GenealogyBank.com

Obituaries Search Tips

Search Obituaries by Name

Using Your Ancestor's First & Last Name

• Searches in this modern obituaries collection are processed against a field of data that contains the names of the deceased.
• For some newspapers, we are able to identify only the last name of the deceased family member within the obituary.
• Searching on both an ancestor's last name and first name may not find an obituary or death notice that is available.
• If you receive zero results for your first and last name search in this obits collection, try your search again by entering your ancestor's last name only.
• Conversely, if you need to narrow your obituary search results, try adding your deceased relative's first name in combination with the last name.

Search Obituaries Using the Order of People's Names

• If both the last and first names are entered on the search form, the obits search engine will retrieve obituaries and death notices that contain both words, within two words of each other, regardless of the order in which they appear.
• When entering first names into the search field, keep in mind the name variations that might be used—e.g., William, Bill, Will, etc.
• Name Variation search Examples:
• William Smith
• (William or Bill) Smith

Obituary Searches Using Keywords & Quotation Marks

• Narrow your obituary search by including keywords that you would expect to appear in the text of the death record or by excluding keywords that you do not want in your search result.
• Some people are interested in searching for obituaries or death notices of family members with connections to other people, locations, companies, organizations, etc.
• To search in this manner, enter the keywords that interest you in the "Include keywords with search" box.
• Remember to enclose phrases that you wish to match exactly in quotes (e.g., "naval academy").
• Obituary Keyword Search Examples:
• Find an obituary of a spouse or relative:
• Enter the name of the spouse or relative in the "Include keywords with search" box.
• The search results will include all obituaries and death notices that include a reference to that person.
• Find obituaries for deceased people in a city or town:
• Enter the name of a city or town in the "Include keywords with search" box.
• The search results will include all obituaries and death notices that include a reference to that city or town.
• Find obits of deceased people that worked at a company:
• Enter the name of a company in the "Include keywords with search" box.
• The search results will include all obituaries and death notices that include a reference to that company.
• Locate deceased people that attended a college, university, or school:
• Enter the name of a college or university in the "Include keywords with search" box.
• The search results will include all obituaries and death notices that include a reference to that college or university.
• Search obituaries for organizations, churches, religious affiliations, or hobbies, and more:
• Enter the name or names of all in the "Include keywords with search" box.
• The search results will include all obituaries and death notices that contain a reference to all the terms you entered.

Obituary Search by Dates

• If you know the date of the obituary you are searching for, use the "Date" search box.
• Enter a specific date or a date range—a variety of date formats are accepted.
• Examples: June 2, 1985 or 1985 - 1990 or June 1985 - August 1990.

Search Obituaries by State, City, or Newspaper Title

• Use the location list to the right of the search form to narrow your search to individual states or cities of publication, or individual obituary newspapers.
• Check multiple locations or newspapers to search a collection, or click one of the links to go deeper.