What's more, some of them even have online obituary indexes that you can take advantage of before going on to locate the actual document in the library's newspaper collections. For another, they have extensive genealogical collections, including the runs of newspapers long gone into oblivion. For one thing, as already said, they have qualified staff. Libraries are perhaps the best source of information in an obituary search. Bear in mind that some deaths, especially resulting from accidents or epidemics that may not be reported in obituaries, are reported in news stories. If, however, they died in a place different from their place of residence, there is a chance that a newspaper from the former had carried a story about the event. If the decedent lived and died in the same town or city, then it will be one of the papers circulating in this location that would have published an obituary. Speculation would help you narrow down the number of newspapers that could have published a death notice or an obituary. In case it is impossible to gather all the details such as date of death and newspaper that could have carried an obituary, you can do some speculation and then enlist the help of qualified professionals, that is, librarians. This is why collecting as much information as possible before starting your search is essential and will save you a lot of time. Apart from the fact that most of these do not keep century-long databases, there is also the possibility that the death of the person you are researching was not announced in a newspaper obituary. Although the period is not too long, it is still a convenient resource for those looking for a much older obituary than usual.Įven with this choice of websites dedicated to obituaries and death notices, don't be surprised if you fail to find the notice you need. You can search through Michigan obituaries dating from the period 1867 to 1897. One digital database that keeps historical obituaries is Family Search. You can also use an advanced search option, which will provide additional filters such as period and keyword. Search is, as with most such websites, name-based and place-based. You can browse recent entries, or tap the archives. MLive is one website that keeps a database of obituaries published in one of eight newspapers from the state. If you are looking for an obituary that was published in a Michigan newspaper, here are some of your online options. Some of these are nationwide, others are statewide. In today's increasingly digitalized environment, the first place to start such a search would be the internet, where websites with obituary databases abound. It could be a time-consuming business, though, if you lack information and if the obituary was published a long time ago in a newspaper that is no longer in circulation. Obituary searches can be quick, if you are equipped with all the details about the person whose obituary you are looking for, and if it's recent.

It provides access to important government agencies like the Health Department and the Archives.

But that's not probably quite you, is it? Whatever your reasons for seeking out an obituary, this article will help you do it, with specific attention to the state of Michigan.Ī good place to start out your search is at the official government website for the State of Michigan. In weirder cases, law enforcement officials have even had to use obituaries to foil criminals assuming the identities of the deceased.

Librarians and genealogists are among these. For others, keeping track of obituaries is part of their job. It could be a way of keeping in touch with their community, or seeing if someone they know has passed away. Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyomingįor some people it is a habit to go through the obituary section of their local paper regularly.

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