Tennessee newspapers began in 1791, five years before statehood. The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) indexes death notices from 19th-century Nashville papers and offers death certificates through 1958.
Tennessee obituaries in historic newspapers
The Knoxville Gazette was first printed in 1791, at Rogersville, before moving to Knoxville. Early papers in Knoxville, Nashville and Jonesborough reported deaths of settlers and officials, and a book of obituaries drawn from early Tennessee newspapers from 1794 to 1851, originally compiled by TSLA staff, is a useful starting point for the period.
Nashville and Memphis became the state’s main newspaper cities in the 1800s. Memphis papers recorded the yellow fever epidemics of the 1870s, when lists of the dead were printed daily. TSLA’s index of death notices in Nashville newspapers covers 1855 to 1907.
Local libraries keep their own obituary indexes for their papers, such as the Chattanooga Public Library’s index to the Chattanooga Times and News-Free Press.
Where to find Tennessee obituaries
Digitized Tennessee newspapers
- Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA) — TSLA’s digital repository of Tennessee history, including newspapers and records.
Obituary and death indexes
- TSLA Indexes, Tennessee State Library and Archives — Searchable indexes including death notices in Nashville newspapers, 1855–1907.
Archives and libraries
- Tennessee State Library and Archives — Newspaper microfilm and Tennessee death certificates, 1908–1958, in Nashville.
- Tennessee Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee
- 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.