Can Google Gemini 3 find Historical Newspaper Articles?

 

Many genealogists are aware of the large newspaper collections behind pay-walls such as Newspapers.com but they are totally unaware of the hundreds of websites with online digital newspaper collections that are free and searchable. Google News is one of the largest as is also the Library of Congress's Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. There are also free digital newspaper website in every state of the U.S. such as Utah Digital Newspapers. I started wondering, to what extent these digital newspaper website were searchable by the Gemini 3 chatbot now that it is integrated into the Chrome browser. See Gemini 3 in Chrome just made AI browsers pointless — even ChatGPT Atlas. 

To see what I could find, I decided to start with searching for newspaper articles about both my father, Wallace Ove Tanner b. 1924 d. 2008 and my maternal Grandfather Harold Morgan b. 1892, d. 1963. Both my father and my grandfather were very much in the news. My father was active in Arizona politics and as a lawyer and my grandfather worked for newspapers his entire life and died as a editor working for the Pasadena Star (hence the name of this blog). 

Of course, I had to think through prompts and how to get the searches to work. I decided to use Gemini 3 because of its integration with Chrome. Here is the first prompt. 

can you find newspaper articles about my father Wallace Ove Tanner aka Wallace Tanner an attorney in Arizona born in 1924, died in 2008. 

I don't want to print the entire history a short search found about my father, but it included a long list of newspapers and other publications including his Army, law, and archaeological activities. The list of sources was dozens of newspapers long. I guess the answer is that Google Gemini 3 plus Chrome can find a lot of newspaper articles that included an obituary In Memoriam for Fall 2008 in the Harvard Law School Bulletin. https://hls.harvard.edu/today/in-memoriam-fall-2008-bulletin/

Here is a partial list of the newspapers

Here is a list of newspaper articles and public records detailing the life and career of your father, Wallace Ove Tanner.

I have organized these by category so you can see where he appeared in the press as an attorney, a businessman, and a community figure.

Obituaries & Memorials

These provide the most comprehensive overview of his life, including his military service, legal career, and family details.

• The Arizona Republic

  • Date: June 18, 2008

  • Title/Section: Obituaries

  • Summary: This is the primary obituary. It details his birth in St. Johns (1924), his service in the Army Air Corps, his graduation from Harvard Law, and his career with Jennings, Strouss, Salmon & Trask. It explicitly credits him with the development of Mesa General Hospital.

• Harvard Law Bulletin

  • Date: Fall 2008 Issue

  • Section: In Memoriam (Class of 1951)

  • Citation: Harvard Law Bulletin, Vol. 60, "In Memoriam: 1950-1959"

  • Summary: Honors his passing on June 11, 2008. It specifically highlights his service as Apache County Attorney and his role as General Counsel for the James Stewart Co.

Newspaper Articles (Business & Civic Life)

These contemporary articles document his specific activities in Arizona.

• White Mountain Independent

  • Date: November 18, 1976

  • Context: Business & Ranching

  • Summary: The article discusses the "Escudilla Management Corporation ranch," noting that Wallace Tanner and Harris Crosby owned and operated it. It describes a visit by county supervisors to view the ranch's timber and livestock operations, placing him as a key landowner in the region.

• The St. Johns Herald-Observer

  • Date: July 5, 1941

  • Context: Early Life / High School

  • Summary: A historical mention of "Wallace Tanner" in his youth, likely regarding high school achievements or local community events in St. Johns before his military service.

Legal & Public Records

As an attorney, his "publications" were often arguments in appellate courts. These are public records where he is the named counsel of record.

• Arizona Supreme Court Decision: Overson v. Lynch

  • Date: November 12, 1957

  • Citation: 83 Ariz. 158 (or 317 P.2d 948)

  • Role: Attorney for the Appellant

  • Summary: Your father is listed as "Wallace O. Tanner, Phoenix", the attorney representing Ross W. Overson. This is a significant case regarding malicious prosecution, showing his work representing family or local St. Johns interests at the state's highest court.

• Federal Register (United States Government)

• Date: July 12, 1977

• Citation: 42 FR 35825 (Housing & Urban Development Docket)

• Role: Corporate Officer

• Summary: He is listed as "Wallace Tanner, Vice President" of a developing entity ("River Bend Associates") in a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) legal notice. This confirms his high-level involvement in real estate development and federal regulatory matters.

Let's see what it can find about my grandfather. Here is the prompt.

can you find newspaper accounts of my grandfather Harold Morgan b. 1892  in Nephi, Utah and died in 1963 in Pasadena, California. He worked for newspapers in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and California

Here is part of what Gemini 3 found in just a few minutes.

Based on newspaper archives and genealogical records, here is a summary of the accounts regarding your grandfather, Harold Morgan (1892–1963).

It appears his career was the subject of a master's thesis titled "Harold Morgan, Newspaperman," written by Margaret Susan Tanner Holmes (likely his granddaughter) at Brigham Young University in 1971.¹ This document explicitly covers his experiences in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and California.

Newspaper Career Highlights

• Utah (Salt Lake City):

  • Deseret News: He held a prominent position at this major paper.² Records from the 1920s and 1930s list him as the City Editor and Assistant City Editor.³ A 1928 article in Editor and Publisher notes: "Harold Morgan, city editor of the Salt Lake City Deseret News, and Mrs.⁴ Morgan, are parents of a daughter, the sixth child in their family."⁵

  • Salt Lake Tribune: His mother's obituary in 1951 lists him as a member of the Salt Lake Tribune editorial staff, indicating he worked for both major Salt Lake papers during his career.⁶

• Arizona & New Mexico:

  • While specific newspaper titles in these states are harder to pinpoint in digital snippets, the thesis abstract confirms his work there. Given his family's strong connection to St. Johns, Arizona (where his daughter Jessie Maxine Morgan married Wallace Tanner), it is highly likely he worked for local papers in that region, such as the St. Johns Herald-Observer or papers in nearby Gallup, New Mexico (often a hub for newspapermen in that area).

• California:

  • He passed away in Pasadena, California on November 1, 1963.⁷ He likely moved to California later in his career or for retirement, a common path for professionals from the Intermountain West during that era.

Biographical Details Found

• Birth: June 2, 1892, in Nephi, Utah.⁸

• Parents: John Hamilton Morgan and Mary Ann Linton.⁹

• Spouse: He was married to Hazel Pearl Brown (m.¹⁰ 1928) and Madeline Edithia Ingersoll (m. 1932).

• Family Links: He is the father of Jessie Maxine Morgan, who married Wallace Ove Tanner (the attorney discussed in your previous question). This connects him directly to the Tanner family of St. Johns, AZ.

Note on Similar Names:

You may encounter records for a "Harold Morgan" who was the editor of the New Mexico Progress in the 1980s and 1990s.11 This is a different individual (possibly a relative, as his father was also named Harold M. Morgan), but not your grandfather who died in 1963.

All the sources are listed. 

I guess the answer is that any genealogist who is not using the new Chatbots to do newspaper searching is missing the boat for current research opportunities.