Pennsylvania Obituaries

Obituaries may provide information such as the age of the deceased, birth date and place, names of living relatives and their residences, maiden name, occupation, death date, cause of death, and place of burial. Deceased family members are frequently mentioned. Obituaries may also mention previous places of residence, immigration information, religion, and any social organizations or activities in which the deceased was involved.

Generally, the first step to obtaining an obituary is to find the death date of the person so that the obituary can be more easily found in a newspaper. Death dates may be obtained from the Statewide death index, or cemeteries in the local area where the person is believed to have died. Once a death date is known, the local library in the area may be contacted to learn whether or not they have newspapers for the time period needed, and if someone is willing to look for an obituary in that newspaper. If the newspapers are not held at the library, the local newspaper office may also be contacted to learn where older editions of the newspaper are kept. Some libraries and even newspaper publishers keep obituary files.

Online Resources

 * 1719-1995 Pennsylvania Newspaper Archives (1719 - 1995), GenealogyBank
 * 1748-1755 Abstracts from the PA Gazette, 1748-1755 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * 1795-2009 Pennsylvania Newspapers, 1795-2009 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
 * 1887-2013 Philadelphia Jewish Exponent Obituaries at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1947-2010 Pennsylvania. U.S., Obituary and Marriage Records, 1947-2010 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * 1947-2010 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1977-2010 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1980-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Archives.com Obituaries ($)
 * Ancestry.com United States Obituary Collection ($)
 * GenealogyBuff Obituaries
 * Pennsylvania Obituaries
 * ObitsArchive.com - Pennsylvania, ($)
 * ObituariesHelp.org - Pennsylvania Newspaper Obituaries Listings
 * The Obituary Link Page - Pennsylvania Obituary Links
 * Pennsylvania Online Historical Newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive ($)
 * Online Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Pennsylvania Newspapers Online
 * World Vital Records Newspaper Archive Collection for Pennsylvania ($)
 * Pennsylvania Newspapers ($)
 * Chronicling America
 * Ancestor Hunt Pennsylvania Newspaper Links
 * Pennsylvania Online Historical Newspapers Summary
 * Pennsylvania Newspapers, by county and town
 * PA Photos and Documents this site digitized photos and documents.