Fife, Schottland, Indexkarten von Zeitungen in der Bibliothek von Cupar, 1833-1987

This database contains a collection of index cards referencing articles and announcements found in several Fife area newspapers from 1833-1983. Newspaper index cards are a rich source of information for genealogists, and often contain information not possible to get elsewhere, or that has been lost from "official" records.

Cupar, the former County Town of Fife, has a superb series of indexes to newspapers held by its local library. The index card collection at Cupar Library consists of approximately 210,000 records, covering events such as births, marriages, deaths, wedding anniversaries, personal achievements, and personal tragedies.

Local newspapers are famous for publishing as many names and details of local people as possible. They come and go, sometimes merging and sometimes disappearing completely, with a new publication taking their place. But a range of newspapers will cover one geographical area across a span of time. Armed with the information gleaned from the index, genealogists can contact the archive or library directly for more information or a copy of the relevant article.

The newspapers and years covered in this database include:

• Coast Burgh (Anstruther), 8 October 1896 - 22 December 1898


• Coast Burghs Observer, 1914 and 1917


• Dundee Courier, 1926-1983


• Fife Herald & Journal 1890-1891 (which became) Fife Herald News, 1892-1893 (which became) Fife Herald, 1894-1986


• Fife News, 1870-1909 (which became) Fife News & Coast Chronicle, 1910-1974


• Fifeshire Journal, 1833-1893


• East Fife Observer, 1917-1959


• East of Fife Record, 1856 and 1858 - 9 August 1917


• Pittenweem Register, 1850-1855 (not complete)


• Stratheden Advertiser (Cupar),1853-1855 (not complete)


• St Andrews Citizen, 1977-1987


• St Andrews Gazette (Cupar edition), 17 July 1869 - 24 Feb 1883


• St Andrews Gazette (Anstruther edition), 29 July 1914 - 19 February 1915


• St Andrews Times, 1937-38 and 1939-40


• The Fifeshire Express (Cupar), 4 August 1855 - 23 January 1856


• The News (Cupar), 1858-1862

Information written on each card may include:

• Name of individual


• Event type or description


• Event date


• Event place


• Title of newspaper


• Date of newspaper


• Newspaper page number

Where to Go From Here:

It is important that you use the information found in this database to locate the original article or announcement that is referenced. Newspapers can be great sources of genealogical and biographical information and additional information about your ancestor or relative may be found in the actual newspaper entry.

While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most commonly sought and the most consistently helpful, only the genealogist’s imagination and resourcefulness limit the newspaper’s usefulness in supplying clues about historical events, local news items, probate court and legal notices, real estate transactions, political biographies, announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships, business advertisements, and notices for settling debt (Taken from Chapter 12: Research in Newspapers, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Loretto Dennis Szucs and James L. Hansen; edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2006).