How to Find an Obituary for a Specific Person

Michelle Wilson - November 12, 2022

Anyone that’s found an obituary about a specific ancestor will likely know the wealth of information they contain. An obituary may include biographical details, religious affiliations, names of relatives, and more. If you find an obituary for a specific individual, the information can help fill the gaps, break down any walls in your family history, and lead to other records.

Currently, the earliest known obituary was published in Roman times. For many centuries, historians saved obituaries for prominent individuals. Eventually, records began to change with the invention of the printing press and linotype machines as newspapers became widespread. During the Civil War in the United States, obituaries were vital for tracking the living and dead. Throughout time, obituaries were more common and detailed, evolving from minor records to life sketches and tributes often available today.

How to Find an Obituary

An obituary will contain critical information that connects you with your ancestors. It can frequently fill gaps you didn’t know existed, particularly with thousands of records currently available for review.

When trying to find the obituary for a specific individual, chances of success largely depend on the information you have available. These key details include the following:

Date of death or approximate date range

Occasionally, users will have an exact date of death available through a certificate or family record. If you don’t, you can frequently estimate these dates with a range from other records. For instance, if an ancestor appears with a husband in the 1851 census, but it seems the husband was a widow in 1861, they likely died between 1851 and 1861.

A place of death

If the person’s last known residence exists according to government, church, or other official records, you can likely assume these records are near the location of death. Alternatively, trying to find the person’s family after they died can offer a few details. While you might have these exact details available, a rough estimate will likely suffice in a pinch.

For women: The surname at the time of death

When looking for a female ancestor in a location that typically has a woman change her surname at the time of death, pay attention to the last name at the time of death. For instance, a woman named Georgia Webb married a man surnamed Carr. If she did not marry again, we’d expect to find the obituary under the name Georgia Carr.

Family Members

All information about known family members can aid the search when researching a familiar name.

Searching for Obituaries Online

Online search options offer an efficient and effortless search, making it a decent place to start. Knowing where to look can make it even easier.

• Try looking through the FamilySearch Historical Records Collections. Start your search by typing “obit” into the Filter by Collection. This way, users will find results in the “Obituary” and “Obituaries” sections.
• Visit all newspaper sites like Genealogy Bank and Newspaper Archive. These platforms will showcase anyone with a similar name, especially with the year attached. These sites are often goldmines of information, especially finding ancestors who lived within the publication area.
• Discover what’s available at the public library. Your public library will contain an extensive family history or general genealogy section that includes access to many different digital newspapers.

What If I Can’t Find Anything Online?

Although we’re used to finding information online, it’s easy to forget how many records aren’t available through search engines. If you can’t find the obituary immediately, here are a few extra things you can try:

Consider uncommon sources

These sources include magazines, professional employment publications, historical society publications, and church newsletters. Additionally, consider looking through websites with an extensive directory of newspapers in the United States.

Offline Sources for Obituaries

Contacting Your Local Library is a Wonderful Resource for Older Documents

Typically, most libraries will have a few types of archives available for search efforts. If you’re trying to find an obituary from a few years ago, you’ll want to contact the library in the person’s city of death. Try to offer as much information as possible, including when they died. Should the obituary be very old, the record may not exist in print. To view these records, you’ll need to use the library’s newspapers or documents on microfilm.

Learn More About the Individual

Occasionally, you will need more information to uncover someone’s obituary. If that’s the situation, you’ll want to learn more about the relative. Start by looking into the person’s place of employment, cemetery (if buried), schools attended, and degrees received. These avenues will open a new search route for finding an individual’s obituary. For instance, a school record could offer an archive of alumni affairs. Typically, these records will show a student’s graduation, offering an approximate date, timeframe, or year.

Example: Finding a Specific Obituary

Let’s look at finding an obituary through the platforms mentioned above. To get started, collect all relevant information you have about the individual. If you know when someone was born and where they were located, these details can help. Likewise, include any records available about their maiden name.

Start the search using online search options, including accessible databases. Look through the results to identify the specific people you’re looking for. Look for detailed lists of children and siblings, first building a profile on the individual. When you look through the records, always try to verify your identity whenever possible.

What information is typically included in an obituary?

Writing an obituary has changed throughout the decades, but most details are likely factual. An obituary is often a longer and more detailed look into the deceased’s life. The death notice is a compilation of relevant information, including essential details. The first details included in an obituary would consist of the name (including a maiden name), common nicknames, and age upon death.

Other essential details within an obituary might include the following:

• The deceased individual’s birthday and location
• A complete list of all surviving relatives
• Any immediate deceased relatives
• The date of death, including the city where they died.
• All details relating to the funeral service (including the date, place, and time)

Other Obituary Considerations

A well-written obituary will include exciting details about an individual. They invoke emotion and often capture the essence of the individual. When an obituary is done, many people wish they knew the individual. Outside of the death notice, many obituaries offer information that puts a person’s life into focus. These details include job or career information, spouse and children, volunteer positions, and influence on the community.

Conclusion

Whatever the reason for tracking down an obituary, the record will often include a wealth of information for anyone wanting to read it. What started as a form of record keeping has now become a tribute to the individual’s life. Learning more about this person can shed great detail on your family history.