Obituary Records

One thing you should consider when looking at obituaries is whether that information is free or if you need to pay for it. You can start with a basic internet search for the name of the individual. In addition to the obituaries found in local newspapers, the funeral home may put a copy of the report online. Many funeral homes also have guestbooks that friends and loved ones can sign. You may find that you can access email addresses for those who signed the book.

The problem with free searches is that mistakes can always happen. Families are often going through the grieving process when they write those obituaries and can make mistakes that no one catches until much later such as listing the wrong date of death or putting the wrong birthplace down. The family may not know some details such as where the person worked and put down the wrong info too. Free searches don’t cost anything though and can give you a good starting point.

Before you focus too much on free obituaries, you should consider using some paid services. Many websites offer a one time fee and let you access all obituaries and death records. You can also look at sites that offer trial accounts. Those sites give you full access to all records for three days to one week. At the end of the trial, you can pay and become a full member or cancel and use other sites.

You might consider using government records too, especially if you want information for someone who served in a branch of the military. Military records let you see when the deceased served, any awards the individual received and the documented date of the person’s death.