In a first part, we explained the four steps to follow to verify a family legend. We particularly detailed the different elements of the family anecdote about François Mouyon, my great-great-grandfather whose genealogy we explored.
When he was young and working in a menagerie in Lyon[1], François Mouyon was said to have been negligent in supervising the lion's cage, which led to an accident in which a person was injured. Following this event, he was sentenced to a prison term.
In the second part we illustrated a concrete case of research based on this family story using the tools RetroNews, Gallica, Geneanet and My Heritage Newspapers.
This third and final part will serve to deepen the investigation by mobilising new sources, such as BelgicaPress, Lectura Plus and Numelyo, which are more specialised in a limited geographical area but offer titles not mentioned in the tools from part 2. I will also highlight the importance of synthesising information as well as the tools to develop it, in order to facilitate the exploration of new documentary leads.
Family research in the old press
BelgicaPress :
Whether for researching your genealogy in Belgium or France, it is important to use all the sources at your disposal, and the Royal Library of Belgium is one of them. As already noted in other sources and also proven by BelgicaPress, the matter has largely crossed borders. The tool is completely free, but it is necessary to create an account.
The advanced search features are relatively simple to use. In text mode, it is possible to choose to search for a single word, all words, or an exact phrase. With BelgicaPress, you can also filter the results by selecting only newspapers in French, Dutch, or German, depending on the languages spoken in Belgium.
Excerpt from the search “Mouillon”, 1895 to 1896, BelgicaPress
In BelgicaPress, the search gives us seven results in five newspapers.
It goes without saying that if your family history takes place in Belgium, the tool provided by the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) will be the most suitable. I recommend starting with this one for genealogical and family research. It is indeed one of the tools I recommend the most as a genealogist in Belgium.
Lectura Plus :
Although many national and regional titles have already covered the matter thanks to previous sources, it remains relevant to consult local media, as they often provide more precise details.
Lectura Plus is the portal for written and graphic heritage in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with Lyon located at the heart of the area covered by this platform.
Excerpt from the search, mouyon, 1895-1896, Lectura Plus
What is convenient with Lectura Plus is that you can filter by period, by title or type of newspaper, and by geographical area.
For the search “Mouyon” between 1895 and 1896, we obtain four results, two in Le Salut Public and two in Le Stéphanois. The latter was already present in Geneanet but not Le Salut Public.
For the search “Mouillon” between 1895 and 1896, there are 36 results that appear here. The downside of Lectura Plus is that you can only take the full year, not a specific month. Of the 36 results, only 19 refer to the case.
Excerpt from the search “Mouillon”, 1895-1896, Lectura Plus
Numelyo:
Beyond the old press, searching in the digital library of Lyon is a must since the event took place in this city.
Regarding this tool, the search interface is relatively archaic and difficult to use. The only way to conduct a search is at the top right or in the search tool on the left, which seems to be the same thing. The years covered range from 1790 to 1944.
For our case, there are 88 results but none refer to the drama of the menagerie.
Excerpt from the search “mouillon menagerie”, Numelyo
I found it strange not to find anything relevant on Numelyo, so I searched directly in the Lyonnaise press category from 1790 to 1944 with the following keywords “menagerie”, “eyssette” from 1890 to 1899, and there I obtained three convincing results:
Excerpt from the search “menagerie”, “Eyssette”, from 1890 to 1899, Lyonnaise press from 1790 to 1944, Numelyo
Among the two titles of Lyon newspapers, it is Le Progrès Illustré that will be the most interesting. What caught my attention is that the photo was missing even when clicking on the article.
Excerpt from Le Progrès Illustré, Numelyo
And it is only by selecting “Le Progrès Illustré, fasc. number 249” that I obtain the front cover of the article.