Index Cards from the Massachusetts State Library’s Zimmer Index.
If you’re looking for an obituary and you think it might be in a Boston area newspaper, try the Zimmer Index. Complied by Massachusetts State librarians in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Zimmer Index covers newspaper articles of interest, including political conventions, speeches of prominent Massachusetts citizens, dedications of buildings, news on taxation, strikes, and natural disasters, and obituaries. The index covers the following papers between 1878 and 1937:
Boston Advertiser
Boston Globe
Boston Herald
Boston Journal
Boston Post
Boston Transcript
Cambridge Chronicle
Dorchester Beacon
New York Post
New York Times
Somerville Journal
Springfield Republican
Worcester Telegram
And, best of all it is completely keyword searchable. To search the index, click here. (Scroll to Zimmer Index under “Biographical Resources.” This is a necessary step.)
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