The Frontenac Heritage Foundation in Kingston, Ontario has completed its project to digitize 24 years of the Daily British Whig, from 1902 to 1926. This involved digitizing 89 reels of microfilm, which included 7,532 issues of the newspaper, for a total of 89,413 pages of newsprint.
The project was first announced in February. Previously, the issues from 1850 to 1901 had been digitized.
The materials will be of particular interest to those who wish to research people and events related to the First World War at a time when there was a special insert in the Daily British Whig described life in the Barriefield Camp.
The Daily British Whig issues, from 1850 to 1926, can be accessed and searched online on DigitalKingston.
It is possible to search by keyword. Because of the poor quality of many issues, the search tool is often unable to spot all the keywords. Instead, some researchers may find it more effective to browse issue by issue and page by page.
The foundation had hoped to hold a public information session so people could learn more
about using the Daily British Whig materials, but the pandemic precluded this. Instead,
researchers are directed to look at a guide on YouTube produced by the Waterloo Public
Library which explains how to access a digital newspaper collection.
Each year the foundation takes on a project that highlights the heritage and history of the Kingston region.
Funding for this year’s project came from the Davies Foundation and a City of Kingston Heritage Fund Project Grant, with the assistance of the Kingston Association of Museums, Art Galleries and Historic Sites.
