When you need to search newspaper obituaries, begin with the person’s name, an approximate date of death, and the places connected to their life. An obituary can help confirm a death date or location, identify relatives, and provide helpful leads for family history research.

Start with the search resource below, then check newspapers serving the communities where the person lived—not only the city where they died.

Use the obituary search resource below to begin looking for newspaper obituaries from across the country.

Gathering a few details before you search can make it easier to identify the right person and narrow your results.

• Full name: Include middle names, initials, maiden names, nicknames, and alternate spellings when known.
• Date of death: Use the exact date when available. Otherwise, begin with an approximate date and search the following week.
• Date of birth or age: These details can help distinguish people with the same name.
• Locations: Note where the person was born, lived, and died to identify the most relevant newspapers.

Look beyond a single publication. An obituary may appear in newspapers connected to the person’s birthplace, longtime home, place of death, or the communities where close family members lived.

• Local newspapers: Search papers serving the communities most connected to the person’s life.
• Newspaper archives: Many newspapers provide online archives, though some repositories require a subscription.
• Libraries: Libraries can be especially helpful for older newspapers and microfilm collections.

A notice may run in more than one paper, and each version can include different details. The newspaper serving the community where the person lived longest may have a fuller account of their life.

An obituary is a notice announcing someone’s death that may describe their life and list family members. It may appear in a newspaper, online, or in a funeral program. A death notice may contain less information, depending on the publication, location, and time it was published.

For genealogy research, an obituary can offer more than a death date. It may name relatives and point to community ties, work, interests, military service, religious affiliation, clubs, or awards.

Use these details as leads for further research. For example, a named military regiment may point to relevant military records, while relatives’ names may help locate additional family records.

If you are preparing a memorial for a loved one, explore the funeral program template options below. You can also visit the QuickFuneral homepage.