Though small in size, Rhode Island has been part of United States history from the very beginning; it was one of the original Thirteen Colonies. Rhode Island is the smallest state in the Union and the eighth least populous. However, it is second only to New Jersey in terms of being the most densely populated state.
If you are researching your ancestry from Rhode Island, you will want to use GenealogyBank’s online RI newspaper archives: 52 titles to help you search your family history in “The Ocean State,” providing coverage from 1732 to Today. There are more than 4.2 million articles and records in our online Rhode Island archives!
Dig deep into our archives and search for historical and recent obituaries and other news articles about your Rhode Island ancestors in these RI newspapers online. Our Rhode Island newspapers are divided into two collections: Historical Newspapers (complete paper) and Recent Obituaries (obituaries only).
Search Rhode Island Newspaper Archives (1732 – 1921)
Search Rhode Island Recent Obituaries (1981 – Current)
Newspaper Factoid: First published in 1829, the Providence Journal is the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the United States. Be sure to check it out in our archives, along with some of the older 1700s and 1800s Rhode Island newspaper publications.
Here is a list of online Rhode Island newspapers in the archives. Each newspaper title in this list is an active link that will take you directly to that paper’s search page, where you can begin searching for your ancestors by surnames, dates, keywords and more. The RI newspaper titles are listed alphabetically by city.
| City | Title | Date Range* | Collection |
| Bristol | Mount Hope Eagle | 1/10/1807 – 10/8/1808 | Newspaper Archives |
| Charlestown | Charlestown Press | 8/3/2006 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Coventry | Coventry Courier | 1/23/2009 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Cumberland | Valley Breeze | 3/8/2007 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| East Greenwich | East Greenwich Pendulum | 1/8/2009 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Hopkinton | Wood River Press | 8/3/2006 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Newport | Newport Mercury | 6/19/1758 – 12/30/1876 | Newspaper Archives |
| Newport | Rhode-Island Republican | 10/3/1801 – 4/21/1841 | Newspaper Archives |
| Newport | Newport Herald | 3/1/1787 – 9/17/1791 | Newspaper Archives |
| Newport | Weekly Companion; and the Commercial Centinel | 5/2/1798 – 7/20/1799 | Newspaper Archives |
| Newport | Guardian of Liberty | 10/3/1800 – 9/26/1801 | Newspaper Archives |
| Newport | Rhode-Island Museum | 7/7/1794 – 12/29/1794 | Newspaper Archives |
| Newport | Newport Gazette | 1/16/1777 – 12/26/1777 | Newspaper Archives |
| Newport | Rhode-Island Gazette | 10/4/1732 – 3/1/1733 | Newspaper Archives |
| Newport | Gazette Francoise | 11/17/1780 – 1/2/1781 | Newspaper Archives |
| North Kingstown | Standard-Times | 1/1/2009 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| North Providence | North Providence Breeze | 3/8/2007 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Pawtucket | Pawtucket Times | 1/1/1898 – 2/28/1921 | Newspaper Archives |
| Pawtucket | Valley Breeze, The: Pawtucket Edition | 8/19/2009 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Pawtucket | Times | 10/7/2009 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Providence | Providence Evening Press | 3/14/1859 – 11/13/1878 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Rhode-Island American | 10/20/1809 – 2/1/1833 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Providence Patriot | 1/15/1814 – 12/27/1834 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Providence Gazette | 10/20/1762 – 10/8/1825 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Rhode Island Press | 6/29/1861 – 12/29/1877 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | United States Chronicle | 1/1/1784 – 5/17/1804 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Manufacturers’ and Farmers’ Journal | 1/3/1820 – 9/18/1876 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Columbian Phenix | 2/28/1807 – 1/8/1814 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Independent Inquirer | 8/28/1823 – 8/20/1830 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Literary Cadet and Rhode-Island Statesman | 4/22/1826 – 7/18/1829 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Providence Phoenix | 4/28/1802 – 2/21/1807 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Microcosm | 4/17/1830 – 3/30/1833 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Providence Journal and Town and Country Advertiser | 1/2/1799 – 12/30/1801 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | American | 10/21/1808 – 10/17/1809 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | New Age and Constitutional Advocate | 11/20/1840 – 3/8/1842 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | American Journal and General Advertiser | 3/18/1779 – 8/29/1781 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Rhode-Island Religious Intelligencer | 5/24/1822 – 5/14/1824 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Impartial Observer | 8/11/1800 – 3/6/1802 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | State Gazette and Town and Country Advertiser | 1/4/1796 – 7/2/1796 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Rhode-Island Farmer | 8/9/1804 – 1/31/1805 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Religious Intelligencer | 5/13/1820 – 11/4/1820 | Newspaper Archives |
| Providence | Providence Journal | 12/23/1981 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Smithfield | Valley Breeze & Observer | 3/8/2007 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Wakefield | Narragansett Times | 1/21/2009 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Warren | Herald of the United States | 1/14/1792 – 12/12/1812 | Newspaper Archives |
| Warren | Bristol County Register | 3/11/1809 – 3/31/1810 | Newspaper Archives |
| Warren | Telescope | 11/6/1813 – 6/28/1817 | Newspaper Archives |
| West Warwick | Kent County Daily Times | 6/7/2008 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Westerly | Westerly Pawcatuck Press | 7/1/2009 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Westerly | Westerly Sun | 4/27/2000 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Woonsocket | Call | 10/8/2009 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
| Wyoming | Chariho Times | 1/29/2009 – Current | Recent Obituaries |
*Date Ranges may have selected coverage unavailable.
You can either print or create a PDF version of this Blog post by simply clicking on the green “Print/PDF” button below. The PDF version makes it easy to save this post onto your desktop or portable device for quick reference—all the Rhode Island newspaper links will be live.
Related Link:
- U.S. State History (GenealogyBank Pinterest Board)
- 27 Colonial Newspapers to Trace Your Early American Ancestry
The post Rhode Island Archives: 52 Newspapers for Genealogy Research appeared first on GenealogyBank Blog.
