U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current

General collection information

This collection is an index of information taken from online obituaries published by cemeteries and funeral homes in the United States between 1847 and the present. Many of the obituaries were found on funeral home websites, and the index may include links to the original sources. The obituaries contain information about the deceased person and their family and often have a photograph of the deceased person.

Using this collection

Records in this collection may include the following information:

Obituaries can provide information other historical sources can’t offer, including employment and education histories, volunteer activities, and military service information. Family names and relationships can be added to a family tree. Military service information can lead to enlistment and pension records. Birth and marriage dates can open a path to newspaper announcements and official birth and marriage certificates. A church funeral location may lead to additional church records.

Collection in context

The index is a secondary source that derives its information from primary sources. The original obituaries are high-quality primary historical sources. They were written by funeral home directors or members of the deceased’s family.

Funeral homes and newspapers began to develop a basic template for obituaries during the 1930s. A four-part structure was commonly used, starting with a death announcement, followed by a short biography and list of survivors, and ending with funeral information.

For many decades, newspapers were the most common place to find obituaries. However, in the 1990s, newspapers began to charge fees to publish obituaries, and as the digital age unfolded, people began to turn to funeral home websites to announce the death of a family member. Digital obituaries allow the deceased’s family to go beyond the traditional four-part structure to tell more life stories and post numerous photographs, which provides a broader historical document for family history researchers.

Bibliography

Beyond the Dash. “The History of the Obituaries.” Accessed April 13, 2023. https://beyondthedash.com/blog/obituary-writing/the-history-of-obituaries/7260.

Frazer Consultants. “The History of the Obituary.” Accessed April 13, 2023.https://www.frazerconsultants.com/2017/02/the-history-of-the-obituary/#.

Sheppard, Judith. “The Death of the Free Obit.” American Journalism Review. Accessed April 13, 2023.https://ajrarchive.org/article.asp?id=642.

Recent Updates:
16 Oct 2023: Added 7,980,753 new records from hundreds of cemetery and funeral homes.
18 Dec 2023: Added 1,346,790 new records from hundreds of cemetery and funeral homes.
28 Mar 2024: Added 1,836,717 new records from hundreds of cemetery and funeral homes.