Common Terms for Death and Mourning in Newspapers

From 1800–1940, newspapers rarely used the modern phrases we search for today (“died,” “death notice,” “obituary”).Instead, editors relied on poetic, religious, euphemistic, or socially coded language to announce deaths, funerals, and mourning rituals.Understanding these historical expressions helps genealogists uncover death-related articles even when names weren’t directly indexed or when common search terms return nothing. These terms appear in obituaries, funeral notices, accident reports, memorials, probate clues, society news, and even advertisements. Use them as alternate keywords — they unlock mentions you would otherwise miss.

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