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A free worksheet for family-history research

Obituary research worksheet you can fill in and print.

Read a notice you have found, keep its names and wording beside the publication reference, and leave space for details still to check. One obituary can suggest several next questions.

Up to 20 records · Names, places and source notes · Text download · Blank or filled printing · No account

Getting the worksheet ready…

Your records stay in this page’s memory. They are not uploaded or autosaved: refreshing or closing clears them. Download text or print before leaving. Keep what a notice reports separate from your interpretation.

Keep the notice beside its source and open questions

Start with one record and add up to twenty. An obituary image, a transcription and a second notice can each be a separate record. Every field is optional.

Record 1

Copy the name as printed, or use your own label when it is unreadable.

Record the paper or other publication, its place, date, page and column when available. Keep the publication date separate from a death date.

A collection, URL, image or clipping number, where your copy is kept and the date you consulted it. Note whether you read an image, transcription or index.

Keep the wording of dates and ages, with the event they describe. Mark an approximation; do not silently calculate a birth date from an age.

Residences, a birthplace, a burial place or other places mentioned. Record how each place is connected in the notice.

Names, spellings, residences and the relationship the notice actually gives. Keep an unclear relationship unresolved.

Record the work, organizations, events or other biographical details the notice reports. Leave details absent from the notice blank.

Copy only the relevant passage you want to compare, with its spelling and line breaks. Mark [unclear] or an omitted part explicitly.

What was hard to read, which details conflict, and what has not been confirmed in another source? Separate your interpretation from the notice.

An original image to consult, a second notice, a vital record or another source that could clarify an open question.

Obituary research worksheet

Keep the published wording, its source and the questions still open. A notice alone does not confirm every reported detail.

Made with MemoirWell · memoirwell.com/tools/obituary-research-worksheet

Record 1

Name or record label — record 1

Newspaper, publication date and page — record 1

Source or saved-image reference — record 1

Dates and ages as reported — record 1

Places as reported — record 1

People and relationships as worded — record 1

Work, organizations and other life clues — record 1

Short wording to revisit — record 1

Uncertainty and conflicting clues — record 1

Next record or comparison — record 1

Keep what the notice reports separate from what you conclude

Start with the publication, its date and page, and a reference that lets you return to the image or clipping. Record whether you read an original image, a transcription or an index. Copy a name or relationship as worded; mark an unclear reading instead of filling the gap. Keep the publication date separate from a death date, and label an estimate in your own notes.

The Library of Congress family-history starting guide includes obituaries among useful newspaper sources. It also points to the U.S. Newspaper Directory for finding repositories when an area’s newspapers have not been digitized. The State Historical Society of Missouri research guide explains that a longer obituary may report dates, work, residence, burial and named relatives, while some notices are brief.

Treat a reported detail as a lead to compare

A name, age or relationship in a notice can be incomplete or mistaken. Keep an unresolved identity, a conflicting date or an absent relationship clearly marked. Compare the wording with another relevant source before making it part of a finished family account. A person not mentioned in one notice is an open question, not proof that the relationship did not exist.

A fictional example

Record label: Jo Zebulon. Publication: Exampletown Gazette, November 8, 1940, page 4. People and relationships as worded: “sister, Rosa”; the notice gives no surname for her. Source: Saved clipping 42; original issue still to consult. Uncertainty: I have not established which Rosa is meant. Next comparison: Read the original page and look for another notice before linking a person in the family tree.

Before you save your worksheet

Is this a free printable obituary research worksheet?

Yes. An empty worksheet prints one record with handwriting lines. Filled printing and TXT include only records with something entered; a record with just a source reference remains even if its name is empty. Each included record keeps its original number. Unfilled fields have writing lines in print and an underline in TXT.

Will it find an obituary or write one for me?

You enter notes from a notice you have already found. This worksheet does not search newspapers, look up people, extract text from an image, generate an obituary or infer family relationships. Use the source links to learn about research resources, and keep a reference for the material you consult.

Can I keep line breaks and an uncertain reading?

Yes. Use the short wording field for a relevant passage and keep its line breaks or spelling. Mark a missing or unclear part explicitly. Use the uncertainty field to separate your interpretation, conflicting clues and questions for later comparison.

Are the names or excerpts uploaded or saved?

They stay only in this page’s memory. They are not uploaded or autosaved; refreshing or closing clears them. Download text or print before leaving. Saved TXT and PDF copies cannot be reopened here as an editable worksheet. Include only the details you want in your own saved copy.

Can I print from the editor or save a PDF?

Yes. Choose Review my sheet, then Print or save PDF, or use the browser’s print command while editing. Choose Letter or A4 and check the preview. Each record starts on a new page; long notes can continue onto later pages, with the record number in field labels.

Keep the family memory as well as the record

Save your worksheet first. MemoirWell’s separate guided interview can help you develop your own memory into an AI-assisted draft chapter to check and edit. These research notes are not transferred automatically.

Start a free first chapter

Download or print your worksheet before leaving this page.