{"id":84775,"date":"2022-05-24T11:33:55","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T15:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=84775"},"modified":"2022-05-24T11:34:58","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T15:34:58","slug":"genealogy-tip-do-i-search-for-obituaries-using-the-word-obituary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/genealogy-tip-do-i-search-for-obituaries-using-the-word-obituary.html","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy Tip: Do I Search for Obituaries Using the Word \u2018Obituary\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega gives tips for searching for obituaries in old newspapers to get better search results. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

How do you search for an obituary in an online collection of newspapers, such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>? You most likely search by the deceased\u2019s name \u2013 but what other information do you add to the search?<\/p>\n

Adding a place or a date range may help to narrow and focus your search. But what about other keywords? Are you adding the keyword \u201cobituary\u201d or \u201cobituaries\u201d? Should you?<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York. Credit: Plowboylifestyle; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Obituaries Are Not Always Called Obituaries<\/strong><\/p>\n

We refer to a newspaper article that include the name of the deceased and biographical information as an obituary. But in newspapers, they aren\u2019t always titled that way. Sometimes a whole group of them are titled \u201cobituary,\u201d singular, even though there are many of them. Sometimes a group is called \u201cobituaries.\u201d Other times they\u2019re called something else entirely, such as \u201cfuneral notices\u201d or \u201cdeath notices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at some examples.<\/p>\n

This 1970 example from Flint, Michigan, titles these death articles as \u201cObituary and Funeral Notices.\u201d Note the word \u201cobituary,\u201d singular, is used, even though there are several obituaries in this group.<\/p>\n

\"Obituaries,<\/a>
Flint Journal (Flint, Michigan), 31 December 1970, page 20<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This 1950 example from Springfield, Illinois, is titled \u201cObituary\u201d even though there are three obituaries printed underneath this column heading. To make things even more confusing, there are more obituaries printed to the right of these three \u2013 and they are grouped under the heading \u201cCentral Illinois Deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Obituaries,<\/a>
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield, Illinois), 31 December 1950, page 24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In other cases, some newspapers list a group of death notices as \u201cobituaries,\u201d plural \u2013 as you might expect \u2013 rather than \u201cobituary,\u201d singular, as in this 1920 example from Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\n

\"Obituaries,<\/a>
Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio), 30 December 1920, page 10<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although there are newspaper columns titled \u201cobituary\u201d or \u201cobituaries,\u201d they also may be called something else. Consider this 1900 example from Sumter, South Carolina, which is simply titled \u201cDeath.\u201d Note also that this column contains two death notices, yet it is titled \u201cDeath\u201d instead of \u201cDeaths.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Obituaries,<\/a>
Watchman and Southron (Sumter, South Carolina), 26 December 1900, page 6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And then there\u2019s the possibility that obituaries are found in a column that lacks a title at all, as in this 1704 example from Boston, Massachusetts. These two death notices at the top left of the newspaper page were printed sans a title.<\/p>\n

\"Obituaries,<\/a>
Boston News-Letter (Boston, Massachusetts), 3 July 1704, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How to Search for an Obituary<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might notice from the above examples that including the word \u201cobituary\u201d in your search may not result in finding what you would hope. So, how should you search? Here are a few suggestions.<\/p>\n