Tips for how to find obituaries on FamilySearch

Article Id: 21284
April 14, 2024

An obituary is a brief biography of a person's life, published by newspapers or funeral homes. Obituaries can be a valuable resource for genealogists. The record can contain information about the deceased person. Expect to find varying amounts of information in obituaries:

  • The full name of the deceased
  • Date of birth and death
  • Names of family members
  • Biographical details
  • Funeral or memorial service information
  • Place of burial
  • Family members who attended a memorial service.

Obituaries on FamilySearch

  • Many obituaries, particularly from the United States, are indexed and searchable by name.
  • Some obituary collections are not yet indexed, but the images are digitized. You can view the images on FamilySearch.
  • Some users add obituaries to the profiles of people in FamilySearch Family Tree.
  • The FamilySearch Digital Library has books that contain obituaries.
  • The FamilySearch Research Wiki can help you find obituaries outside of FamilySearch.

Tip: Search historical records (indexed)

The easiest way to find obituaries on FamilySearch is to search for the person in historical records. Indexed obituaries are included in the search results when the indexed information matches your search. Since obituaries are a type of death record, limit your search to death records:

  1. At the top of FamilySearch.org, click Search.
  2. From the drop-down menu, click Records.
  3. In the search fields, enter the name, place, and date.
  4. Click More Options.
  5. Under Add Record Options, click Type.
  6. Click Death.
  7. Click Search.

Tip: Search historical images (unindexed)

  1. At the top of FamilySearch.org, click Search.
  2. From the drop-down menu, click Images.
  3. Enter a place.
  4. Click More Options.
  5. In the Record Type field, start typing the word Obituaries. Select Obituaries when it appears in the drop-down list. You can also select other obituary-related record types.
  6. Click Search.
  7. Scan through the images to see if the obituary you want is there.

Tip: Look in the FamilySearch Catalog

The FamilySearch Catalog lists all of the FamilySearch collections. Most of our collection is digitized and available online. Some items that are available for use at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City Utah.

  1. At the top of FamilySearch.org, click Search.
  2. From the drop-down menu, click Catalog.
  3. In the Place field, type the place where you think the person's obituary was published. You can leave this field blank, but you can expect a long list of results.
  4. Click Subjects
  5. In the Subjects field, enter the word Obituaries.
  6. Click Search.
  7. Click a subject heading.
  8. Click a collection title.
  9. Look in the section called Film/Digital Notes. In the format column, look for an icon:
    • Magnifying glass icon: Some portion of the record is indexed. Click the icon and search the index.
    • Camera icon: The collection is digitized and on FamilySearch. Click the icon and browse the images in the collection.
    • Camera icon with key: The collection is digitized and on FamilySearch. Viewing restrictions apply.
    • Microfilm reel icon: The digital images are not available online. A microfilm version exists.
    • Call number: The collection is available only at the FamilySearch Library.

Tip: Look in FamilySearch Family Tree

Before concluding that FamilySearch lacks the obituary you want, search for the person in FamilySearch Family Tree. Users often include the obituary in a Family Tree profile:

  • Transcribed into the Brief Life Sketch field on the Details tab.
  • Linked as a source on the Sources tab.
  • Uploaded as a document, photo, or story on the person's Memories tab.

Tip: Search the FamilySearch Digital Library

The FamilySearch Digital Library contains scanned books.

  1. At the top of FamilySearch.org, click Search.
  2. From the drop-down menu, click Books.
  3. In the Keyword field, enter the word "obituary."
  4. Click Search.
  5. To narrow your results, use the filters in the left panel.

Tip: Learn more in the FamilySearch Research Wiki

See the FamilySearch Research Wiki for more information about where to find obituaries. You can find obituaries in newspapers, online databases, and funeral home websites. Some libraries, archives, and genealogical societies also have collections of obituaries.

    How do I find and search a specific collection in historical records?
    How do I find an image in an unindexed collection in Historical Records?

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