If your ancestor died after 1820 your best bet is to search for a newspaper obituary. Newspaper obituaries often give names, age, date of death, family information, names of survivors, church or mortuary for funeral service, and place of burial. Many times the place of birth is also given and it is not unusual to see a biographical sketch as part of the obituary. The biographical sketch may include the parents' names, the deceased's occupation, military service, affiliations with local clubs, fraternities, or associations, and when they settled in the local area. Many times you can find obituaries for women when no other records are available. These obituaries may give much more detail than any of the traditional vital records.

Prior to 1820 few obituaries for everyday citizens were published. Just about the only obituaries printed were for prominent citizens like judges, ministers, and politicians. However, if your ancestor died from an accident or some other unusual circumstance, look for a news story. Newspapers then as now thrived on shocking stories of pain and suffering and other startling events. Children would frequently merit a news article or obituary especially if they died from an accident.

Generally, the obituary will appear within a couple of days of the death. However, if your ancestor died after a long illness, accounts of his ill circumstances may have appeared in the newspaper days before his passing. After you have looked at one or two issues of the publication, you will discover on which pages the obituaries usually appear. Death notices, which were paid announcements, often appeared on a different page, usually near the classified advertisements. During the 1800s, most newspapers were not published everyday. Some were weekly, while others printed two or three issues a week. Therefore, the next issue of the paper might be several days after the death of your ancestor. So be sure to check a number of issues after the death date.

If your ancestor died in a large city it would be unlikely that an obituary would be published in the city newspaper. Look for small newspapers that might serve only a portion of the city or an ethnic or religious denomination newspaper.

Remember the information you get from the obituary is only as good as the knowledge of the writer of the obituary itself. Today, most obituaries are written and posted to the newspaper by the funeral director using facts gained from interviews with the next of kin. Prior to the 1940s this responsibility was shouldered by a close family member or a professional obituary writer. Beware, there may be errors in the information presented in an obituary. Be sure to corroborate all facts with other sources.

The key to finding an obituary is knowing the death date and death place of your ancestor.

What to do if you do not know where or when your ancestor died.

• For the time period after 1949 search the Social Security Death Index to find the death date and possibly the death place. The last place of residence, or place where the lump sum payment was sent, is usually listed in each result and may be a lead to the death place of your ancestor. (If you are searching for a female be sure to use her married name.)
• For time periods between 1850-1930, search the federal and state census records to determine in what time period your ancestor's spouse appears as a widow or widower and in what locality.
• If your ancestor died the year before the Census was taken check the Indexes for the Mortality Schedules for that Census.
• For time periods from 1809-1907, in certain localities the WPA has indexed death, probate, and many other records.
• Use other clues from your research to estimate the year of death. For instance the obituary of your ancestor's son or brother may say that he is still living at the time of the event or the death record of his spouse may list him as the informant.
• For time periods prior to 1850, church and cemetery records are the best sources for death dates.
• Probate records from the last known residence may also help. Probate indexes usually include several decades.
• Check the place listed on the death or cemetery record of a near relative of your ancestor, such as a sibling or child. The place of death may be the same place of death as your ancestor's.
• The place listed on the birth or marriage record of one of the children of your ancestor may be a clue to the place your ancestor died.

If you know the death date and place of your ancestor the next step is to find the newspapers that were published in that locality for that time period. The local library in the town where your ancestor died can provide this information. Sometimes they will also have the newspaper microfilm available and for a small fee the librarians will search it for you. (It cost me $3.80 for the Carnegie Library in Washington County, Indiana to have them search and copy my ancestor's obituary.)

Your local library has an index of most of the newspapers that have been printed in the United States. Many of these newspapers have been microfilmed and can be requested for viewing at your local library through their Interlibrary Loan (ILL) program. If the newspaper is still in publication the Ayer Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals will give you the date the paper began and whether it is a weekly or a daily.

University libraries often have extensive collections of newspapers and periodicals on microfilm. A few years ago while working as a family history consultant at BYU, I saw firsthand how searching old microfilmed newspapers for obituaries can payoff. One patron not only found her great-great grandfather's obituary but also a front page article with pictures of him.

If you don't have an accurate death date, search for an obituary index for the locality in which your ancestor died. The library, or even the local historical or genealogical society, would most likely know if an index has been created or if a book of obituary abstracts has been published. A listing of the major societies can be found at Society Hill Directory at daddezio.com.

Abstracts and indexes will only include a part of the information given in the obituary so you will want to be sure to get a photocopy or transcription of it. The book Newspaper Indexes, Volume II by Anita Cheek Milner is a guide to available obituary indexes for United States Newspapers. There are two other volumes of this guide. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an extensive collection of microfilmed newspaper abstracts. You can order the Family History Library Catalog on CD for $5 at FamilySearch.org. The product number is 50081000 or use the CD at any "LDS Family History Center".

If the newspaper is still being published you can contact them to see if they have a lookup service for their older issues, or better yet, check online to see if they have posted their Obituary index. A Listing of newspapers according to states can be found at 50states.com or, NewsLink has some international options. You will find that many newspapers are starting to publish their obituaries online. Unfortunately not many of them have content older than a few years, but you may find a few with older content online or an obituary Index from older issues. It's worth a look.

If the index or microfilm for the newspaper you need is only available at the newspaper office and they have no one to search it for you, call a library near the newspaper office and ask for the name of a local researcher who can search the films for you. I did this, and for $10 received a huge amount of information, more than I requested.

Don't forget to search for the obituaries of the siblings of your ancestor. The names of the parents may be mentioned along with other valuable family information.

Obituary links are too numerous for me to list here. The best advice for finding obituaries on the web is to use your favorite search engine. Mine is Google. Enter the search parameters "obituary index" and "Pike County" (substitute the name of the county in which you are interested), and the state name. Don't forget to put the quotes around the phrases. This tells the search engine that you are only looking for that phrase and not the individual words by themselves.

An obituary may be the only record of death that you can find, especially since the states did not begin death registrations until the 1900s. And it is likely the only biographical sketch ever written about your relative. It can be a valuable genealogical source and worth your searching effort.

P.S. I have neglected to mention Funeral Home Records. Even though Funeral Home Records are not open to the public, sometimes if you talk to the Funeral Director, he will provide a copy of the record for you. These records often contain biographical information and may even contain a copy of the obituary.

Another source for finding parents' names is the application that your ancestor filled out to get a Social Security number. Find your ancestor's name in the Social Security Death Index When you find his record, click the "Request Letter" link. A letter will be created for you to send for a copy of this application. The Social Security Administration charges $27 to fulfill your request.