Ohio Obituaries: Difference between revisions

Obituaries may provide information such as the age of the deceased, birth date and place, names of living relatives and their residences, maiden name, occupation, death date, cause of death, and place of burial. Deceased family members are frequently mentioned. Obituaries may also mention previous places of residence, immigration information, religion, and any social organizations or activities in which the deceased was involved.

Generally, the first step to obtaining an obituary is to find the death date of the person so that the obituary can be more easily found in a newspaper. Once a death date is known, the local library in the area where the person lived prior to death may be contacted to learn whether or not they have newspapers for the time period needed, and if someone is willing to look for an obituary in that newspaper. If the newspapers are not held at the library, the local newspaper office may also be contacted to learn where older editions of the newspaper are kept.

Ohio Obituary Index[edit | edit source]

The Ohio Obituary Index was compiled from original newspapers by Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Library staff and volunteers. Starting in 2001, other Ohio libraries started entering data into the Index, so it now extends beyond the holdings of the Hayes Presidential Library. As of this date, 50 libraries are partners in the Ohio Obituary Index and are indexing old and current newspaper entries, totaling more than 2.1million obituaries and death notices as well as some marriage notices from 1810-2011.

In the beginning, the Index covered complete indexing of newspapers from Sandusky County, but now includes indexing from almost every northwest Ohio county. Other Ohio counties with good coverage include Wayne, Washington, Auglaize, Ross, Gallia, Belmont, Highland, Franklin, Wood and Clark counties. Patrons who utilize this index may order actual obituary copies online from this site through the Hayes Library and many participating libraries and counties.

Besides newspaper obituaries, the Index also covers many other sources, especially in Sandusky and nearby counties, including wills and estates, funeral home records, local histories, some marriage announcements, and cemetery listings.

The Ohio Obituary Index became even more popular on January 7, 2010 when Ancestry.com merged the Index with its huge online database. Ancestry is a subscription-based genealogy research website with more than four billion records online, and more being added daily. The Obituary Index will remain on the Hayes website and will be free to the public despite the duplication on Ancestry.com.

Head Librarian
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
Fremont, OH 43420
Email: hayeslib@rbhayes.org

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Online Resources==
-*''See [[United States Obituaries|United States Obituaries]] for more databases''
+*''Online Newspapers Indexes and Images can be found on the '''[[Ohio Newspapers]]''' Wiki page.''
-*'''Pre-1925''' [http://www.usgwarchives.net/obits/oh/obitsoh.htm Ohio USGenWeb Obituary Project] at USGenWeb - index and abstracts
+===Obituary Indexes and Abstracts===
+*''Online Newspapers Indexes and Images can be found on the '''[[Ohio Newspapers]]''' Wiki page.''
 *'''1657-Onward''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-20485/ohio-obituaries?s=275764761 Ohio Obituaries] at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
+*'''Pre-1925''' [http://www.usgwarchives.net/obits/oh/obitsoh.htm Public Domain Obituaries (pre-1925) and Abstracts] at USGenWeb - index and abstracts
+*'''1800s-Current''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61843/ U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current] at Ancestry - index ($)
 *'''1810s-2016''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1671 Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Obituary Index, 1810s-2016]  at Ancestry - index ($)
 *'''1811-2012''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=70643 Web: Ohio, MOLO Obituary Index, 1811-2012] at Ancestry - index($)
 *'''1814-2013''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/ohio-obituary-index-1814-2013 Ohio Obituary Index, 1814-2013] at Findmypast - index ($)
+*'''1930-Current''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7545/ U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current] at Ancestry - index ($)
+*'''1980-2014''' {{RecordSearch|2333694|United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014}} at FamilySearch - [[United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images
 *[https://www.rbhayes.org/main/ohio-obituary-index/ Ohio Obituary Index] at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library
 *[http://www.ogs.org/research/search_obitindex.php Ohio Genealogical Society Obituary Index] at Ohio Genealogical Society
 *[http://www.genealogybuff.com/oh/ Ohio User-Contributed Obituaries] at Genealogy Buff - index and abstracts
-*'''1795-2021''' [https://www.genealogybank.com/explore/newspapers/all/usa/ohio?kbid=10435&m=13 Ohio Newspaper Archives, 1795-2021] at GenealogyBank
 ===Specific Ohio Counties===
 *'''1842-2014''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/70479/ Web: Lucas County, Ohio, U.S., Blade Obituary Index, 1842-2014] at Ancestry - index ($)
@@ Line 24: / Line 29: @@
 *'''1884-2013''' {{RecordSearch|2358414|Ohio, Washington County Newspaper Obituaries, 1884-2013}} at FamilySearch - [[Ohio, Washington County Newspaper Obituaries - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images; ''Also at:'' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61977/ Ancestry] ($)
 *'''1957-2011''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/70518/ Web: Columbiana County, Ohio, U.S., Salem News Obituary Index, 1957-2011] at Ancestry - index ($)
-*[https://sites.google.com/site/onlinenewspapersite/Home/united-states-online-historical-newspapers/ohio-online-historical-newspapers Ohio Online Historical Newspapers]
+*'''1899-Onward''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-20274/ohio-lucas-county-obituaries?s=275764761 Ohio, Lucas County Obituaries] at MyHeritage - index ($)
-*[https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10604/ohio-newspapers-1793-2009 Ohio Newspapers, 1793-2009]($) Index and Images.
-===Newspapers===
+<br><br>
-*''See [[Ohio Newspapers|Ohio Newspapers]] for more databases''
-*''See [[United States Newspapers|United States Newspapers]] for more databases''
-== Ohio Obituaries==
+== Introduction to Obituaries==
+Obituaries may provide information such as the age of the deceased, birth date and place, names of living relatives and their residences, maiden name, occupation, death date, cause of death, and place of burial. Deceased family members are frequently mentioned. Obituaries may also mention previous places of residence, immigration information, religion, and any social organizations or activities in which the deceased was involved.
-=== Rutherford B Hayes Ohio Obituary Index  ===
+Generally, the first step to obtaining an obituary is to find the death date of the person so that the obituary can be more easily found in a newspaper. Once a death date is known, the local library in the area where the person lived prior to death may be contacted to learn whether or not they have newspapers for the time period needed, and if someone is willing to look for an obituary in that newspaper. If the newspapers are not held at the library, the local newspaper office may also be contacted to learn where older editions of the newspaper are kept.
+=== Ohio Obituary Index  ===
 The [https://www.rbhayes.org/main/ohio-obituary-index/ Ohio Obituary Index] was compiled from original newspapers by [https://www.rbhayes.org/ Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Library] staff and volunteers. Starting in 2001, other Ohio libraries started entering data into the Index, so it now extends beyond the holdings of the Hayes Presidential Library. As of this date, 50 libraries are partners in the Ohio Obituary Index and are indexing old and current newspaper entries, totaling more than 2.1million obituaries and death notices as well as some marriage notices from 1810-2011.
@@ Line 44: / Line 49: @@
 <br>
 Head Librarian <br>Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center <br>Fremont, OH 43420<br>Email: [mailto:hayeslib@rbhayes.org hayeslib@rbhayes.org]
-==Other Library Collections==
-*Obituaries from the Columbus Dispatch are available from the [http://www.columbuslibrary.org/cmlcnix/searchobitform.cfm/ Columbus Public Library] to card holders (any Ohio resident is eligible). Limit 1 request per day, 4 per month. Emailed as a PDF.
 [[Category:Ohio, United States]]
-[[Category:Obituaries]]