How to Obtain an Obituary

Obituaries provide information on surviving family members and funeral arrangements.

An obituary is a short dedication typically printed in a village, town or city newspaper where the deceased resided. You can also find obituaries on the Internet. They are often provided to newspapers by family members and can be found most often by last name. But the more information you have, the better your chances of finding who you're looking for. Knowing additional information like maiden names, date of birth or date of death can narrow your search significantly.

Things You'll Need

• Newspaper
• Library Card

Instructions

1. Call the newspaper in the area where the individual last resided. Ask if they can search their archives for the name of the individual you seek.

2. Contact the local newspapers where the individual originally lived or grew up. Family members may include an obituary in the person's original hometown paper.

3. Ask your local librarian for help searching archived newspapers. While this is a good option to consider if the deceased is local, may libraries archive national newspapers that can help in your search, too.

4. 

   Many newspapers have a related website where obituaries can be found.

   Utilize websites that specialize in obituary searches like legacy.com, obituaries.com or obitlinkspage.com. These sites provide extensive search engines that canvass obituaries worldwide.

Tips & Warnings

• Call libraries in the city where the deceased resided and ask the librarian if she is willing to help you find the obituary you're looking for.

References

• Legacy.com: Search obituaries
• Obituaries.com: U.S. Obituaries by Newspaper
• Obituary Links Page: Welcome to the Obituary Links Page