Reunion Information in Newspapers
This article originally appeared in "Newspapers" by Loretto Dennis Szucs, FUGA, and James L. Hansen, FASG in The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy
Depending on the newspaper, space allowance within the newspaper, and whether or not events were reported, reunion stories of all sorts appeared in many publications. For some, having his or her name included in a reunion story was the only press they would get in a lifetime. Reunion stories made for popular reading in almost every community. Reports of school, club, and family reunions were most common, and these stories (sometimes accompanied by photos) are good sources for connecting people and fleshing out what is already known about individuals and groups. Occasionally, the story of a reunion of long-separated family members got the attention of the media. An example of a story that has the potential of solving a family history puzzle was published in the Brooklyn Standard Union, 22 September 1931:
- Mrs. Richard Policke, 204 Prospect Place, was surprised yesterday when a man and a woman rang her doorbell and the man said:
- 'Hello, Rose, I'm Fritz. It sure has been a long time.'
- It developed that Charles F. Feisel, a wealthy California ranch and realty owner, decided after 40 years of toil to take his first vacation. Leaving Hollywood with his wife, he came to Brooklyn to look for his sister. They were separated in 1893 after coming to America from Germany. With the capital of $8, Mr. Feisel started West, reaching Los Angeles in 1895. Mr and Mrs. Feisel are stopping at the Hotel McAlpin.
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