Obituary & people search
Search Maryland Obituaries
Look up obituaries, death records and people by name.
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Obituary guide
How to find an obituary in Maryland
For a recent death, start with the funeral home's website and the obituary pages of the Baltimore Sun or your local paper. For an older obituary, Baltimore's Pratt Library carries the Baltimore Sun back to 1837, and the Maryland State Archives and the State Law Library have guides to death records and newspaper obituaries.
What to have ready
- Full name, including a maiden name
- Approximate date and place of death (city and county, or Baltimore City)
- Age at death or birth year
- Names of close relatives (spouse, children, parents)
Tip: Knowing the county narrows the search the most. Baltimore City is counted separately from Baltimore County.
Where to look, by when the person died
| When the person died | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Last few years | Funeral home websites; obituary pages of the Baltimore Sun, Capital Gazette and Frederick News-Post; Legacy.com's Maryland page |
| 1990s to recent decades | The Pratt Library's Maryland newspaper databases (library card needed); databases at your county library |
| Older or historic | The Baltimore Sun from 1837 via the Pratt Library; the State Law Library's guide to mortalities and obituaries; Chronicling America, where the University of Maryland's Historic Maryland Newspapers Project adds titles; microfilm at public libraries; the Maryland Center for History and Culture |
| Official death record | See the Maryland State Archives' death records guide and how to order a Maryland death record. |
Major newspapers' obituary pages
These pages loaded on our check. News articles on the papers' own sites may need a subscription.
Libraries and archives
- Pratt Library Maryland newspapers: the Baltimore Sun from 1837 to the present via ProQuest, at any Pratt location or from home with a library card
- Pratt Library genealogy guide: its Periodicals Department does death notice and obituary lookups if you have the exact date of death
- Maryland State Archives death records guide and indexes
- Thurgood Marshall State Law Library obituary guide: it also holds a large Baltimore Sun microfilm collection
Timeline expectations
- Recent obituaries: these appear online once the family or funeral home publishes them, so timing varies.
- Baltimore Sun archive: runs from 1837 to the present. Smaller papers' coverage varies.
- Lookup turnaround: the Pratt Library doesn't state one.
Tips
- Get the exact date of death first (from a funeral home page, a cemetery or a death index). The Pratt Library's lookup service needs it.
- Families near Washington, D.C., often ran notices in Washington papers too.
- For Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, check the Capital Gazette before the Baltimore Sun.
Last verified:
Note: Coverage years, fees and web addresses are set by the libraries, archives and newspapers listed and can change. PublicLibraries.com is not affiliated with them.