Awaz Apni

I was trying to help a patron at the Phoenix Family History Library recently to find an obituary of her loved one, and I realized how few online sites I could refer to her.  My history with researching obituaries has been minimal, and I found the best luck just has been using Google (see my tips on Google searching).  So, it became my mission to try and list some of the better online sites for searching obituaries.  First, here are some things to keep in mind: Things I have learned when searching for obituaries : Knowing where your decedent last resided or was buried will be your best bet (newspapers or funeral homes in those areas may have your obituary). Time period of death determines where to search. Newspapers are dying, which limits resources for recent obituaries. Newspapers now contract with memorial sites that charge the family for publishing the obituaries, so obituaries may not even be published (though there may be a death notice). Newspapers (some) do archive...

I have found that when you are searching for death information via the Social Security Death Index, you sometimes might have to visit a couple of different sites to find what you need. For instance, one website provides more information than the others (GenealogyBank.com), but other websites will provide better search results if you have limited information (FamilySearch.org). So, here's Jirene's list of websites for conducting your Social Security Death Index searches (all are free): GenealogyBank.com - SSDI webpage . They also advertise weekly updates. FamilySearch.org - SSDI webpage Ancestry.com - SSDI webpage Rootsweb.com - SSDI webpage Pilot.FamilySearch.org - SSDI webpage NOTE: Though Ancestry.com now hosts Rootsweb.com, conducting a search from the Rootsweb.com site still produces a different search results page that may be helpful to your research. March 8, 2010 update:  While assisting a patron at the Phoenix Family History Library on Saturday, I realized I should add ...