Intermediate/Advanced Level Article
Finding Answers in Obituaries
Obituaries and death notices play a vital role in the research process. Obituaries are public notices of a person's death that usually appear in the local newspaper. These are considered public records.
Death notices are brief announcements that appear in the local newspaper. Death notices contain the name of the decedent, name of the funeral home handling the final arrangements, information about the funeral and memorial plans, and where donations can be made in memory of the decedent if applicable. Death notices are usually located in the same section of the newspaper as obituaries.
Every obituary tells a story. Obituaries can provide significant insights into the lives of our ancestors. They often contain biographical sketches of their lives. This information can point towards other primary record sources, corroborate facts in evidence, verify names, dates, and locations, and help locate surviving family members, neighbors, and business associates. Obituaries normally identify the name and location of the funeral home that handled final arrangements, where the funeral or memorial service was held, and the location of the cemetery if applicable. If the decedent was cremated, this is usually stated in the obituary.
Biographical information may shed light on relevant details about age, birth, marriage, death, names of parents, siblings, spouses including maiden names in some cases, names of children and grandchildren, places of residence of living relatives, and brief details about deceased relatives. Obituaries may also contain specific dates and locations pertaining to education and military service, public offices held, awards, organizational membership and religious affiliation. If the deceased was an immigrant, researchers may find information about the country and locality of origin, and details concerning when and where they arrived at upon entry to America or Canada.
From a research perspective, the most important piece of information is the name of the funeral home that handled final arrangements. Funeral homes maintain informational packets on decedents which often contain significant additional information that does not appear in obituaries or other record sources such as death or marriage certificates.
When using obituaries for research purposes, the guidelines I am including below will help put you in the best position for success.
Historical Context and Reliability of Information
- In early newspapers, obituaries were not on designated pages.
- Obituaries rarely appeared in newspapers before the 1880s. In small towns a death announcement may have been posted in the paper.
- Details in obituaries may be incorrect.
- If a death notice is published in the paper, be sure to check the next day’s paper for a more complete article. In some older newspapers, a follow-up article may give names of pallbearers.
Clues Usually Found in Obituaries
- Name and age of the deceased
- Date and place of death (i.e., city and state)
- Names of survivors, often with residence cited
- Parents’ names and names of spouses
- Date and location of marriage (sometimes with wife’s maiden name)
- Occupation and related details
- Religious affiliation
- Details about immigration and previous residence if born outside the U.S.
- Military service
- Name and location of funeral home
Facts You Must Know When Researching and/or Requesting an Obituary
- Full name of the deceased (including any commonly used nickname)
- Place of death (i.e. town, county, state) NOTE: SSDI “last residence” is not necessarily the place of death.
- Exact date of death
Most Common Sources For Obtaining Obituaries
- Newspaper online databases
- Place an Interlibrary Loan request (You must know name of newspaper, exact date of death, and where published.)
- Enlist the help of a main public library where the individual lived and/or a former residence.
- Contact a genealogical society or historical society located near the decedent’s place of death. They may have an index of local obituaries.
- In a small town, a newspaper office and/or church office may be able to provide the needed information.
- If you believe the death occurred under unusual circumstances, be sure to include that information when requesting an obituary lookup. There may have been a detailed news article in the paper in addition to the obituary.
- Always ask that the citation be included with the obituary (i.e., name of newspaper, date of publication and page/section number where obituary was printed in the paper).
I have multiple study guides that I can send you electronically that deal with this topic. Here are some additional sources you can browse for further research.
Internet
Bryan L. Mulcahy
Reference-Genealogy Librarian
Fort Myers Regional Library
bmulcahy@leegov.com5/17/2026