Use obituaries in ancestry and genealogy immigration research.
The obituary is often the only biographical sketch ever written for many of our immigrant relatives. Men and women both are likely to have obituaries written about them. Those who died while they were young may be fully profiled in an obituary, primarily if the death resulted from an accident. You will often find information about an individual that you will not find anywhere else, thus making the obituary an essential resource.
Using Obituaries to Trace Immigrant Ancestors
Table of Contents
- Obituaries in Ethnic Newspapers
- Obituaries in Religious Newspapers
- Obituaries in Journals, Magazines, Newspapers
- Don’t Overlook Ethnic, Religious, or Professional Papers
- Other Resources to Help Trace Immigrant Ancestors
When you think of newspapers to use in your research, remember that in addition to community papers, there are also two other common categories: ethnic and religious.
Obituaries in Ethnic Newspapers
Other newspapers to consider are papers that focus on an ethnic group. For example, in most midwestern cities for German-language newspapers to exist side-by-side with general, English-language newspapers. Sometimes they are published by the same company on the same presses. Ethnic newspapers are usually printed in the language of the community. Remember that while you may not read the language, the deceased’s name is usually in the headline. Find what seems to be a relevant article, then have the article translated if you don’t speak the language.
Obituaries in Religious Newspapers
Often our immigrant relatives were more religious than their descendants, and they often participated in their church’s activities regularly. Therefore, death would be significant news within the religious community. Most denominations supported one or more newspapers in the nineteenth century. Larger denominations, such as Catholics and Lutherans, often had newspapers in every major city and several minor ones. Religious newspapers were often published for denominations such as Baptists or Methodists.
Obituaries in Journals, Magazines, Newspapers
Obituaries can be found in newspaper journals, magazines, and even yearbooks. Obituaries started to be mentioned in local newspapers during the 1870s. You should be able to find the following information in most obituaries:
- Name
- Age
- Date of death (sometimes only giving the day of the week)
- Family information
- Names of survivors
- Church or mortuary holding the service and cemetery
In addition, it wasn’t uncommon to find biographical information, so you might be able to find information such as the following:
- Names of parents
- Occupation
- Military service
- Affiliations with local clubs
- Fraternities or associations
- When a person settled in the area
- Birth information (for example, “came from Ireland in 1849” would tell you that the person was likely born in Ireland)
- Clues to locating documents such as passenger lists
It’s not uncommon to find obituaries in several papers in the area the person lived. It is essential to review obituaries from all the newspapers that you can find. It is not uncommon for obituaries to contain slightly different or additional information.
If you don’t know the death date for an individual, consider the following ideas to narrow the scope of where and when to search:
- Check the census records to see if 1) the person appears in the locality or 2) if the spouse appears as a widow or widower.
- Check probate records from the last known residence.
- See if your state has online vital record databases to search for death records.
Once you have a date, then you can continue your search with the following steps:
- Check with local libraries and historical societies to see if obituaries have been clipped and put on file.
- Check with local libraries and historical societies about newspapers that served your area during the period of the person’s death. It’s not uncommon to have newspapers go in and out of business.
- Check if the local paper has been microfilmed, which can be exchanged through a library loan.
- Check online. It’s not uncommon to have obituaries abstracted and posted to the Internet.
Check to see if local indexes have been published to tell you if and where obituaries were published.
- Many libraries offer the services of looking in microfilm for an obituary. Of course, you will need to provide the date of death for them to do this search, and the cost of service is usually less than $10.00.
- Don’t overlook ethnic, religious, or professional papers. If these papers are not part of the local library collection, libraries should tell where to locate them.
- Depending on the region of the country, you may find several postings for the person’s death: an obituary within a few days of the person’s death, a profile of the person’s funeral a week later, and a thank-you card from the family expressing appreciation to family and friends.
Your chances of finding an obituary will increase depending on the town’s size. The larger cities did not usually print the obituaries of every person’s death.
Many libraries offer the services of looking in microfilm for an obituary. Of course, you will need to provide the date of death for them to do this search, and the cost of service is usually less than $10.00.
Don’t Overlook Ethnic, Religious, or Professional Papers
If these papers are not part of the local library collection, libraries should tell where to locate them.
Depending on the region of the country, you may find several postings for the person’s death: an obituary within a few days of the person’s death, a profile of the person’s funeral a week later, and a thank-you card from the family expressing appreciation to family and friends.
Your chances of finding an obituary will increase depending on the town’s size, and the larger cities did.
Other Resources to Help Trace Immigrant Ancestors
Are you developing a family history for an individual or family? Are you trying to find their immigrant origins? Start by seeing the articles
- 5 Steps to Finding Immigrant Ancestor Country of Origin
- Overcome Research Brick Walls to Find Ancestor’s Country of Origin
The following videos can help you get a head start in understanding immigration and country of origin ancestor research.
How to Find the Origin of Immigrants Coming to America
An introduction to immigration and migration historical research. You will be introduced to a five-step methodology to find the immigrant origins when conducting individual and family history research.
Addition videos include:
- What Records to Search to Discover Immigrant Origins-Part 1
- What Records to Search to Discover Immigrant Origins-Part 2
- How to Find Immigrants Real Surname and Life Event Dates
The following are records I have found extremely helpful and full of clues to finding an individual’s birthplace and immigrant origins. It is designed to provide a quick reference and direction for finding and searching for records as probable places to find information. You can use these records to develop an immigrant paper trail to assist you in finding and tracing an individual immigrant’s origins. Check out these articles:
Check out the following country profiles to learn more about their immigration and migration in America.
| Immigration and Migration in America | ||
| Czechs and Slovaks | Danish | Dutch |
| English | Finnish | French |
| German | Greek | Hungarian |
| Icelandic | Irish | Italian |
| Norwegian | Polish | Russian |
| Scandinavian | Scottish | Swedish |
| Welch | United States Western Migration | |
Articles include:
- British Immigration to America for Ancestry Research
- Scandinavian Immigration to America for Ancestry Research
- Western European Immigration to America for Ancestry Research
- Eastern European Immigration to America for Ancestry Research
- Western Migration in America for Ancestry Research
Learn more about immigrant records at “Immigrant Records at the National Archives.”
