Newspapers have printed death notices and obituaries for more than 300 years, which makes them one of the best sources for finding out when someone died, who their family was and how they lived. Our state guides show where to find both recent and historic obituaries in each state, and our guides below explain how to use them.
Recent or historic? Where to start
For a death in the last 25 years or so, the obituary is probably online. Start with the funeral home’s website and the obituary section of the local daily paper, most of which are hosted by Legacy.com. A web search for the person’s name, town and “obituary” usually finds it. Each state guide lists that state’s largest daily papers.
For an older death, first find the date and place from a death index, death certificate, grave marker or family record. Then search digitized newspapers for that town in the week or two after the death. If the paper isn’t online, a state archive or library can usually look it up on microfilm. Each state guide lists its free newspaper archives, death indexes and the office that issues death certificates.
Death notices, obituaries and death records
A death notice is a short paid announcement, usually placed by the family or funeral home. An obituary is longer: either a paid, family-written life story or a news article written by the paper’s staff. A death certificate is the official record, issued by the state vital records office or a county office; for the first 25 to 100 years after a death, depending on the state, certified copies usually go only to family members and others with a legal interest. Our guide to death notices vs. obituaries explains the difference.
Federal records can also confirm a death. The census mortality schedules and Social Security Death Index guide covers the free census records from 1790 to 1950 and how to request a copy of a person’s Social Security application. Funeral home records often fill in details the newspaper left out.
Nationwide obituary resources
- Chronicling America, Library of Congress — Free digitized newspapers from every state. Narrow a search to a state and the years you need.
- Google News Archive — Free scans of older newspapers, browsable by title and date only. Google stopped adding papers years ago and there is no full-text search.
- Internet Archive newspapers — Free digitized newspapers and microfilm uploaded by libraries.
- FamilySearch — Free obituary indexes, state death records and the Social Security Death Index, mostly 1962–2014 (free account).
- Find a Grave — Volunteer-built cemetery memorials, many with transcribed obituaries.
- Newspapers.com — Large subscription archive of U.S. papers. Many public libraries offer free access.
- GenealogyBank — Subscription archive of historic newspapers and modern obituaries.
- Legacy.com — Obituaries published since about 2000 in most U.S. daily newspapers.
