Obituaries published in a local newspaper were once required in certain states as proof of death.  They usually tell family information of those that died before the deceased and those that are still living as well as funeral and burial information.  Death Notices, on the other hand, only give a brief description of who died and funeral information.

Although obits will have publication errors, they are very helpful in determining family relationships.  Two or more obits may be published about the same deceased person depending on their immediate family residences, where they resided,  where they died, how often that newspaper publishes.

To properly cite an obituary as your source, the name of the newspaper, city and state, and it's date of publication are required.  Be sure to include a source location for the newspaper in which the obit was found.

Locating Old Newspapers:  Sometimes, old newspapers are donated to the local public library; but, every county has their "official publication" in which legal notices are published to constitute service upon individuals by publication and other general public notices required by law. County Courthouses must maintain a collection of these newspapers for future reference. Thus, obituaries are available from these same, stored newspapers in the Courthouse.  In Tennessee, they may be sent to the official county archives.  Each state usually has an on-going "Newspaper Project" which microfilms local newspapers and stores them in their state archives or major library.

Obituaries are also published in religious publications which are stored at State Archives but also each religious sect's national/regional repositories.

Need to write an obit?  Check out "The Obituary Guide".

Many obit transcriptions are stored within personal and surname web sites.  We suggest that researchers supplement their search for these by using:

Goggle Search Tips

Obituaries &
Historical Newspapers
 

 Obituary Collection

Legacy.com
recent obits from more than 700 USA newspapers

National Obituary Archive [NOA]
over 59 million records & even an email notification system
to let you know when an obit arrives that interests you

The Obituary Daily Times
@ rootsweb.com

Obituary Message Board
@ rootsweb.com

Geographical by State Message Boards
@ rootsweb.com

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