British Newspaper Archive, Family Notices - FamilySearch Historical Records

United Kingdom England

What Is in the Collection?
This collection contains family notices found in various British newspaper archives, covering the period 1800-1900. This is a collaborative project with FindMyPast.com.

A family notice is similar to an obituary but with certain differences. Whereas an obituary is generally a professionally-composed article providing an overview of an individual’s life, a notice is generally produced by the individual’s family to let others know when and where funerals or other memorial services will take place.

The notices in this collection come from a variety of newspapers across Britain. Major newspapers from the nineteenth century include The Courier, The Scotsman, The Chartist Northern Star, The Daily Telegraph, The Illustrated London News, the Western Mail, and the Daily Mail.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
The following list indicates potential information given in a family notice. Due to the personal nature of these documents, these records will often contain either more or different information than that which is noted here.

Family Notices may contain:
 * Name of deceased
 * Date of death (or date of notice's publication)
 * Place of death (or place of publication)
 * Gender
 * Age at death
 * Birth date of deceased
 * Names of deceased's relatives

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before beginning a search in these records, it is best to know the full name of the individual in question, as well as an approximate time range for the desired record. When entered into the search engine on the Collection Page, this information provides the quickest, most reliable path to finding the correct person. Of course, other information can be substituted as necessary.

Search by name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page to return a list of possible matches. Compare the individuals on the list with what is already known to find the correct family or person. This step may require examining multiple individuals before a match is located.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page If granted the rights to view the digitized records in this collection (see below), the images may be accessed by following this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "County" ⇒Select the appropriate "Publication" ⇒Select the appropriate "Year" to go to the images Compare the information found on the images with what is already known determine if a particular record relates to the correct person. This process may require examining multiple records before the correct person is located.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference. See below for assistance in citing this collection. Save or print a copy of the image if possible.
 * Use the information which has been discovered to find more. For instance, use the estimated age given in the notice (if provided) to calculate an approximate year of birth, if that is yet undetermined.
 * If in the appropriate period, use the information which has been discovered to find the individual in other records. Particularly useful for research in nineteenth-century England are Church Records, the England Census, and Civil Registration records.
 * Continue to search the record to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives, any of whom might be listed within the text of the notice.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?
For additional help searching online collections see FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.
 * When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which individual is correct. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to determine which candidate is the correct person. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names; transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record. Also remember that it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name. See Abbreviations Found in Genealogy Records for examples of common abbreviations. Note that some women reverted to their maiden name when their husband died, and therefore could be buried under their maiden name.
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of possible candidates which can then be examined for matches.
 * Search the records of nearby parishes. While it was uncommon for an individual in this period to move more than about 20 miles from their place of birth, smaller relocations were not uncommon.
 * Look at the actual image of the record to verify the information found in the online description, if possible.

Citing This Collection
Citing sources correctly makes it easier to refer back to information that has already been discovered; proper citations are therefore indispensable to keeping track of genealogical research. Following established formulae in formatting citations also allows others to verify completed research by helping them find and examine records for themselves.

To be of use, citations must include information such as the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records, if available. The following examples demonstrate how to present this information for both this particular collection as well as individual records and images within the collection:

Collection citation: Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: