Search the Niles' Register Cumulative Index

Cumulative Newspaper Index Search, 1811-1849 For The Weekly Register, Niles' Weekly Register, and Niles' National Register

This tool permits searches on topics and articles in the weekly news publication founded by Hezekiah Niles in Baltimore, Maryland. The Weekly Register and its succeeding titles, Niles’ Weekly Register and Niles’ National Register, were published from 1811-1849 by several editors in Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia. The content was national and international in scope, so significant events of nineteenth-century America and the world are covered in its pages.

This cumulative index was compiled, edited, and designed by William H. "Bill" Earle beginning in 1995. He offered subscriptions to access the content and continued expanding and updating his website until 2018. In that year, Mr. Earle donated the Cumulative Index database to the Maryland State Archives to supply the public with free, online access to his resources.

The index features 408,000 entries relating to events, people, places, and things, as well as more than 28,000 individuals cited by standardized names.

Search Instructions

No extra formatting is needed when searching for multiple, single-word terms:

• Alabama newspapers
• railroads Baltimore
• Chesapeake sailor

When searching for a multiple-word phrase, place the phrase inside quotes:

• "Bank of America"
• "John Quincy Adams"
• "economic conditions"

When searching for more than one multiple-word phrase, separate each phrase with a single space:

• "Patuxent River" "Joshua Barney"
• "District of Columbia" "banks and banking"
• "New York City" "James Monroe" "United States"