Family Tutor: Newspapers, Obituary

1.	Name of the deceased, place and date of death, and age
2.	Name of wife and surviving children
3.	Personal history

Obituary Notice from
The Religious Telescope

Obituary

An obituary notice can be one of the most important sources of information you will find for an ancestor or relative.

The obituary shown above appeared in a religious newspaper (a nearly identical notice was printed in a local newspaper) and gives very important information that will help trace the Reverend's line in other records.

Note that the obituary gives the migration pattern of the minister and his family. Suppose that the obituary had said he was born in Ohio, went to Indiana in 1831, to Illinois in 1845, Iowa in 1851 and then to Kansas in 1857, and was a member of the State legislature in 1867 and 1868.

From that migration information you know to search these records: 1820 and 1830 census for Butler County, Ohio; 1840 Indiana census index for Indiana; 1850 Illinois census index; 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 census for Miami County, Kansas; Kansas State historical records for mention of his tenure as a member of the state House of Representatives, as well as other records.

Obituary notices may be the only source that will tell you the name of the town where an immigrant ancestor was born! Always attempt to find an obituary notice.

Some local public libraries have obituary indexes and will search them for a small fee. Librarians may also have a list of people who will read the newspapers and make a photocopy of an obituary for you, again for a fee.

Check these publications for the newspapers printed in your area of interest and where they can be used:

Clarence Brigham, History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1690-1920, 2 vols., (Worcester, Mass.: American Antiquarian Society, 1947)
Winifred Gregory, American Newspapers, 1821-1926 A Union List of Files Available in the United States and Canada (1937. Reprint. New York: Kraus, 1967)
U.S. Library of Congress publication Newspapers in Microform: United States, 1848-1983, 2 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1984)

Many old newspapers have been microfilmed and can be used locally through interlibrary loan.