How do I find an obituary?
Obituaries can be incredibly useful to family historians.
An obituary is a summary of the life of a person who has recently died, and may include biographical details such as place of birth, education and occupation, names of family members, and date and place of death and burial. Unfortunately not everyone has an obituary, and some have just a death or funeral notice which typically does not include much information beyond the date and place of death. In the past, obituaries were published in local newspapers, but in recent years it has become common for obituaries to be published on mortuary websites. Obituaries can also sometimes be found in the publications and on the websites of alumni organizations, faith-based groups, clubs, professional organizations, and other associations.
Finding a date of death
While keyword-searchable digitized newspapers make finding obituaries easier–try searching for the person’s name and see what comes up!--a first step to locating an obituary is usually finding the date of death.
- For Lawrence and Douglas County, the tombstone census compiled in the late 1980s by the Douglas County Genealogical Society is an invaluable resource for identifying a death date or at least the year of the person’s passing.
- Findagrave.com is another possible tool for finding a death date.
- Genealogy databases like Ancestry Library Edition and Heritage Quest also include vital records indexes (vital records are birth, marriage, and death records) that might lead you to a death date.
- The library’s Osma Local History collection includes a few volumes of Lawrence mortuary records which include date, place, and sometimes cause of death; some of these have been digitized and are available on Digital Douglas County History.
- The Watkins Museum has an obituary index and additional mortuary records.
- The City of Lawrence Cemetery Office can provide interment dates for people buried in the cemeteries managed by the City.
Searching newspapers and websites
Once you’ve got a date of death, it’s time to search for the obituary. Obituaries are most commonly found in the newspaper of a community where they had a strong connection, such as the town where they were born or where they or their family lived.
- Lawrence Public Library offers an extensive collection of digitized newspapers, and can also borrow microfilm of newspapers through interlibrary loan. Learn more about accessing newspapers here.
- Ancestry Library Edition and Heritage Quest both have obituary indexes among their collections.
- And, because so many obituaries are now published online rather than in newspapers, the library is building a web archive of local obituaries; you can find a partial index of those obituaries here.
Still not sure where to look, or just not finding what you are looking for?
Give us a call at 785-843-3833 or chat us during business hours, email us anytime, or Book a Librarian to make an appointment for one-on-one research help.