North Carolina has one of the best free newspaper archives of any state. DigitalNC hosts digitized papers from all over the state, from the 1700s to recent decades, and it is the first place to look for an obituary.
North Carolina obituaries in historic newspapers
James Davis printed the North-Carolina Gazette in New Bern in 1751. Early papers reported deaths briefly, but by the 1800s papers in Raleigh, Wilmington, Fayetteville and Salisbury carried longer notices and tributes, often reprinted from church papers or written by friends of the family.
After the Civil War, county weeklies spread across the state, and many survive only in small runs. Black newspapers, college papers and denominational papers such as the Biblical Recorder (Baptist) and the North Carolina Christian Advocate (Methodist) are important for obituaries, because church papers often printed memorials for ordinary members.
DigitalNC, run by the University of North Carolina’s North Carolina Collection, has digitized newspapers contributed by libraries and publishers across the state, including many 20th-century titles that are not on Chronicling America.
Where to find North Carolina obituaries
Digitized North Carolina newspapers
- North Carolina Newspapers, DigitalNC — Free digitized newspapers from every part of North Carolina.
Archives and libraries
- State Archives of North Carolina — Death records, newspaper microfilm and genealogy research guides in Raleigh.
- North Carolina Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina
- 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.