Speaking of newspapers (see below), the webmaster behind the GenealogyBuff search engine has helped start a site called PersonalButPolite.com with transcribed personals columns from old papers.

It's free to search or browse by place. The site's small, but you can submit your own transcriptions by e-mail. See the PersonalButPolite Update blog to keep track of additions.

Personals then were a far cry from today's "man seeking woman..." ads. You could find short announcements of local residents' comings and goings and births and deaths, as well as people looking for lost friends.