Searching for obituaries is a common task when researching family history or trying to locate information about a deceased loved one. In the United States, there are many resources available to help you find obituaries, both online and offline. By using effective search techniques and knowing where to look, you can often find the obituary you are seeking.
Determine Key Information for the Obituary Search
To improve your chances of finding an obituary for a specific person, try to gather the following key pieces of information:
– Death date or estimated death date range
– Death location or last known residence
– For women, surname at time of death
– Names of close family members
Having these details will help you narrow your search to the most relevant obituaries. For example, if you are looking for the obituary of Scott Lynn Kilburg, knowing his full name, approximate death date, and last residence will aid your search efforts.
Search for Obituaries Online
Many obituaries can now be found through online searching. Some of the best places to search for U.S. obituaries online include:
– FamilySearch Historical Records Collections
– Ancestry.com and other genealogy databases
– Find a Grave, Billion Graves, and other cemetery sites
– Newspaper archive sites like GenealogyBank and Newspapers.com
– Chronicling America (historic U.S. newspapers)
– Legacy.com and other memorial sites
– Public library websites
For example, a search for Scott Lynn Kilburg obituary may turn up results from newspaper archives or memorial websites if his obituary was published online. Searching a variety of online sources will give you the best chance of finding the obituary you need.
Expand Your Online Search
If your initial online searches don’t yield the obituary, try expanding your efforts:
– Search for just a first and last name if you’re unsure of middle names
– Use name variations or nicknames the person may have gone by
– Search for obituaries of close relatives like spouses, siblings, or children
– Look for other death records like cemetery listings or funeral home notices
Broadening your online search can often uncover additional clues if you don’t immediately find the full obituary. Finding an obituary for a family member may lead you to the person you’re actually searching for by using people search tool.
Offline Obituary Research
Despite the growing number of obituaries published online, many obituaries are still only available offline. If you can’t locate an obituary online, try these offline research methods:
– Contact local libraries in the area where the person died to see if they have obituary indexes or databases
– Visit the local newspaper office and ask if you can search their obituary archives in person
– If you know the funeral home that handled arrangements, call them to ask if they have an obituary on file
– Search through obituary index books, often available at libraries with genealogy departments
Offline research may take more time but can yield obituaries that are not published anywhere online. Librarians and local historians are often eager to help with these searches.
Conclusion
Finding a specific obituary can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. But by gathering key details about the deceased person, searching in the right online and offline locations, and using a variety of search techniques, you can usually find the obituary you need. With obituaries being an important resource for family history and understanding more about an ancestor’s life, it’s worth the effort to track them down.
Whether you’re looking for the obituary of a relative like Scott Lynn Kilburg or trying to fill in details on your family tree, these search strategies can help. And for more fascinating animal stories after your genealogy research, be sure to check out TheDodoNews.com or the latest from Website Coco_Coma
Thanks for Reading.