{"id":16089,"date":"2016-08-17T10:49:12","date_gmt":"2016-08-17T14:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=16089"},"modified":"2017-02-01T15:53:27","modified_gmt":"2017-02-01T20:53:27","slug":"valuable-genealogy-resource-recent-obituaries-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/valuable-genealogy-resource-recent-obituaries-collection.html","title":{"rendered":"Valuable Genealogy Resource: Recent Obituaries Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Duncan Kuehn describes the different kinds of obituary-type newspaper articles that can help fill in the details on your family tree. Duncan is a professional genealogist with over nine years of client experience. She has worked on several well-known projects, such as \u201cWho Do You Think You Are?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Along with the census, newspaper obituaries are a key resource for genealogists. If you\u2019re researching the more recent members of your family tree, then GenealogyBank\u2019s online Recent Obituaries<\/a> collection (from 1977 to Today) may provide important facts and clues to fill in the details of your family tree.<\/p>\n

You will find different types of articles providing death information in the Recent Obituaries collection. This article will describe several of them.<\/p>\n

Death Notices<\/strong><\/p>\n

A death notice is a short informational item run in the newspaper to announce the death and provide details about the funeral. These are sometimes posted immediately after the death and may reappear on the day of the funeral. A death notice may run in multiple newspapers.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts), 1 October 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Obituaries<\/strong><\/p>\n

An obituary is a full-length article giving biographical information about a deceased individual. An obituary can be written by the newspaper staff or submitted to the newspaper by friends or family members of the decedent. Some newspapers use the term \u201cobituary\u201d for articles written by their staff and \u201cdeath notice\u201d for those submitted to the paper. For our purposes, I have chosen to define the two terms by length and content \u2013 an obituary being a longer article, including biographical information, and a death notice being a very short announcement.<\/p>\n

Historically, newspapers did not charge for obituaries and many of them are very lengthy and include photographs. You can find long biographies with excellent information for a genealogist.<\/p>\n

Obituaries can run over several weeks in the newspaper. This may explain why multiple entries appear for the same person. Obituaries are usually written days or even weeks after the death occurred. And they may even appear in the paper after the funeral has taken place.<\/p>\n

Obituaries, like death notices, may run in multiple papers. They may appear throughout the community where the person died. They may also appear in newspapers where the individual grew up or spent their working years. They may even appear in newspapers where close family members live, even if the decedent never lived there. Because of this, it is wise to search nationwide for obituaries.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts), 29 September 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is another example of a recent obituary.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), 13 October 2007<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Memorial Articles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friends and\/or family members will sometimes post a notice on the anniversary of the death of their loved one to memorialize their passing. These articles vary in length but are generally fairly short and tender.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), 10 October 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Human Interest Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

These are longer articles written by the newspaper staff about the death of individuals significant to the community. They may have caught the editor\u2019s eye because the death was unusually tragic, the person was well known in the community, or the person\u2019s life story is of interest to a wide readership.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), 10 May 2008<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course, obituaries are not a recent phenomenon. Obituaries prior to 1977 can be found in GenealogyBank\u2019s online Historical Obituaries<\/a> collection.<\/p>\n

Obituaries hold significant, valuable information for genealogists. Be sure to incorporate obituaries in all your family history information \u2013 both for the facts they contain, as well as the family history clues they provide for further genealogy research.<\/p>\n

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