Massachusetts printed the first newspaper in the American colonies, and Boston papers have recorded deaths ever since. There is no single statewide archive, so obituary searches usually combine Boston Public Library databases, Chronicling America and local library indexes.
Massachusetts obituaries in historic newspapers
Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick appeared in Boston in 1690 and was shut down after one issue. The Boston News-Letter, begun in 1704, became the first continuously published newspaper in the colonies. Eighteenth-century Boston papers reported the deaths of prominent residents, ministers and sea captains, and printed lists of burials during epidemics.
By the 1800s the Columbian Centinel, the Boston Evening Transcript and later the Boston Globe and Boston Herald carried long-running death-notice columns, and nearly every Massachusetts city had its own daily. The Transcript is especially valued by genealogists for its notices and its genealogy query column.
Boston Public Library joined the National Digital Newspaper Program in 2021, the first Massachusetts institution to contribute to Chronicling America. Many other Massachusetts papers are available free to residents through a Boston Public Library e-card.
Where to find Massachusetts obituaries
Digitized Massachusetts newspapers
- Massachusetts Newspapers Online, Boston Public Library — Guide to every digitized Massachusetts newspaper BPL offers, many free with a Massachusetts e-card.
- Digital Commonwealth — Statewide digital library that includes page images of some Boston newspapers.
- Massachusetts newspapers on Chronicling America — Library of Congress overview of the Massachusetts titles digitized so far.
Archives and libraries
- American Ancestors (New England Historic Genealogical Society) — Subscription databases that include New England death notices and newspaper abstracts.
- Massachusetts Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Massachusetts newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with county-by-county links.
Nationwide newspaper archives
- Chronicling America, Library of Congress — Free digitized newspapers from every state. Narrow a search to Massachusetts and the years you need.
- Google News Archive — Free scans of hundreds of older newspapers, browsable by title and date.
- Internet Archive newspapers — Free digitized newspapers and microfilm uploaded by libraries.
- FamilySearch — Free obituary indexes, death records and the Social Security Death Index (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.
Tips for finding an obituary in Massachusetts
- Pin down the date and place first. A death index or death certificate gives the exact date and county, and then you only need to search the local papers for the following week or two.
- Search more than one town. Obituaries often ran in the paper where the person was born or had lived before, not just where they died. Small-town weeklies sometimes published a notice weeks later.
- Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks. See death notices vs. obituaries.
- Try every spelling. Search initials, nicknames and misspellings, and for married women in older papers, search the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). Digitized text often misreads old type.
- Ask a librarian. Many public libraries and state archives will look up an obituary for free or a small fee, and newspaper microfilm can often be borrowed through interlibrary loan.