Not that long ago, I lamented in a tweet the fact it has been almost 40 years since the Montreal Star was shut down, and there’s still no sign its 110 years of issues will be digitized. For most of those years, it was the largest newspaper in Canada.
I tagged both Library and Archives Canada and Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) in my tweet, hoping they’d take note. BAnQ did take note, and tweeted a reply:
“Thank you for your suggestion. Many newspapers of various Québec regions are waiting to be digitized. The Montreal Star is certainly a significant title and we will add it to our list. Please note that we are presently digitizing the Montreal Herald, another important newspaper.”
The Montreal Herald was founded as a weekly in 1811 by William Gray from Scotland. It became a daily in 1881. On October 18, 1957, the last issue was published, with a readership of 40,000.
Front page of the Montreal Herald newspaper, September 26, 1812, Vol. 1, No. 50. Source: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
News about BAnQ digitizing the Montreal Herald is great for genealogists researching their ancestors in Montreal, but don’t expect all 146 years to be digitized anytime soon.
While waiting, you can search the 93 issues that have been published online. The earliest issue of the Montreal Herald on BAnQ’s website is September 26, 1812, and the most recent is August 20, 1828. It can be browsed or searched by keyword.
Start your search on BAnQ’s digital collection.
By selecting filters (see image on right), the results can quickly be narrowed down to just the Montreal Herald.
Starting at the top of the filters, select Patrimoine québécois (Quebec heritage). Doing so will reveal a number of filters.
Under Type de document, select Revues et journaux (Magazines and newspapers).
Under Genre (type), select Journaux (Newspapers).
Under the last filter, Langue (Language), select anglais (English). This will limit your search to English-language publications.
Now, go up to the filter, Titre (Title), and enter Herald in the search box. Then, check the box next to Montreal herald.
More tips on how to search BAnQ’s digitized newspaper collection can be found in How to search historical newspapers online with Quebec Archives’ new search engine: Part 1 and Part 2.
Despite the good news about the Montreal Herald, I continue to hold hope that the Montreal Star, published from 1869 to 1979, will be digitized during my lifetime.
It was the largest newspaper in Canada until the 1950s, which suggests it would make a worthwhile digitization project.
The Montreal Star is where genealogists are most likely to find notices of their English-speaking ancestors’ births, marriages, and deaths.
