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 Tennessee 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 January 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
Tennessee
- Anderson County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Bedford County Obituary Index 1928-1946
- Bedford County Deaths, , 1968-1969
- Bedford County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Bedford County, Death Notices,, 1963-1967
- Benton County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Blount County Newspaper and Obituary Abstracts 1832-1905
- Blount County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Blount County Obituary Index
- Bradley County Obituary Index
- Carroll County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Carter County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Carter County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Chattanooga Obituaries
- Chester County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Cleveland Bradley County Public Library Obituary Index
- Crockett County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Cumberland County Death and Obituary Index
- Cumberland County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Davidson County – Nashville Obituary Indexes
- Davidson County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Decatur County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Dekalb County, Smithville Review Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Gibson County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Gibson County Obituaries and Obituary Indexes (transcriptions)
- Giles County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Hamilton County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Hamilton County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Hardeman County Miscellaneous Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Hardin County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Haywood County Obituary Index
- Henderson County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Henry County and Paris Newspaper Obituaries
- Hickman County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Hickman County, Obituaries 1846-1913
- Index to Obituaries in The Memphis Appeal 1843-1894
- Index to Obituaries in The Memphis Commercial Appeal 1894-1900
- Jackson Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Jackson Sun Obituary Index 1936-1954
- Johnson City Comet Obituaries, 1909 (transcriptions)
- Jonesboro Herald-Tribune Obituaries, 1869–1895 (transcriptions)
- Knox County Cross Index Search
- Knox County Miscellaneous Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Knoxville Obituary Index 1885 – 1906
- Knoxville Obituary Index
- Lauderdale County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Lauderdale County Obituaries and Obituary Indexes (transcriptions)
- Lawrence County Miscellaneous Obituaries
- Lewis County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Lewis County Obituaries 1871-1923
- Lewis County Obituaries and Obituary Indexes (transcriptions)
- Lincoln County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Lincoln County Fayetteville Observer Death Notices
- Madison County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Maury County Obituaries
- Memphis Daily Appeal Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Miscellaneous Montgomery County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Monroe County Obituary Indexes
- Montgomery County Obituary Index
- Montgomery County Obituaries
- Montgomery County, Obituary Collection, 1911-2009
- Montgomery County Early Residents Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Morgan County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Nashville Obituaries and Death Notices for 1913
- Nashville Christian Advocate Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Nashville City Cemetery Obituary Index (transcriptions)
- Nashville Globe Obituary Index 1907-1918
- Nashville Newspapers Death Notice Index
- Nashville Tennessean Obituary Indexes
- Oak Ridge Death and Obituary Index
- Obion County Miscellaneous Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Obituaries from Nineteenth Century Memphis newspapers – Indexes, 1843-1900
- Perry County Obituaries
- Putnam City Cemetery Obituaries
- Putnam County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Rhea County Miscellaneous Obituaries
- Rutledge, Smith Funeral Home Records (many with obituaries) 1933-1988
- Savannah, Savannah Courier, Death Notices and Obituaries, 1885-1890
- Scott County Death Index and Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Shelby County Obituaries and Death Notices 1836-1846
- Shelby County – Memphis Appeal Obituary Index
- Shelby County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Smith County Miscellaneous Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Smith County, Obituaries,1979-1988
- Stewart County Obituaries and Obituary Indexes (transcriptions)
- Sullivan County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Sullivan County Obituaries from the Bristol Herald Courier, the Kingsport Times News and other area newspapers and funeral homes, 1998-2013
- Sumner County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Sumner County Obituary Indexes
- Tennessee GenealogyBuff Obituary Files
- Tennessee Obituaries – Obit City
- Tennessee USGenWeb Obituary Project
- Tipton County Covington Leader Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Tipton County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Unicoi County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Van Buren County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Warren County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Wayne County Obituaries
- Wayne County Miscellaneous Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Weakley County Miscellaneous Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Williamson County Obituaries (transcriptions)
- Williamson County Early Obituaries
If you wish to search this state’s historic newspapers for obituaries, click on Tennessee Online Historical Newspapers Summary
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
For other Free Tennessee 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
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Looking for obituary of Marson Cox from Salem Ohio in 2006
It says “Oops”. Can this be updated?
That link is bad. But in finding the proper link, it appears that the society now charges for the obituaries and index, so it is no longer free.