Online Indexes for Obituaries and Death Records - Latest Additions

The Online Searchable Death Indexes and Records Directory has been updated with links to the following items...

California
- San Diego Public Library's Digital Library - Includes Obituaries Indexes (indexes obituaries and death notices in the San Diego Union, 1868-1915; and the San Diego Herald, 1851-1860)

Colorado
- Denver Death Index 1870-1909 (update: years 1906-1909 added)
- Larimer County Genealogical Society - Online Databases (includes indexed scanned obituaries 1980s-1990s)
- Mesa County Cemetery Records
- Weld County: City of Evans Cemetery Burials

Georgia
- Clarke County: Oconee Hill Cemetery Tombstone Inscriptions (Athens)
- Richmond County: African American Funeral Programs from the East Central Georgia Regional Library (mostly from the Augusta, Georgia area)

Illinois
- Cook County: The Roll of Honor, Containing the Names of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines of All the Wars of Our Country Who Are Buried in the Cemeteries of Cook County (scanned searchable book from 1922)
- See: Online Chicago & Cook County, Illinois Death Records & Indexes

- La Salle County Genealogy Guild Record Search (includes indexes for some obituaries, probate records and others)

Indiana
- Shelby County Genealogy Indexes - Cemeteries, Obituaries & More

Louisiana
- Louisiana Death Index 1850-1875, 1894-1954 from FamilySearch Labs
- Orleans Parish: New Orleans Obituary Index 1804-1972

Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Death Records 1906-1915 (update: covers 1841-1915 and 1921-1924) from FamilySearch; includes scanned images of the death registers and certificates)

Michigan
- Michigan Death Records Collection 1897-1920 (update: now 99% complete)
- Arenac County Historical Society Obituaries Indexes (also includes other genealogy indexes)
- Arenac County Cemetery Inscriptions Index
- Jackson County Death Indexes 1886-1899 and 1900-1901 (list of names only, no dates)
- Monroe County: Monroe Commercial Obituary Index 1870-1873 and 1877-1879
- Van Buren County GenWeb Site (includes a death index 1935-1945 and some cemetery burials)

Minnesota
- Hubbard County Cemeteries (includes Greenwood Cemetery, largest cemetery in Park Rapids, MN)

Missouri (St. Louis)
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch Obituary Index (update: more years added; includes 1880-1930, 1942-1945, 1960-1964, and 1992-2008)
- Westliche Post Obituaries Index 1880-1887 - St. Louis German Language Newspaper (update: more years added)
- See: Online St. Louis, Missouri Death Records, Indexes & Obituaries

North Carolina
- Onslow County Death Index 1982-2008 (also has indexes for births 1976-recent, marriages 1962-recent, and more)

North Dakota
- Fargo Forum Obituaries Database, 1892-1909 & Nov. 1982-1995 (update: more years added)

Ohio
- Erie County: Oakland Cemetery Burials (Sandusky, Ohio)
- Lucas County: Mt. Carmel Cemetery Index (in Toledo, OH) surnames only
- Summit County: Akron Beacon Journal Obituaries Index 1937-2008 (update: several years added)
- Wood County Sentinel Obituaries Index 1867-1876 (newspaper from Bowling Green, Ohio)

Oregon
- Benton County Genealogical Society Newspaper Project - names published in Benton County newspapers 1865-1925 (work in progress) includes some deaths
- Multnomah County: Historic Pioneer Cemeteries - Burial Search

Pennsylvania
- Dauphin County: Harrisburg Newspaper Index - Marriages & Deaths from 4 Newspapers, 1799-1827

Tennessee
- Blount County Death Records Database (includes more than 42,000 entries from Blount County newspapers and funeral home records)
- Davidson County: Death Notices in Nashville Newspapers 1855-1907 (not complete)

Texas
- Gillespie County: Fredericksburg Genealogical Society Indexes (includes cemetery burials index and obituaries index 1980-2004)

Virginia
- African American Cemeteries in Albemarle and Amherst Counties - Burial Search

Washington
- Benton County: Tri-City Herald Obituaries Index 2000-March 2009
- Thurston County: Masonic Memorial Park Cemetery Burials (in Tumwater, Washington)

General Obituaries
Added to the general obituaries webpage...
- Necrology Index of Obituary Listings for Congregational Clergy and Missionaries
- Evangelical Messenger Obituary Index 1900-1912

See: Online Searchable Death Records Indexes and Obituaries

Online Death Indexes and Records - Latest Additions and Updates

The Online Searchable Death Indexes and Records directory has been updated with links to the following items...

Alabama
- Alabama Death Index 1908-1974 from FamilySearch Labs

Alaska
- Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery Burials

Arkansas
- Arkansas Gravestones (has over 170,000 gravestone photos)
- Pike County Genealogy Records Indexes (includes some cemetery burials for Clark, Hot Spring, Montgomery and Pike Counties)
- Sebastian County Cemeteries

Colorado
- Arapahoe County: Columbine Genealogical & Historical Society Indexes (includes: Littleton Cemetery Interment Records 1869-1981, Nickels-Hill-Drinkwine Mortuary Records 1915-1950, Obituary Index for the Littleton Independent Newspaper/ongoing project, and other items)

Florida
- Florida Death Index 1877-1939 from FamilySearch Labs

Georgia
- Floyd County: City of Rome Cemeteries (3 city owned cemeteries can be searched for burials)
- Muscogee County: Columbus, Georgia Newspapers Obituary Project 1872-1918

Illinois
- Whiteside County: Sterling Daily Gazette Index from the Sterling Public Library (includes obituaries)

Indiana
- Cass County: Logansport Pharos Tribune Obituaries Index 1974-1980 and 1992-1999
- Cass County Cemeteries
- Henry County Death Records Index 1880-2000
- Howard County Cemeteries and Kokomo Tribune Obituary Index 1941-2008
- Miami County: WPA Death Index 1882-1920 (also includes cemeteries and other death indexes)
- Switzerland County: Vevay Newspaper Index 1840, 1853-1858 (births, marriages & deaths) ongoing project

Kansas
- Atchison County Online Cemetery Files
- Pratt County Cemeteries

Massachusetts
- Hampshire County: Burials in North and West Cemeteries in Amherst
- Nantucket County: Nantucket Grave Markers Database Search ("not comprehensive")
- Plymouth County: Plymouth Colony Archive Project (includes wills and probate inventories, 1600s)

Michigan
- Berrien County: Silverbrook Cemetery Grave Search (Niles, Michigan)
- Calhoun County: Albion Area Obituaries Index 2001-recent
- Van Buren County: Hartford Obituary Index (various years; also includes some cemeteries)
- Van Buren County: Paw Paw Township Cemetery Burials

Minnesota
- Ramsey County: Roselawn Cemetery Burials (Roseville, MN)

New Jersey
- Hudson County Genealogical Society - Genealogy Databases (includes indexes for newspaper death notices, cemetery burials and more)
- Warren County: Belvidere Apollo Obituary Index 1826-1899 (from the Warren County Public Library)

New Mexico
- Santa Fe and New Mexico Obituary Index 1870s to 2005 (not complete; for the second half of the 20th century covers Santa Fe only)

New York
- Fulton County Cemeteries
- Monroe County: Webster Union Cemetery Burials (Webster, New York)
- Nassau County: Town of Oyster Bay Genealogy Indexes (includes historic cemeteries, death index 1881-1920 and other items)

North Carolina
- North Carolina Deaths 1906-1930 from FamilySearch Labs (includes digitized images of the death records)
- Wake County: North Carolina Family Records Online (includes "Marriage and Death Notices from the Raleigh Register and North Carolina State Gazette: 1799-1893" and 220 family Bible records)

Oklahoma
- Logan County: Summit View Cemetery Burials (Guthrie, Oklahoma)
- Oklahoma County: Oklahoma City Oklahoman Obituaries Index 1972-2008 (some years missing; work in progress) also has deaths found in OKC City Directories 1918 & 1920-1923

Pennsylvania
- Delaware County: Arlington Cemetery Burials (Drexel Hill, PA)

South Carolina
- South Carolina Death Index 1915-1955 from FamilySearch Labs (includes digitized images of the death records from 1915-1943)
- Charleston County Probate Court: Estate/Will & Conservatorship/Guardianship Records Search

Tennessee
- Tennessee Death Index 1914-1928 (udpate: year 1928 added)
- Shelby County: Baron Hirsch Jewish Cemetery Burials (Memphis)

Texas
- Burnet County Obituary Index 1876-1910 (from the Burnet County Genealogical Society)
- Burnet County GenWeb - Genealogy Indexes (includes some cemetery transcriptions and obituary indexes)
- Liberty County Birth, Marriage and Death Index
- Williamson County Cemeteries

Vermont
- Northeast Kingdom Vermont Genealogy (has cemetery listings and other indexes for Caledonia County, Essex County and Orleans County)

See: The Online Searchable Death Records Indexes and Obituaries

Millvina Dean, Last Survivor of the Titanic, Dies

Elizabeth Gladys "Millvina" Dean, the last survivor of the Titanic sinking, died on May 31 at age 97. She was nine weeks old when her family boarded the Titanic in 1912. Her mother and brother also survived the sinking. Her father died in the tragedy. You can read more here: Millvina Dean, last remaining survivor of the Titanic, dies aged 97


The above image is a portion of the Carpathia passenger list showing the three surviving members of the Dean family, siblings Bertram and Elizabeth (two-month-old Eliza) and their mother Georgette (Ettie). The Carpathia rescued 705 of the Titanic's survivors and brought them to New York on April 18, 1912. See: Partial List of Survivors of the Titanic who were taken aboard the Carpathia at the U.S. National Archives website.

James Cameron, director of the popular film, Titanic, along with two of the film's stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, donated money to help pay Millvina Dean's nursing home costs in her last days.

For information on Titanic passenger records see the New York section at... What Passenger Lists are Online?

For more on Titanic survivors see the Titanic category on the right side.

FamilySearch Labs adds Death Indexes for 4 Southern States

The FamilySearch Labs website has recently added death indexes (some with digitized images) for four Southern states. These are:

Alabama Deaths 1908-1974
Florida Deaths 1877-1939
North Carolina Deaths 1906-1930 (with images)
South Carolina Deaths 1915-1943 (with images)
South Carolina Deaths 1944-1955

These indexes are now available at FamilySearch Record Search

Formerly at: FamilySearch Labs Record Search

For more death indexes for these states see:

• Online Alabama Death Records Indexes and Obituaries
• Online Florida Death Records Indexes and Obituaries
• Online North Carolina Death Records Indexes and Obituaries
• Online South Carolina Death Records Indexes and Obituaries

This article was updated on 8 January 2011.

Search Strategies for Finding Ship Passenger Lists 1820-1940s

This article was updated on 22 December 2018.

Here are some suggestions for finding your immigrant ancestors on a ship passenger list (or manifest) for their arrival in the United States from 1820 to the 1940s (1950s for some ports).

Search Tips

• Clues in the Census: the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 US federal censuses have a column for year of arrival for immigrants. This can help narrow down the search. Be careful as census records may contain errors.
• Naturalization Records: Naturalization records created September 27, 1906 and later will usually give the name of the ship, port and date of arrival. Naturalization records before that usually do not give this information (although some might). You may sometimes find errors in these records.
• Be sure to try alternate spellings of names when searching online databases or other indexes.

Port by Port Search
If you're having difficulty finding your ancestor's passenger list you might try a more specific search at each port. If you don't know the arrival port or don't know where to start, you can find some ideas at: Tips for Determining Your Ancestor's Probable Port of Arrival

• Finding Passenger Lists and Immigration Records 1820-1940s is a basic research guide for finding passenger records, listed by the major ports and some of the smaller ports
• Ship Passenger Lists and Records on the Internet lists some Internet sources for transcribed passenger records and indexes

• New York Indexes and the Ellis Island Database...
  The largest port where immgrants arrived in the U.S. is New York. Most people with European immigrant ancestors will probably want to search New York arrivals first, unless they know their immigrant ancestor arrived elsewhere. Here are some tools and articles which may be helpful for finding New York passenger arrivals:
• New York Passenger Lists Research Guide
• Ellis Island Database: for New York arrivals 1892-1924
• Castle Garden Database indexes some NY arrivals from about 1830-1892
• Ellis Island? Castle Garden? Which One? And When? is an article about New York's immigrant processing centers
• Boston...
• Boston Passenger Lists Research Guide
• Baltimore...
• Baltimore Passenger Lists Research Guide
• Philadelphia...
• Philadelphia Passenger Lists Research Guide
• New Orleans...
  If your immigrant ancestor settled in St. Louis, Missouri or along the Mississippi river (especially prior to the Civil War), he or she may have landed at New Orleans and taken a riverboat up the Mississippi.
• New Orleans Passenger Lists Research Guide
• Smaller Ports, West Coast Ports and Border Crossing Records...
• US Ports of Arrival and their Available Passenger Lists 1820-1957 is a list of many United States ports with information about the available passenger records and indexes. Includes information about Canadian and Mexican border crossing records.

Indexes for Various Ethnic Groups: Germans to America, Italians to America, Irish Immigrants, etc.
Some ship passenger indexes have been created for various ethnic groups and these may be helpful as alternate resources if you can't find your immigrant ancestor in other indexes.

• The Germans to America (1850-1897), Italians to America (1855-1900), Russian Immigrants (1834-1897) and Irish Famine Immigrants (1846-1851) databases can be searched online at the National Archives website: Passenger Lists - Access to Archival Databases (AAD)
• For more details on these indexes and others see:
  
  • Germans to America, Irish Immigrants, Italians to America, Russians to America, and Dutch Immigrants in U. S. Ship Passenger Manifests
  • Armenian, Bohemian, Czech, Greek, Luxembourgish and Swedish Ship Passenger List Resources

Disclaimer: you might not find the person you're looking for in any of the indexes or records listed here; these are merely suggestions.

Online Military Records and Indexes - New Additions and Updates

Links to the items listed below have been added to the Directory of Online Military Indexes, Records and Rosters of Soldiers

Revolutionary War
- Southern Campaign Revolutionary War Pension Statements (partial collection)
- Alabama: Alphabetical List of Revolutionary Soldiers in Alabama

War of 1812
- Indiana Territory: War of 1812 Collection (consists of muster, pay and receipt rolls of Indiana territory volunteers or militia)

Civil War
- Arkansas Confederate Pension Records Index
- Delaware: Records Related to Delaware's Involvement in the American Civil War (from the Delaware Public Archives)
- Georgia Confederate Veteran Grave Database (work in progress)
- Kansas Virtual Civil War Cemetery Tombstone Photos (not complete, but has over 11,000 photographs of grave markers of Civil War veterans buried in Kansas - searchable by name)
- Mississippi Confederate Grave Registry
- Nebraska Civil War Veterans Database
- South Carolina: The New South Newspaper 1862-1866, Port Royal and Beaufort, South Carolina (digitized and searchable)

Spanish American War
- Kansas Troops in the Volunteer Service of the United States in the Spanish and Philippine Wars

World War One
- Denver Public Library World War I Indexes (includes: Fallen Heroes of World War I from Denver, Colorado; Colorado World War I Draft Registration Cards Index; Colorado World War I Draft Registration Index - Minorities; Colorado World War I Casualties Buried in Europe)
- Oregon WWI Draft Registration Index
- International WWI Section, Australia: World War I Service Records
- International WWI Section, New Zealand: New Zealand and World War One Assorted Indexes

World War Two
- Iowa: World War II Iowa Press Clippings Digital Collection
- International WWII Section, Canada: Second World War Service Files Canadian Armed Forces War Dead

Korean War
- Korean War/Access to Archival Databases (AAD) includes Korean War casualties, wounded, prisoners of war and missing in action

Vietnam War
- Vietnam War/Access to Archival Databases (AAD) includes Vietnam War casualties, wounded, prisoners of war, missing in action, and more items

See: Online Military Indexes and Records