There are several ways to find out information about the deceased, whether you know them or not. You can search obituaries in your local area by reading local papers or you can look online. It is a matter of time and ease and can also be a matter of cost- after all, you will typically have to pay for the papers if you go the old fashioned route.

Papers and Online Papers

You can search obituaries as they are printed in the paper- but if you are looking for one that was printed in previous issues, you may have to either go to the library or the newspaper office where you can find back issues of the paper. The news office will have more back issues of the paper, while the library will have a limited number of issues that they have on hand. In most cases, the smaller the library, the smaller the number of papers they will keep.

Whether you go to the newspaper office or the library to search obituaries, make sure that you explain your need to the staff there. Not only can they narrow your search down they may be able to give you additional search tips if you do not find what you are looking for the first time. For instance, they may suggest looking in neighboring cities or counties if it is possible that the obituary was published there instead.

In addition to digging through physical papers to search obituaries you can also turn to online papers to find them as well. Many papers no longer publish actual papers any more, opting for the much cheaper online version. These may be free to read while in other cases there might be a subscription fee to read parts of the paper. Even with the paid subscription online papers may allow you to search obituaries and other sections for free.

Historical Obituaries

If you need to search obituaries of famous people or from historical periods, you might be able to do so by Google searching their name, the date and adding the word “obituary”. For people who are not famous however, you may still be able to find and search obituaries online by certain ancestral sites, the most popular and largest of these being Ancestry.com. There are other sites of a similar nature however, and you should choose the one that will best fill your needs.

For sites like these, you may have to pay a membership fee to search obituaries, while others allow you to make a basic profile for free and then charge only if you find significant or in depth information while on the site. You may also have access to informational blogs and forums that can give you further tips and help to complete your search. Connecting with others who are trying to search obituaries and find their family history just like you can help you find the best sites and the best tips possible