Obituaries
Obituaries in USA
Obituaries have appeared in USA newspapers since the late 1800's. However, they became more popular in later years. Published obituaries are not required in the USA. Obituaries are optional. Death certificates are required. Not everyone will have a published obituary. Everyone will have a death certificate.
Families choose to write obituaries to honor their deceased relatives. Also obituaries inform other people of the death and future funeral services. Family members usually pay for the publication of an obituary. The size and length of an obituary varies, it may be a simple two-three line death notice or an elaborate biography of the deceased. People of status in a community usually have larger more detailed obituaries.
Obituaries are often a good source of genealogical information. Obituaries often will provide:
name of deceased
age
parents' names
birth location
home location
occupation
military service, significant accomplishments
cause of death
religion and group memberships
name(s) of spouse and children; surviving relatives
funeral arrangements and place of burial
and a variety of other significant information
However, obituaries not always provide the death date, to find the exact date it will require further research based on the date and day of the week that the obituary was published.
Obituaries can be published in a variety of locations. Often they are published in the community newspaper where the deceased person died and also, in the community newspaper where the deceased person was born and lived. Obituaries for people of status are published in multiple places to inform everyone.
Obituaries can be obtained from newspaper archives. Some newspaper archives are available by computer online. Some archives require payment such as www.newspapers.com by Ancestry or www.genealogybank.com.
Other newspaper archives are free of charge such as Google Newspaper Archives or www.legacy.com.
Newspaper archives are often available at US public libraries. They can be obtained in person at the library at no cost. They often can be requested through email sometimes for a small fee. Obituaries may also be available at the funeral home of the deceased, or at specific genealogical and historical group sites.
Research is required to determine where the obituaries are available for the geographic area in which the deceased person lived.
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