Necrology
Department resources
- Cemetery records
- Death records
- Obituaries
- Early Obituary Abstracts
- Obituary indices
- Reading Adler death notices: selected death notices from a mid-19th century newspaper in Reading, Pennsylvania.
WCPL Activity on this Topic
For many years, we have had volunteers abstracting obituaries from the newspapers. He would include the name of the deceased, date of death, newspaper, date of newspaper, and page number. Several other volunteers took the abstracted information and entered it into the computer. Obituary index books were printed and bound. The books were divided by decades. Within each book, the list of obituaries is in alphabetical order by surname. In bound form, we have the following years:
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Two other notebooks were labeled “Old Obituaries.” However, most of these were from the 1950s-1960s. These notebooks included copies of the actual obituaries. The index to these notebooks was at one time in the card catalog.
No comprehensive index in book form exists for the years prior to 1890 or after 1970.
The 1970s and 1980s were not entered into the computer. We have copies of the actual obituaries in binders, a separate binder for each year. These obituaries were primarily from the Daily Record. There were several different volunteers who clipped the obituaries and placed them in notebook form. As a result, some include the death date while others include the newspaper date. Most of these binders have an index. We have noticed that over the years, pages have come up missing, or we have discovered that several obituaries were missed when the notebook was compiled.
The index to the obituaries from 1989-1999 are in two notebooks. Each year is divided by a tab. These obituaries had been entered into the computer.
In 2000, we moved our obituary index online. It was now searchable by name for anyone with Internet access to use. We were using Cold Fusion at the time. We were unable to host it ourselves because we would crash the system. We had to pay an outside company to host the database for us. At the time we went online, we had obituaries from the 1930s, 1940s, and the year 2000. As our D-Base indexes were converted to Access, more years became available online. Staff in the department would spend many hours doing data entry and cleaning up the database from where the conversion was not a clean conversion.
The initial online index could be searched only by last name or by last and first name. It could not be limited by year. No wildcard features were available. The results would include the date of death of the deceased (if known), name of the newspaper, date of newspaper, and page number. In addition, the library’s Technology Associate, Tom Belanger, would need to upload the updated obituary index periodically.
In 2003, we found out about an organization trying to implement a statewide obituary index. Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Freemont, OH was the group attempting the project. At the time, we would have needed to rekey all our entries into the RB Hayes obituary index. We did not have the staff hours to undertake such a project so I politely declined the invitation.
In October 2004, RB Hayes approached us again. They had just received a LSTA grant to form partnerships to make the statewide obituary project a reality. Any non-profit organization was invited to join the effort. After some communication, our library agreed to partner with RB Hayes on one condition – our obituary index could be converted to a format allowable for the obituary index so we would not need to rekey the information. In December 2004, we sent our obituary index to WGTE of Toledo, Ohio for conversion. We officially became a partner with the RB Hayes in January 2005. Nearly 105,000 records were converted. About 10,000 of them needed cleaned up but we did not have the staff time to undergo such a project and be able to keep up with answering queries.
About the same time, there was a decision at our library to implement a volunteer program. The search for a Volunteer Coordinator was started and Mary Ann Chupp was selected to fill the new position. In March 2005, we had our first volunteer begin entering information on the obituary index. In May 2005, we had 2 additional volunteers begin entering data. With the implementation of the Volunteer program, staff could focus on the daily operations of the department, including assisting researchers from near and far.
Our decision to partner with RB Hayes was based on several factors. The obituary index was live – meaning that as soon as a new entry or a correction was made, it was effective immediately. Volunteers could do data entry from home rather than coming to the library. Many more fields could be completed. These included the age, place of death, birth date, marriage date, maiden names, nicknames, titles, place of burial, military service, and much more. These fields are searchable. The online obituary index is not restricted to only Wayne County, OH obituaries.
The RB Hayes obituary index, complemented with the implementation of the WCPL Volunteer Program, opened up many doors.
In the preparation to move to a new facility, the early obituary abstracts were entered on the computer from the card file previously found in the card catalog. These abstracts are available through our department’s website, under the category of online material. In addition, Reading (PA) obituary abstracts are available through our department’s website. These abstracts usually included some tie to Wayne County, OH.
Many libraries and other organizations are putting obituary indexes online. We have several links to obituary indexes through our website. Some include the Mennobits, Cleveland necrology, Canton Repository, MOLO, etc.
External links
Cemetery records
- Association of Gravestone Studies
The Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS) was founded in 1977 for the purpose of furthering the study and preservation of gravestones. AGS is an international organization with an interest in gravemarkers of all periods and styles. Through its publications, conferences, workshops and exhibits, AGS promotes the study of gravestones from historical and artistic perspectives, expands public awareness of the significance of historic gravemarkers, and encourages individuals and groups to record and preserve gravestones. - Burial and Memorial Benefits for Veterans
The VA National Cemetery Administration honors the military service of our Nation's veterans. We provide a dignified burial and lasting memorial for veterans and their eligible family members and we maintain our veterans' cemeteries as national shrines. - Find a Grave
Find A Grave is a free resource for finding the final resting places of famous folks, friends and family members. With millions of names, it's an invaluable tool for genealogist and history buffs. Find A Grave memorials are rich with content, including dates, photos and bios. - Nationwide Gravesite Locator
Search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker. - Ohio Cemetery Preservation Society
The Ohio Cemetery Preservation Society endeavors to record, interpret, restore and preserve the art, history and environment of Ohio's cemeteries and burying grounds. - Veteran Cemeteries
Cemetery records of National Cemeteries and War Veterans Burials.
Obituary and death indices
- Alliance Review Obituary Index
Search the Alliance Index for obituary, marriage, and newspaper article citations. - Canton Repository Obituary Index
History of Stark County, Hartville, Louisville, Marlboro, Wilmot and Blue including searchable indexes of the Ohio (Canton) Repository from 1815 - present. - Cleveland Necrology Index
The Cleveland Necrology File contains local cemetery and newspaper death notices for the following years: 1833, 1847-1848, 1850-1975. - Louisville Obituary Index
Searchable database of the obituaries files of the Louisville Herald containing nearly 25,000 names. - Mennobits
Index of Mennonite and Amish obituaries from the Herald of Truth and the Gospel Herald. - MOLO Obituary Index
The MOLO index includes obituaries from Coshocton Co, Holmes Co, Loudonville, Massillon, and Clermont. - Obituary Central
The headquarters for finding obituaries and performing cemetery searches on the web - Obituary Central - Obituary Daily Times
This is a daily index of published obituaries. Many of the more recent obituaries found in the Wooster Daily Record is indexed here. - Ohio Death Certificate Index
Searchable index of Ohio death certificates from 1913-1944. - Ohio Death Certificates
This websites includes digitized images of the Ohio Death Certificates from 1908-1953. You must sign in to access the death certificate images. Many other images can be found here, too. - RB Hayes Obituary Index
An index to over 1,400,000 obituaries, death & marriage notices & other sources from Ohio from the 1810s to the present day. The RB Hayes index includes Ashland Co, Richland Co (Bellville), Ross Co, Stark Co (Massillon) Summit Co, Wadsworth, Washington Co, Wayne Co, and many other Ohio counties.