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An obituary, or an obit, is a writeup about a recently deceased person. The word derives from the Latin obitus, meaning death. Ohio obituaries are typically found in the state's more than 500 historical newspapers. A comprehensive list of these newspapers is posted at GenealogyBank and the actual contents can be found in many ways, including online databases, local libraries, and archives. Occasionally obituaries are included in trade journals and other publications.
MyHeritage has the following collections of Ohio obituaries:
- Ohio Obituaries (6 million records) on MyHeritage
- Ohio, Columbiana County obituaries on MyHeritage
- Ohio, Lucas County obituaries on MyHeritage
- Ohio, Williams County obituaries on MyHeritage
For those with roots in western Ohio, you might check Allen County, Indiana obituaries, as the county borders Ohio and includes people who previously resided in Ohio.
Information contained in an obituaryInformation contained in an obituary
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An obituary can be a valuable source of genealogical information, typically containing the date of death, the name of the deceased, and survivors or next of kin such as a spouse, children, or grandchildren. Some obituaries are more detailed than others, so it's worth looking for your ancestors and relatives to learn more about them.
Obituaries may include a biographical sketch or information on notable life events for the individual. Sometimes obituaries identify the person's occupation or trade, their interests or hobbies, any applicable military service, and an immigration year for immigrants. Some obituaries include a person's birthplace or other places they've lived. Rarely an obituary will include the deceased individual's parents' names.
How to find obituaries in OhioHow to find obituaries in Ohio
Ohio University has a helpful guide for finding Ohio newspapers, including links to digitized newspapers such as the Ohio Memory collection. The Chronicling America project by the Library of Congress has a searchable index of 189 Ohio newspapers, which are listed here.
If your place of interest is not found in the digital projects above, you can consult libraries and archives in Ohio to locate an historic newspaper such as the Samuel D. Isaly Library in Belleville, the Cincinnati Public Library, or the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Many newspapers are no longer in publication, so if a location doesn't have a newspaper today that doesn't mean it didn't exist at one time. Knowing the date of death for a person of interest can be helpful because many obituaries are not indexed and you may need to scroll to publication days near their date of death within a specific newspaper. For publications that are not digitized, many are available in microfilm form.
It's important to note that obituaries are not required by law in Ohio, so it is possible you don't find one for a certain person. However, typically family members or friends like to have a listing published in honor of their loved one. Death records were mandated in Ohio in 1867[1], and today death certificates are required for all deceased persons in Ohio and these vital statistics are filed with the Ohio Department of Health.[2]
See alsoSee also
Explore more about Ohio obituariesExplore more about Ohio obituaries
- Ohio Obituaries (6 million records) on MyHeritage
- Digitized Ohio Newspapers at Library of Congress Digital Library
- Find Ohio Newspapers at Ohio University
- Ohio Newspapers at Ohio Memory with the State Library of Ohio
- Deaths and Obituaries by the Ohio Genealogical Society
- Ohio Obituaries at Legacy
- Ohio - Collection Catalog on MyHeritage
- United States Obituary Index from OldNews.com on MyHeritage
References
- ↑ Death Records, Vital Records at the Archives & Library of the Ohio History Connection.https://ohiohistory.libguides.com/vital/death
- ↑ Vital Statistics, Ohio Department of Health. https://odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/vital-statistics/vital-statistics
