The Ancestor Hunt - Blog

560 Free Obituary and Obituary Index Links for the Mid-Atlantic States

1/18/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes mote importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes often provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping is even provided.

So not only can we search old newspapers for these gems, we can get transcriptions and get directed to the location of the obituaries from these indexes.

Here are alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information, listed by the link to each state's list of free links. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January 2021; Number of databases and new updates are denoted)

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Maryland Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/18/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Maryland obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Maryland

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Maryland Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Maryland Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Pennsylvania Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/18/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Pennsylvania obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Pennsylvania

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Pennsylvania Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Pennsylvania Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free District of Columbia Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/18/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to District of Columbia obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

District of Columbia

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on District of Columbia Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free District of Columbia Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Kentucky Online Cemetery and Burial Records

1/17/2021

Cemetery records and cemeteries in general are a very large part of our family history and is a significant pursuit for many genealogists. Sometimes, the information on a headstone is the only information available for certain ancestors.

What can you find in these records? How about birth, marriage, and death information and clues to military service, religion, and organization memberships. Location of the burial plot, tombstone inscriptions, cemetery maps, sexton registers, and headstone photos are also generally available.

Here are a few good primers on the benefits of searching cemetery records:

I have not performed separate searches from Find a Grave, Billion Graves, or Interment.net by county or individual cemetery as that would be time prohibitive. Those sites are very useful, and you might find references to them from sub-collection links.

Note: Some of the links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections' images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage, please make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

Below are links to cemetery, burial, and interment records as well as indexes and tombstone inscriptions that are available for free online.

General U.S.

African American Cemeteries.com
Billion Graves Index
Find A Grave Index
Names in Stone Cemetery Maps
United States, Cemetery Abstracts, 1949-1969
US GenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project
Veteran's Nationwide Gravesite Locator

Kentucky

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Kentucky Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free New York Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/16/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to New York obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

New York

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on New York Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free New York Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Bi-Monthly Newsletter from The Ancestor Hunt - January 15, 2021

1/15/2021

Hello to The Ancestor Hunt readers! Here is the latest Bi-monthly Newsletter. It includes links to all of the articles published since the previous newsletter, as well as articles that I think you might find interesting from other authors. It also includes research tips, a joke or two, and other interesting genealogical stuff.

It is published on The Ancestor Hunt website and shared on The Ancestor Hunt Facebook Page, Twitter, Linked In, and Tumblr.

I hope that you find it useful. And Thank You for being a loyal reader and visitor.

The Ancestor Hunt Bi-Monthly Newsletter 01-15-2021
File Size:	2431 kb
File Type:	pdf

By clicking on Download File above, you can see this version of the Newsletter in your Browser and you can then download it if you wish.

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Need Help With Your Genealogy Research? Check out Trace

1/14/2021

About a month ago. I came in contact with Wesley Eames of Trace.com. After a lengthy discussion, I asked Wes if I could interview him and share the exciting work that Trace is doing for its customers. Below is that interview.

If you are like me, you have been doing your own genealogy research for decades, improving your results through experience, educational classes, etc. Sometimes I have felt that I have been bumbling along. But like me. you might have some brick walls, or just areas or ancestors that you just want to find out more about.

Trace is a company who utilizes a network of 4,000 genealogists and a well thought through process to scope and deliver genealogy research for a fee. The details are described below.

It is exciting to report that Trace is providing a substantial discount to The Ancestor Hunt readers. Please read the details below.

1. Hello, Wesley. Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. Could you provide a short history of the Trace.com company and its mission?

Thank you Kenneth for talking to me today. Trace.com started in 2015 with a mission to make discovering yourself and your family’s history more easy and affordable for our customers. We believe there is a wealth of knowledge among the professional genealogists of the world and we wanted to help consumers unlock that expertise and increase the accessibility to them globally.

We started as a pure technology marketplace and have evolved into a tech-enabled service over the last four years as we’ve completed thousands of projects and learned and iterated. Today, we help customers gain access not only to our network of 4,000 genealogists, but we enable them to get the highest quality of research results with a lower risk than most research firms and generally save them over $1,000 in doing it compared to the alternative.

2. It seems like having a professional genealogy research-oriented technology and team has some real advantages for those of us researchers who don't know how or where to start in hiring a consultant to help. Can you summarize the process and provide a link to where a possible client can discover more?

Sure thing! Our process is pretty straightforward and has evolved as we continually focus on making things easy and less risky for our customers when it comes to hiring a professional.

We think the logical first step in any project is to narrow down the specific objectives and analyze exactly where the customer is in their research. We begin this process with a very low upfront fee of $150, which allows our professionals to roll up our sleeves and dive into the tree data, records and research already conducted, to establish a starting point. Once we have a complete understanding of that starting point, our team matches those objectives with the best researchers in our broad network, who not only can help, but will have the highest probability of success in meeting those research goals.

We then collect 1-2 proposals from researchers we trust and who have a proven track record of success with similar objectives in that area of expertise. We schedule time with our customers to review the options and then it’s 100% up to them if they choose to move forward from the initial scoping phase to the more in-depth research phase of the project. They can make an informed decision now that they know the full scope, the risks associated with the search, any results of the preliminary searching and the fees and number of hours necessary for the research plan to be carried out.

We’ve found this process provides people with more transparent information upfront, for less than the hourly retainer model. It has also increased our success rate and reduced our number of negative search results substantially more than a typical research firm.

If anyone wants to get an idea of what we can do for their brick wall, they can visit Trace.com and schedule a free consultation with a member of our team here.

3. How do you assure that the person(s) who do the work are competent and trustworthy? How many researchers around the world can you avail yourself of?

Great question, Kenneth! Having completed thousands of projects, all of which Trace.com is the sole party responsible for the quality and end product of the delivered research, we’ve developed an internal scoring/review system that allows to grade and rate each researcher based on dozens of criteria including but not limited to their communication, research approach, source citations, timeliness of deliverables and many more.

Not only that, but we back each project - so if something doesn’t meet our highest standards for research, we either redo the research ourselves or enlist another researcher on our dime. We ensure and stand by each project’s deliverables, as they are ultimately Trace’s deliverables.

Our network spans over 4,000 researchers and it’s growing every week. We have tiers of expertise and trust as a subset of that larger list and actively work to train and build trust with more of the newer researchers in our network or just ones that haven’t completed as many projects for us.

4. How does one start if they are interested in obtaining a quote, and is there a cost for that?

If anyone reading has a brick wall or a research project they’ve considered getting professional help with, be it DNA research, overseas records that are not accessible or even language/skill gaps, they can very easily fill out this form: Getting Started Form

Once completed, they will be able to schedule a 20-30 minute free consultation with one of our expert team members to go over specific objectives, the feasibility of the research and potential scope and costs to get it done.

We’re also offering more than 30% off to all of your readers Kenneth, if they would like to start and scope out a research project through the end of January. We’d gladly honor reducing our scoping fee from $150 to $99 during that time frame on a first-come, first-serve basis. It doesn’t cost anything to schedule an appointment and we’ll gladly talk through your research goals and a plan to start accomplishing them.
Head over to Trace.com or fill out this short form to redeem this offer.

5. How many projects have you done, and can you provide testimonials for a potential client?

Certainly! To give you an idea of Trace’s operation and experience, any given month we have approximately 500 projects being managed by our team and technology. Additionally, hundreds of new ones are started every month.

If anyone would like to see recent customer testimonials, they can review those at TrustPilot:
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/trace.com

6. Is there anything else that potential clients should know?

Yes, actually. We've found over the years many of our customers share a similar sentiment at the end of their project. Specifically, that they waited years longer than they should have in hiring an expert because they thought it was either a) too expensive and not something they could afford or b) didn’t realize how big of a difference it would make hiring a professional researcher compared to what they knew how to do.

This is always bittersweet when we solve a 25 year brick wall for a customer, because we are thrilled they broke through it, but saddened they struggled with that part of the family tree for so many years when it usually only takes us a couple months to complete those projects.

So, if you’ve ever considered hiring a pro, don’t hesitate to schedule a free consultation and we’ll gladly help however we can!

Thank you WesleyI I have an interest in one major branch of my tree, for dozens of ancestors from a small town now in Poland—Szubin (formerly Schubin, Germany). I will be contacting you so that Trace can help me with further discoveries!

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

FamilySearch New and Updated Collections - January 1-15, 2021

1/14/2021

Source: familysearch.org

FamilySearch continues to add or update their records collections at a fast pace for us to search.

For the period of January 1-15, 2021, the added/updated collections are:

For a complete list of all added/updated collections, go to https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list

I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for!

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

The 5 Best Free Sites for Online Newspaper Research for Genealogy

1/14/2021

** 2021 Update**

I have been an historical newspaper research addict for a long time. In the past several years I have decided to ratchet up my interest and share what I have learned through newspaper research-related blog articles, huge link lists, as well as video tutorials.

For all my articles about newspaper research, just navigate to the Newspapers Page of this site and browse. There are plenty of articles to read.

And please check out the Bonus section below for access to the most comprehensive list of links to free online historical newspapers in the U.S. and Canada.

What I would like to relate now is my list of the best free sites to find historical articles about your ancestors in newspapers. These are the first ones that I would use if I were starting out. They have been chosen not because of their interface - because some are better than others and some are not ideal. These are presented in no particular order. And remember that these are Free sites only and you do Not have to go to a library to access them.

Elephind - over 200 million items (newspaper pages/articles) and 4,345 titles from several countries. You can search multiple collections all at once.
Library of Congress - Chronicling America - over 17.6 million pages and 3,300 titles from 48 states. Easy interface and growing constantly, although the growth is quite slow.
Old Fulton NY Post Cards - 50 million pages of New York State (and many other states) historical newspapers
Advantage Archives Collections - 735 collections from 44 states. The latest list can be found at
80 Million Historic U.S. Newspaper Pages Now Available from Advantage Archives
Trove -over 23.8 million pages from Australia

Google News Archive - over 2,500 newspapers from the U.S. and Canada - gets an asterisk. You can still get to all of these newspapers, but the search function is pretty much restricted to newspapers since 1970. And although these are the rules, some pre-1970 pages might sneak in. This is really too bad, since this is quite a large collection of otherwise non-digitized smaller newspapers.

BONUS

There used to be several sites that listed links to online newspaper titles that regularly updated their lists. Sadly, none remain that are active, except for one. Gone are the very good lists from Bowling Green State University and the University of Pennsylvania. Still existing, but rarely updated are the lists from Wikipedia, ICON, and Xooxle.

But one remains that actively updates, every 4 months for the U.S. and every 6 months for Canada. Initiated in 2013, it is right here:

The Ancestor Hunt - Newspaper Research Links - over 39,000 free newspaper titles and links for the U.S. and Canada. (Note: includes all the titles from Chronicling America, Fulton, Advantage Archives and Google).

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free New Jersey Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/14/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to New Jersey obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

New Jersey

Woodbridge Sentinel Obituaries (transcriptions)

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on New Jersey Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free New Jersey Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Delaware Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/14/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Delaware obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Delaware

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Delaware Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Delaware Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free West Virginia Online Cemetery and Burial Records

1/13/2021

Cemetery records and cemeteries in general are a very large part of our family history and is a significant pursuit for many genealogists. Sometimes, the information on a headstone is the only information available for certain ancestors.

What can you find in these records? How about birth, marriage, and death information and clues to military service, religion, and organization memberships. Location of the burial plot, tombstone inscriptions, cemetery maps, sexton registers, and headstone photos are also generally available.

Here are a few good primers on the benefits of searching cemetery records:

I have not performed separate searches from Find a Grave, Billion Graves, or Interment.net by county or individual cemetery as that would be time prohibitive. Those sites are very useful, and you might find references to them from sub-collection links.

Note: Some of the links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections' images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage, please make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

Below are links to cemetery, burial, and interment records as well as indexes and tombstone inscriptions that are available for free online.

General U.S.

African American Cemeteries.com
Billion Graves Index
Find A Grave Index
Names in Stone Cemetery Maps
United States, Cemetery Abstracts, 1949-1969
US GenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project
Veteran's Nationwide Gravesite Locator

West Virginia

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free West Virginia Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Advantage Archives Adds 950 Thousand Historical Newspaper Pages - December, 2020

1/11/2021

In February, 2017, I started publishing a list of the catalog of online historical newspapers from over 400 different collections put together by the Advantage Archives Company, developed in conjunction with the libraries, historical societies and museums across the U.S. who preserve the historical newspapers for their communities. The list has grown a lot since then. Now there are over 730 collections - over an 80% per cent growth in four years.

To see the latest complete list, click on 80 Million Historic U.S. Newspaper Pages Now Available from Advantage Archives

Here are the new County and Library collections that were added after the previous monthly Advantage Archives update, followed by the collections that have had newspapers added to their existing collections in the last month.

New County and Library Collections (listed by county; includes name and link to collection, and number of issues or pages):

Iowa

Sac - Odebolt Public Library and Museum (175,025 pages)

Michigan

Otsego - Otsego (127,736 pages)

New Jersey

Bergen - Our Town Newspapers (2,735 pages)

New York

Chenango - Oxford Memorial Library (54,861 pages)
Otsego - Unadilla Public Library (29,266 pages)

Texas

Falls - D Brown Memorial Library (56,126 pages)

Updated Collections

Here is a list by state and county of the existing online collections that had pages added in the last month that are available to search for free:

Arizona

Pinal - Casa Grande Public Library

Idaho

Bannock - Marshall Public Library

Illinois

Henry - Geneseo Public Library District

Iowa

Maine

Kennebec - Gardiner Public Library
Cumberland - Scarborough Public Library

Massachusetts

Essex - Boxford
Essex - Flint Public Library
Essex - Topsfield Library
Middlesex - Hudson Public Library
Middlesex - Tewksbury Public Library
Norfolk - Foxborough Historical Commission

Michigan

Otsego - Otsego
Lenawee - State Line Observer

Montana

Hill - Havre Hill County Library

Nebraska

New Hampshire

Rockingham - Derry Public Library

New York

Cattaraugus - Saint Bonaventure University - Friedsam Memorial Library
Westchester - North Castle Public Library
Nassau - Hewlett Woodmere Public Library
Ulster - Saugerties Public Library

North Carolina

Haywood - Haywood County Public Library

North Dakota

North Dakota - North Dakota Archives

Rhode Island

Newport - Jamestown Philomenian Library
Providence - Greenville Public Library

Texas

Camp - Pittsburg-Camp County Public Library
Hunt - Commerce Public Library

West Virginia

Ohio - Ohio County Public Library

If you wish to see a complete list of links to historical newspapers that are searchable for free from companies like Advantage Archives and many others, check out Newspaper Links.

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Where to Find Old Obituaries Online

1/8/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

For a good summary of what kind of pertinent information you can find in obituaries, click on 32 Reasons Why Searching for Obituaries is Like Finding Gold

In the old days, finding obituaries required flipping though old newspapers in libraries or newspaper rooms. It was a tedious process, but all we had. Today, this is called “browsing”.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists, these old newspapers began to be microfilmed, and more recently, digitally scanned. And the microfilms have been scanned as well. So now, flipping through these digital representations of the old newspapers is much more easily accomplished.

With the addition of Optical Character Recognition (OCR), dots on a newspaper page can now be interpreted as letters or symbols, forming words, and complete articles. And with the advent of crowdsourcing and text correction, the OCR results can now be improved by users of online newspaper collections.

Where are Obituaries?

In short, obituaries can be found in four places:

You can still find original newspapers in libraries and archives
Microform representation of newspapers can be found in libraries and archives.
Digitized online newspaper collections that are provided by libraries, archives, and many commercial and other suppliers.
Obituary and Obituary Index collections that are provided by libraries, genealogical and historical societies, and general representations in free online sites such as FamilySearch and Rootsweb. Many of the indexes might represent entries in scrapbooks and file folders held at libraries and societies.

Where are Online Obituaries Found?

The creators of online obituary collections include:

Newspaper scanning entities
Online Newspapers
Public and Academic Libraries
Nursing Homes
Churches
Coroners
Mortuaries and Funeral Homes
Genealogical and Historical Societies
Museums
Fraternal organizations
School & Alumni Associations

Obituary Indexes and Obtaining the Obituary

Obituary Indexes are created by people patient enough to go through old obituaries regardless of their source and capture (at a minimum) the name of the deceased and the publication name and date of the newspaper where the obituary originally resided. With that minimal information you can browse or search the newspaper issue for the representation of the original obituary. Often, additional information is included in the index, such as death date, death location, birth date, etc.

Nomenclature can be an issue when dealing with obituaries and obituary indexes. For example, is a Death Notice the same as an Obituary? Is a Death Index the same as an Obituary Index?

I would encourage you to read What is the Difference Between an Obituary, a Death Notice, an Obituary Index and a Death Index?

So now that you find an obituary from an index you want to get your hands on, what do you do?

If you have the name of the newspaper and the publication date, you can browse or search that newspaper for the obit. As mentioned earlier, you can browse originals, scroll through microfilm, or browse through a digital representation of the newspaper, available at a library computer or online.

If you searched or browsed through an obituary index at a library or online, often that institution will have clippings in a book or file folders and for a small fee will make a copy (digital or otherwise) and email or mail it to you.

Online Obituary Sites for Fairly Recent Obituaries

In the last 20 years or so, many online obituary aggregator sites have cropped up, such as Legacy, and original online obituary “publishers”, such as Tributes. These types of sites are the future for obituary “publishing”. Because of the cost of contributing newspaper obituaries and the diminishing paper subscribers, most newspapers now publish obits in their online sites.

I would encourage you to read What is the Future of Obituaries? for more information.

Obituary Collector Sites

There are also “Obituary Collectors” who have sites that you can search. Many of them charge a small fee to download a transcription, or the sites are full of ads, which makes navigating the sites somewhat difficult.

The Ancestor Hunt and Obituaries

Besides general genealogical topics, this website began in earnest over 5 years ago researching and listing links to free online historical newspaper collections. Today there are over 39,000 titles from the U.S. and Canada available. Click on the Newspaper Links Page for the lists of links.

About two years ago, I began collecting links to historical obituaries freely available online. Also, links to obituary indexes have been collected. Currently there are almost 4,000 links to free obituary and obituary index sites. Click on the Obituaries Page for the lists of links.

Some of my greatest breakthroughs in my personal genealogy research have been because of obituaries. Hopefully you will have the same good fortune.

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

1,195 Free Obituary and Obituary Index Collection Links for the Southern States

1/8/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes often provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping is even provided.

So not only can we search old newspapers for these gems, we can get transcriptions and get directed to the location of the obituaries from these indexes.

Here are alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information, listed by the link to each state's list of free links. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated June, 2020; Number of databases are denoted)

Alabama Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (53 total)
Arkansas Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (78 total)
Florida Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (63 total)
Georgia Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (78 total)
Kentucky Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (120 total)
Louisiana Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (64 total)
Mississippi Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (45 total)
Missouri Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (114 total)
North Carolina Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (77 total)
Oklahoma Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (87 total)
South Carolina Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (42 total)
Tennessee Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (103 total)
Texas Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (123 total)
Virginia Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (81 total)
West Virginia Obituaries and Obituary Index Links (65 total)

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Missouri Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/8/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Missouri obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Missouri

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Missouri Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Missouri Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free South Carolina Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/8/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to South Carolina obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

South Carolina

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on South Carolina Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free South Carolina Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Alabama Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/8/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Alabama obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Alabama

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Alabama Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Alabama Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Arkansas Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/8/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Arkansas obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Arkansas

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Arkansas Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Arkansas Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Louisiana Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/8/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Louisiana obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Louisiana

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Louisiana Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Louisiana Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Oklahoma Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/7/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Oklahoma obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Oklahoma

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Oklahoma Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Oklahoma Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Georgia Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/7/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Georgia obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Georgia

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Georgia Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Georgia Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

Free Virginia Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/7/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Virginia obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Virginia

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Virginia Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Virginia Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

_______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt

_______________________________________________________

Free Texas Obituaries and Obituary Index Links

1/7/2021

One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information and sometimes more importantly - information about the relatives of the deceased's family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.

Below is a list of links to Texas obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.

(Updated January, 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

General U.S.

Texas

If you wish to search this state's historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Texas Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Texas Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records

______________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

______________________________________________________

©2012-21

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