Obituaries
Guide to locating newspaper obituaries for ancestry, family history, and genealogy research.
What are obituaries?[edit | edit source]
Obituaries are brief biographies of deceased persons, usually published by newspapers or funeral homes. They are also used to announce funeral arrangements.
- "An obituary (obit for short) is a news article that reports the recent death of a prominent person. Two types of paid advertisements are related to obituaries. One, known as a death notice, omits most biographical details and may be a legally required public notice under some circumstances. The other type, a paid memorial advertisement, is usually written by family members or friends, perhaps with assistance from a funeral home." Wikipedia: Obituary
Why use Obituaries in Family History Research?[edit | edit source]
Obituaries may contain more detailed information about a person's life. It can be a substitute record for giving birth and death information when a birth or death record cannot be located. Obituaries can be easier to access than vital records that may have restrictions because of privacy laws.
What can you find in obituaries?[edit | edit source]
Some obituaries are very brief, merely announcing the death. More elaborate obituaries can contain some of the following elements:
- Name of deceased
- Age of deceased
- Date and place of birth
- Maiden name of female
- Father’s and mother’s names
- Name of spouse(s)
- Date and place of marriage
- Names of children, their spouses, and where they now reside
- Date and place of death, occasionally cause
- Time and location of funeral
- Place of burial
- Occupation history
- Religious affiliation
- Membership in clubs, lodges, associations
- Immigration information
- Educational accomplishments
- History of different residences
- Family members (parents and siblings) preceded in death and still surviving
- Residences of family members surviving
Online Obituary Collections[edit | edit source]
By Country[edit | edit source]
- Australia Obituaries
- Canada Obituaries
- Czechia Obituaries
- Fiji Obituaries
- Germans from Russia Obituaries
- Hungary Obituaries
- Monaco Obituaries
- New Zealand Obituaries
- Russia Obituaries
- Slovenia Obituaries
- United States Obituaries
Finding Obituaries Not Online[edit | edit source]
- Find the death date or approximate date of the person so that the obituary
- Records that give death date:
- Statewide death index
- Cemetery in the local area where the person is believed to have died
- Obtain the newspaper:
- Online newspaper databases
- Public/local library - many offer obituary lookups for a small fee
- State or local archives