FAQ for genealogists and researchers //
Death record and obituary files
Today's death record and local news
Obituaries are among the research items most frequently sought from The Herald, particularly from out-of-town friends and relatives.
Full obituaries are online back through May 2000, and the daily page-one death record (a list of who died) is available from October
1995 to date. We have spotty electronic obit archives no older than 1996, but only a few of those older files are online.
We urge you to take a moment and read our frequently asked questions for genealogists and researchers. It explains what obit information we have and gives other tips to help your research quest. We are unable to fulfill individual requests for obits that are not already on our Web site.
Daily death record, obituaries and funeral notices
Tips for searching the obituary archives:
- An incomplete obituary sometimes appears on the day a person is on
the death record, followed by a full obituary the next day or when the information
is available.
- Funeral notices (calling hours, service, burial) are below the obituary.
The notice is published again generally for a day or two until the funeral.
Second-day notices are grouped together, in alphabetical order, after the
list of new obituaries.
- Corrections or additions to an obituary sometimes appears a day or
two after the original obituary, and in case of additional information from the family or a major error, an entire obit may be reprinted within a couple days after the original. Online obits are posted as printed and are not updated with corrections. It's a good idea to browse for a couple days after the obit appears to make sure you find any correction or addition.
- Occasionally a family will opt for a limited obituary of just funeral-notice information. In such cases, the name might NOT appear on the death record at all.
More obit info
- Frequently asked questions for genealogists and researchers, including how to reach The Herald and what our circulation area covers.
- The Herald's obituary policy lists deadlines
and procedures.
- If you wish to buy a back issue of The Herald, contact the
circulation department at (724) 981-6100 [(800) 981-1692 in W. Pa. and Ohio]
or stop at the main office, 52 S. Dock St., Sharon, Pa. Circulation is on
the second floor.
- Additional information about local deaths is maintained by
the Mercer County Genealogical Society. Their work includes including scrapbooks
of obituaries from past years and comprehensive tombstone listings for Mercer
County cemeteries. Contact them at mcgenealogy@hotmail.com
They meet at Shenango Valley Community Library,
11 N. Sharpsville Ave., Sharon, Pa. 16146, (724) 981-4360. The library also
has microfilm of back issues of The Herald.
- STORY: Obits: A lasting tribute; `One
of most important things we do', describes how The Herald's obituary
writer turns out about the equivalent of 109 solid newspaper pages of life stories
each year -- and is expected to do it flawlessly.
- STORY: Obits sell papers in retirement
town, about the importance of obituaries to the residents of Sun City,
Ariz. (our former sister newspaper)
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