Free Old Newspaper Obituaries

Free old newspaper obituaries are available to anyone needing them.

You may find a wealth of information about your own ancestors when you search old newspaper obituaries.

An obit is the the short biography of a person who has died. Newspapers place these death announcements in their issues to let the community know about the death of a person. Obits also provide information about where and when a funeral or memorial service will take place. Obituaries can be written by anyone, but are always written in third person about the life and death of a particular man, woman, or child. They are written in a favorable light; obits are not a documentation to make someone look bad. They are truthful and well-written facts about a person's life.

You may find yourself in a situation where you need to find a past obituary without paying a fee. The best places to search for these are online via your computer or in a library in the newspaper archives. If you go to the library near where your loved one lived, you may have better luck finding information pertinent to his or her life.

Step into your local library and ask the librarian where obituary archives are kept. Usually the old newsprint is available for all, at no cost, on microfilm. The librarian will let you read this microfilm through a machine that will project it onto a screen. Microfilm is generally reduced by as much as twenty-five percent of the original newsprint. The device used for reading it can allow for enlargement of the print.

When you spend an afternoon at your library to do research on someone who has died, make sure you take paper and pen with you. You will need to write down your findings. You will not be able to remove the microfilm from the library. No one will mind if you search for free old newspaper obituaries because obituaries which have been printed in periodicals and papers are public property. So feel free to search, and take your time.

Experts say that in order to have a more productive search, there are some suggestions to keep in mind when looking for an old obit. It will help if you have some tidbit of information to go on so that you will not just be aiming in the dark. If you can, try to have at least one or two of the following:

• Full name of person, and not just nickname
• Date of birth
• Date of death
• Names of schools attended
• Places of employment and years of employment
• Degrees and where these were received
• Family members
• Accomplishments and awards
• Cemetery where buried
• Funeral arrangements
• Next of kin
• Living relatives

You may also do some research online to find free old newspaper obituaries. There are a number of websites you can peruse to help with your search. These are open and free to the public.

• Legacy.com
• Ancestry.com
• Obituaries.com
• Free Searching.com

Many enjoy looking for old obits in order to fill in gaps in their own family histories. When a family member takes the time and effort to seek to find more information about someone from decades ago, this is a wonderful legacy for others to have.

Since this article is about where to find free obituaries in newspapers, there is no link to paying sites. However, if you are willing to pay a fee in order to obtain more information about your deceased loved ones, there are web sites available to you. For a nominal fee, you can locate more information about the person you are seeking. Some online sources charge a hefty price, so make sure you know what you want and what you are paying for before you toss out your money.

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