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OBITUARIES

© Christine Sievers

I find the obituary of a relative to be an amazing thing. No matter how scattered or what their differences, the family is once again drawn together on its page. Here you will find the children and spouse of the deceased listed. Female children are listed by their married names; the funeral home and/or cemetery is named. All these are clues in your family search.

Finding an obituary is worth the effort. Here are some of the places you can start.

1. check with relatives

Many of your older relatives may have kept obituaries from years ago. I found this to be the best resource for finding those valuable bits of paper.

2. check online

Obituary archives are beginning to appear on the Web, but still it can be a daunting search. When searching, you need to know the state and county where your ancestor or relative had lived. The best list of sites I have found is at Steve Lacey's Obituary Search. His state GenWeb Obituaries is a good place to start.

When searching for obituaries you are dealing with newspapers. Some are beginning to archive the obituaries. Steve Lacey's site will also help you find the newspapers with obituaries online.

3. check at libraries

Most of us will not be near the public library that has the microfilmed newspaper that we need to search. That is where mailing lists come in handy. Many members of mailing lists are willing to do lookups for you. Check at User Lists Hosted by Rootsweb under Regional, for lists that may be of help. Also, their Gen-Newbie list is full of helpful volunteers. I suggest the digest form, as the Gen-Newbie list generates a lot of email. Remember to offer your lookup services in return.

Although obituaries are not easy to find, the information you find on them is well worth the effort.

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