Illinois Newspaper Obituaries (1840 - Current)

How To Search Online Obituary Archives

Searching for Illinois obituaries is easy. To get started, simply type in your relative's last name and hit the "Search" button. This simple search can give you a good starting point for your family research.

If you have more information about the relative you're looking for, you can do an advanced search. Here's how:

• Step 1: Type in the first and last name of your relative.
• Step 2: Add any keywords that might help narrow down your search, like the name of a town or school.
• Step 3: If there are certain places you want to exclude from your search, you can enter them too.
• Step 4: You can also specify a range of years to focus your search.
• Step 5: Choose how you want the results to be sorted, like by oldest or newest.

To make sure you find the right person, especially if they have a common name, you you can make your search even more precise. For example, you can use initials instead of full names, or look for the spouse's name if you're searching for a married person.

Along with obituaries, a family's history can be traced by searching through the multitude of documents available to you. Birth certificates, marriage registrations, and passenger ship manifests, are just a few examples.

If you need more tips and inspiration, take a look at the GenealogyBank Learning Center to improve your searches.