Clark Family Library: European History: Find Primary Sources

Why Use Primary Sources?

Primary sources:

provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence of a topic
are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events and conditions being documented
are often created during the time of the event, but some are created after the fact, such as oral histories or autobiographies

Image from of page six and seven of Diary of Joseph Cecil Thompson in April 1915, taken by Ellen Thompson.

Where to Look for Primary Sources

The Find Reliable Websites page contains links to many websites that include primary source material.

To find primary sources online for your topic, use these tips:

Type your keywords into a search engine
Add terms such as "primary source" or specific types of primary sources such as "diary" or "letter"

Discovery and many of our databases will also allow you to filter your results by source type (often in a side panel on the left hand side of the screen). Select options such as newspapers, primary sources, letters, archives, etc.

Find Primary Sources in Databases

17th - 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers This link opens in a new window
The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Burney Newspapers Collection represents the largest single collection of seventeenth and eighteenth century English news media available from the British Library and includes more than 1,000 pamphlets, proclamations, newsbooks and newspapers from the period.
More than 700 bound volumes of newspapers relate political, educational and economic situations—including English provincial, Irish, Scottish and a handful of papers from British colonies, in the Americas and Asia—relate political, educational and economic situations chosen from more than three dozen cities. Gale.
19th Century U.S. Newspapers. Covers 1800 to 1900. This link opens in a new window
19th Century database offers a full-text searchable collection of 500 U.S. newspapers published between 1800 and 1900. The collection features publications of all kinds, from the political party newspapers at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the mammoth dailies that shaped the nation at the century's end. Major newspapers stand alongside those published by African Americans, Native Americans, women’s rights groups, labor groups, and the Confederacy.
ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window
A union catalog of archival collections, provides access to nearly a million collection descriptions and online archival finding aids of archival material from more than 2,500 libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives around the world. Good destination for searching through historical documents, personal papers, and family histories.
New York Times (Proquest Database) This link opens in a new window
Contains searchable full-text articles from the New York Times newspaper from 1980-present. We also have access to the New York Times through their website which covers back to 1851. Since this content is in a database you may find that it's easier to search and filter than nytimes.com. Content discovered through this database will not have images included but articles through nytimes.com will.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange This link opens in a new window
Database offers primary source documents about international relations between Asian countries and the West during the 19th century. Documents include government reports, diplomatic correspondence, periodicals, newspapers, treaties, trade agreements, maps, and personal letters. Use the drop-down menu to select the database you want to search.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online: British Politics and Society This link opens in a new window
Database offers access to papers of British statesmen and Prime Ministers, Home Office records, and much more. It is a remarkable resource for scholars looking to explore the political and social history of Britain. Use the drop-down menu to select the database you want to search.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online: British Theatre, Music, and Literature: High and Popular Culture This link opens in a new window
Database offers a wide range of primary sources detailing the arts in Great Britain during the 19th century. It includes the full-text of 150 publications and more than 3,000 manuscripts from theatre archives of playbills and scripts to music archives of operas. Use the drop-down menu to select the database you want to search.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online: European Literature, 1790-1840: The Corvey Collection This link opens in a new window
Contains searchable full-text English, German and French literature titles from the Castle Corvey Collection. An important archive of Romantic era writing and includes fiction, short prose, dramatic works, poetry and more. Use the drop-down menu to select the database you want to search. Gale.