Researching Family History

General Information about Obituaries
  • Death notices are usually submitted to the newspaper by the undertaker or funeral home. Their purpose is to inform people of the place and time of funeral services and contain little more than this basic information.
  • Obituaries are submitted by family members and generally contain detailed information about the deceased and their family.
  • The information in an obituary may come from family members or strangers and therefore should be verified through other sources.
  • Neither are mandatory so not every death will have a death notice and/or an obituary.
  • Obituaries provide valuable clues in furthering your research, such as names of surviving family members or the name of the church where the deceased was buried. The church may also have baptismal and marriage records for the family.

Where to Look

  • Obituaries can be published in more than one locality if the deceased lived in more than one place. For example, if someone grew up in British Columbia then moved to Manitoba where they died, they may have an obituary published in both provinces to inform friends and family of the death.
  • If a person’s death was extraordinary for any reason, such as murder or an accident, there may also be an article accompanying the obituary in the newspaper.
  • An average citizen’s death is more likely to be published in a local newspaper than in a national publication.

When Published

  • Death notices and obituaries are usually published within a week of death, but in some situations the gap may be longer.

Tips

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