A 1905 state law required North Dakota’s official newspapers to send copies to the State Historical Society, so its collection runs from Dakota Territory to the present. More than a million pages are free to view online.
North Dakota obituaries in historic newspapers
The Frontier Scout was printed at Fort Union in 1864 by soldiers stationed there, and the Bismarck Tribune began in 1873, as the railroad reached the Missouri River. The Tribune was among the first papers to report the deaths at the Little Bighorn in 1876.
Homesteading in the 1880s and 1900s brought Norwegian, German, German-Russian and other immigrants, and small-town weeklies multiplied. Their obituaries often recorded where in Europe or Russia a homesteader was born and when the family arrived in Dakota, details that may not appear anywhere else.
The State Historical Society of North Dakota has digitized newspapers with the North Dakota Genealogy Society and contributes titles to Chronicling America. All its newspapers have been microfilmed and can be borrowed through interlibrary loan.
Where to find North Dakota obituaries
Digitized North Dakota newspapers
- Newspapers, State Historical Society of North Dakota — The Society’s newspaper collection and links to its digitized papers.
- North Dakota digital newspaper archive — Free digitized North Dakota newspapers from the State Historical Society.
Archives and libraries
- North Dakota Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to North Dakota 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 Dakota 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 Dakota
- 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.