One of the main goals for genealogists in searching historic newspapers is to find obituaries. Obituaries are a gold mine of information. They provide death dates and locations, funeral and cemetery information, and sometimes more importantly – information about the relatives of the deceased’s family and extended family. This family name information is often not found anywhere else.
Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists, a great number of indexes to death information and obituaries from newspapers have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes or index lists provide the location in old newspapers where the obituary can be found. Sometimes the obituary clipping or transcription is even provided.
Below is a list of links to Pennsylvania obituary indexes, an alternative means to newspaper searching to find obituary information. If the newspaper clippings are available, or if the obituaries are transcribed, they will be denoted. Please be aware that if you find a desired obituary in an index, that the holder of the actual obituary (e.g., library or genealogical society) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the obituary itself.
(Updated October 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)
General U.S.
- Currentobituary.com index, 2001-2014
- Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995-2016
- U.S., Selected Jewish Obituaries, 1948-2002
- United Methodist Church Annual Conference Journal Memoirs and Obituary Index
- United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014
- United States, Obituaries, American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1899-2012
Pennsylvania
- Adams County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Adams County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Allegheny County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Allegheny County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Allegheny County/Pittsburgh Area Newspapers Death and Obituary Index
- Allegheny Valley Daily News Obituary Index
- Allentown Morning Call Obituary Indexes 1895-1983
- Altoona Area Obituary Index
- Altoona Mirror Obituary Collection
- Altoona, Pennsylvania, Altoona Mirror Obituary Index, 1929-2010
- Armstrong County Obituaries (transcriptions and clippings)
- Beaver County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Obituary Records, 1920-1969
- Bedford County Obituaries 2002-
- Bedford County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Bedford County Obituary Index
- Bellefonte, Democratic Watchman Index to Obituaries
- Berks County Obituaries
- Berks County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Berks County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Berks County, Hamburg, Obituary and Marriage Collection, 1825-1994
- Bethlehem Obituary Index
- Blair County Obituary Index
- Bradford Era Obituary Index
- Bristol Death and Obituary Index
- Bucks County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Bucks County Obituaries and Indexes
- Butler County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Butler County Obituary Index
- Butler County Obituary Index, 1810-2010
- Cambria County Death and Obituary Index
- Cambria County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Cambria County Obituary Index
- Centre County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Centre Daily Times Obituary Index (clippings)
- Chester County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Chester County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Clearfield County Obituaries
- Columbia County Death Notice Index
- Columbia County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Crawford County Obituaries (clippings)
- Cumberland County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Cumberland County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Dauphin County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Dauphin County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Delaware County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Delaware County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Democratic Watchman Index to Obituaries 1855-1888
- Dubois, Newspaper Obituaries 1950-1951
- Erie County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Erie County Public Library Obituary Index 1822-
- Fayette County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Fayette County Obituary Indexes
- Franklin County Death and Obituary Index
- Gettysburg Death Notices 1802-1834
- Greene County Deaths and Obituaries
- Greene County Obituary Index 1822-1958, 1980-1981
- Harrisburg Newspaper Index – Deaths
- Huntingdon County Obituary Index
- Huntingdon County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Indiana County Obituary Index
- Indiana County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Jefferson County/Brockway Obituary and Record Index
- Lackawanna County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Lackawanna County, Obituaries from the Scranton Republican, 1916-1935
- Lancaster County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Lancaster County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society Obituary Index
- Latrobe Bulletin Death and Obituary Index
- Lawrence County Obituaries
- Lawrence County Obituary Database
- Lawrence County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Lawrence County, Pennsylvania Obituary Index, 1850-2010
- Lebanon County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Lebanon County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Lebanon County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Lehigh County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Lehigh County Morning Call Obituary Index
- Lehigh County, Emmaus, Obituaries, 1995-1997
- Lititz Death and Obituary Index
- Luzerne County Obituaries
- Luzerne County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Luzerne County Obituaries and Death Notices and Obituary Indexes (transcriptions)
- Luzerne County Obituary Index (transcriptions)
- Lycoming County – Newspaper Index
- Lycoming County Obituaries
- Marshall College and of Franklin and Marshall College, Obituary record of the lives of deceased alumni
- McDonald Newspaper Obituaries (transcriptions)
- McKean County Obituary Index
- McKean County Obituary Indexes
- Mercer County Miscellaneous Obituaries
- Mercer County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Mifflin County Obituary Extracts
- Mon Valley Obituaries and Index
- Montgomery County Obituaries
- Montgomery County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Montour County Obituaries and Death Notices and Obituary Indexes (transcriptions)
- Northampton County Obituaries from the Easton Express
- Northampton County Bangor Daily News Obituary Index
- Northampton County Bethlehem Globe-Times Obituaries
- Northampton County Easton Area Public Library Obituary Index
- Northampton County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Northampton County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Northumberland County Death Notices
- Northumberland County Obituaries and Death Notices and Obituary Indexes (transcriptions)
- Northumberland County Obituary Index
- Pennsylvania Gazette Index to Obituary Notices 1728-1791
- Pennsylvania GenealogyBuff Obituary Files
- Pennsylvania Obituaries – Obit City
- Pennsylvania Obituaries, 1977-2010
- Pennsylvania Obituary and Marriage Collection, 1947-2010
- Pennsylvania USGenWeb Obituary Project
- Pennsylvania Necrology Scrapbook (obituaries)
- Perry County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Philadelphia, Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, Notices of Marriages & Deaths, 1791-1839
- Philadelphia County Obituary Indexes
- Philadelphia Jewish Exponent Obituary Index, 1887-2006
- Potter County Death and Obituary Indexes
- Potter County Early Obituaries
- Schuylkill County Obituaries Index
- Schuylkill County, Schuylkill Haven, Funeral Home Obituary Cards, 1914-2007
- Somerset County Obituary Indexes
- Somerset County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Sullivan County Obituaries
- Sullivan County Registry of Obituaries
- Susquehanna County Death and Obituary Indexes
- Venango County Obituaries
- Venango & Butler Counties Obituaries
- Warren County Obituaries
- Washington County Obituaries
- Washington County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Western Pennsylvania Obituaries and Marriages from Newspaper Clippings
- Westmoreland County – Baltzer Meyer Historical Society Obituary Index
- Westmoreland County Obituaries
- Westmoreland County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Westmoreland County Obituaries and Death Notices (transcriptions)
- Westmoreland County, Marriage and Death Notices from weekly newspapers, 1818-1865
If you wish to search this state’s historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Pennsylvania Online Historical Newspapers Summary
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
For other Free Pennsylvania Links, click on the category of interest:
Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records
The Warren Tribune Chronicle Obit Index, second from the end above, is in Ohio not Pennsylvania.
Oops! Thanks, Denise. Fixed.
The URL to the Erie County Obituary Index has changed to https://erielibrary.org/resources/obituary-services/
Kenneth, Thanks for all of your hard work. I thought you’d want to know that the forth, and final, entry for Cambria County Pennsylvania (Cambria County Obituary Indexes) is no longer an active site.
Thanks. Fixed.
Hi ! I’m trying to access Bethlem index in Pennsylvania but it failed, “Access from your area has been temporarily limited for security reasons.”
I’m living in France
Can I have some help please ? 🙁
The site works from my location in Arizona. It must be something from that site that restricts access maybe only in the U.S. I don’t know how I can help you.