News and Microforms Library

Databases

• LexisNexis Academic
  
• In Search Terms use "the person's name" and "obituaries" or "deaths"

• America's Historical Newspapers (1690-1922) 
  
• Choose "Death Notices" under the "Article Type" tab to limit the results

• American Periodicals Series (1740-1900) [Digital Archive]
• Click "More Search Options", then choose "Obituary" as your "Document type"

• Access World News (NewsBank) (1990s to the present)
• Use the person's name and "obituaries" or "deaths" as search terms. Note: Daily entries for Centre Daily Times obits are sometimes delayed by 2 months or more in this database. Recent obituaries can be found in the CDT's online obituaries page

• New York Times Historical (available from 1851; most recent four years not available) (Digital Archive)
  
• For document type, choose "Obituary", then enter your search term
• New York Times Biographical Service
  
• Reprints of biographical articles of well-known people as well as obituaries
  
• Helps users who don't want to use microfilm or New York Times Historical Digital Archive database
• New York Times Obituaries Index
  
• Selected obituaries and death notices (only, not biographical articles) from the New York Times in two volumes. Referred to as "limited" by some sources because of its "selected" content
• Personal Name Index to 'The New York Times Index' 
• Includes a more comprehensive list of "death notices" which appeared in the New York Times. After 1978 check the heading "Deaths" (which is then subdivided by individual names) in the annual accumulations of The New York Times Index (if print indexes are preferred) or the New York Times Historical (Digital Archive)
  

• Times of London Digital Archive [1785-1985]
  
• Use "Advanced Search" and click on "obituaries" (in the "Limit the current Search" section, under "People"). However, be aware that some notices of death are considered "news stories" and not obituaries (see, for example, the notice of Charles Dickens' death)

• Times of London, (Palmer Index) 1790-1905
  
• Use the person's name and 'deaths' as search terms. Index only. Need to use the microfilm to find the actual obituary

• Obituaries from the Times (Times of London)
  
• Includes a name index to all obituaries and tributes appearing in The Times for the years specified
  

• Periodicals Archive online
  
• Add the word "obituary" to your Keyword search to limit to obituaries

Books

• Obituaries in American culture Janice Hume (2000)
  

• The Dead Beat : lost souls, lucky stiffs, and the perverse pleasures of obituaries Marilyn Johnson (2006)
  

• Life on the Death Beat : a handbook for obituary writers Alana Baranick (2005)
  

• Fame at Last : who was who according to the New York Times obituaries John C. Ball (2000)
  

• The Last Word : the New York Times book of obituaries and farewells : a celebration of unusual lives Marvin Siegel (1997)
  

• 52 McGs : the best obituaries for legendary New York Times writer Robert McG. Thomas, Jr.  Robert McG. Thomas (2001)
  

• The Baseball Necrology : the post-baseball lives and deaths of over 7,600 major league players and others Bill Lee (2003)
  

• Fade to Black : a book of movie obituaries Paul Donnelly (2005)
  

Websites

• Obituaries Research Guide
  
• provides links to other obituary sources on the web.
  
• From deathindexes.com, search for records by state
  

• Obituary Links Page
  
• statewide and county links to obituary and genealogy web sources and city newspapers
  

Pennsylvania Obituary Sources

• Deaths in central Pennsylvania : an index to the obituaries appearing in the Democratic Watchman, Bellefonte, Pa.
  

• Obituaries of Mifflin County, 1822-1880

• Philadelphia marriages & obituaries (1857-1860), Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin

• Quaker necrology