How Can I Access An Obituary If I Don’t Know The Exact Date Of Death

Here are some tips for finding an obituary when you don’t know the exact date of death:

  1. Start with an online search. Try searching the person’s name along with keywords like “obituary” or “death notice” and any location information you have. This may turn up obituaries posted on newspaper websites, funeral home sites, or online memorial pages.
  2. Check genealogy websites and databases. Sites like Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and FindAGrave.com often have obituary collections you can search.
  3. Use newspaper archive sites. Services like Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank, and NewspaperArchive.com allow you to search historical newspapers by name and approximate date ranges.
  4. Contact local libraries. Many libraries maintain obituary indexes or archives of local newspapers. Provide them with the person’s name and approximate time period.
  5. Reach out to funeral homes in the area. If you know where the person lived, local funeral homes may have records of obituaries they’ve handled.
  6. Search social media. Family members sometimes post obituary information on platforms like Facebook.
  7. Try the Social Security Death Index. This can help narrow down a death date if the person had a Social Security number.
  8. Contact relatives or friends who may have more information about when and where the person died.
  9. Check with local historical or genealogical societies in the area where the person lived.
  10. If you have an approximate year, try searching newspaper archives manually for that year in relevant locations.

Not everyone has a published obituary, so you may need to use other records like death certificates or cemetery records if you can’t locate an obituary. The more information you can gather about the person’s life and likely place of death, the better your chances of finding an obituary.