How to Look Up an Obituary Online
There are thousands of websites that either provide obituary information directly or act as portals to access archived newspaper obituaries. An online obituary usually contains information about the deceased (name, address, dates of birth and death), descriptions of significant life achievements or honors and the details of any funeral or memorial arrangements. Online obituaries may also be incorporated into memorial websites where visitors are encouraged to add their own memories of the deceased as well as photographs, video clips or audio files. While some memorial sites are password protected for privacy, online obituaries by newspapers and government agencies are considered public records and everyone may read them.
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Things You'll Need
- Deceased's name (first, last)
- Deceased's residential address (city, state)
- Date of death (within 14 days)
- Place of death (city, state)
Instructions
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Gather as much information as you can about the death and the deceased. This includes the deceased's name, where he lived, where he died and the date of death (to within two weeks before or after if you do not have the exact date). If you are applying to a government agency for benefits, you will also need the deceased's Social Security number.
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Identify local newspapers for both the area where the death occurred and where the deceased lived, and do simple Internet searching to find the websites for these newspapers.
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Identify an obituary search website or portal that can assist your efforts to find the online obituary, such as Genealogy Bank, Obituaries Archive or obituary sites for various religious, cultural or professional groups (see Resources below). Many obituary search engines or portals require membership before you can use them.
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Navigate to the newspaper site or one of the obituary search engines and enter as much information in the provided search form about the deceased as you have. Note that some newspapers and obituary search sites will charge for providing archived obituary notices.
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