto Reference Library but their access does not include Gale's 19th Century British Newspapers which is what I am really interested in. The free online access about a couple of months ago (I think it was National British Library Week or something) yielded a lot of hits for me but I didn't have time to research all of them. (I found out about it an hour and a half before the free access closed).

My library has the free A******* subscription and does have a couple of Gale sites but not the one I want! I found the 19th Century British Newspapers available on the University of Toronto Library website but you have to be a graduate student to access it.
So close and yet so far!! My daughter's university also does not have it but it isn't as large as U of T.

Tim, you may be in luck with either Carleton or U of Ottawa as students can often access other university's libraries as well as their own. The 18th and 19th Century newspapers are a wonderful way of finding out what your ancestors were up to as well as, as you say, the social/political/economic times in which they were living.

Vanessa, that's a disgrace at $31.50 a certificate!! I wouldn't have thought it would be more expensive than ordering overseas!

If anyone finds a site (even a fee based one) that offers 18th or 19th century newspapers online, could you let me know?

Thanks

[v.wells]

Yup, Calliope it is a disgrace. They asked for the date of marriage and I only gave them the year and told them Vital Stats will search either side 3 yrs. I also told them if I knew the date I wouldn't need the cert. The population wasn't that big in Calgary in 1908 like 1500 people. For the fee they can do the search thru 5000 people for all I care!

I have had help from several libraries in UK that while they don't have online newspapers they are sometimes willing to look up something specific on/about a specific date in the local papers they have archived.

[caliope]

I have had help from several libraries in UK that while they don't have online newspapers they are sometimes willing to look up something specific on/about a specific date in the local papers they have archived.

That's a good idea, Vanessa. I will give it a try.

[CanadianCousin]

Apparently, The Times is offering free access to their archives (http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/archive/) (1785 - 1985) for a limited trial period - I've no idea how long it will last. You do have to register, but don't have to give a credit card number.

Tim

[ET in the USA]

I received this Email today. [Edited version copied here]
ET

Thank you for signing up for our free introduction to The Times Archive. We know from your fantastic feedback that very many of you have been enjoying the opportunity to research your family and local history, ...
On Thursday, September 18, the free introductory period will end, so we're writing to let you know how you can continue to enjoy this wonderful resource. ...

[Guy Etchells]

Here is part of an announcement I received from Times Digital Archive
On Thursday, September 18, the free introductory period will end, so we're writing to let you know how you can continue to enjoy this wonderful resource.
All the featured content on our Archive home page and on Times Online will remain free to view, but if you wish to search the Archive there will be a charge to view the results. You can sign up for full access to the Archive in three ways:

Day pass: £4.95
Monthly membership: £14.95
Annual membership: £74.95
You will be able to request full access to the Archive from Friday, September 18. Don't worry, you will not be charged unless you sign up.
Cheers
Guy