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Search Mississippi Obituaries
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Obituary guide
How to find an obituary in Mississippi
For a recent death, start with the funeral home's website and your local newspaper's obituary page. For an older obituary, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) holds state death records from 1912 to 1943 and a large newspaper collection. The Mississippi Digital Library and local libraries fill in the rest.
What to have ready
- Full name, including a maiden name
- Approximate date and place of death (city and county)
- Age at death or birth year
- Names of close relatives (spouse, children, parents)
Tip: Knowing the county narrows the search the most. Mississippi obituaries often ran only in the county weekly.
Where to look, by when the person died
| When the person died | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Last few years | Funeral home websites; newspaper obituary pages such as the Sun Herald and the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal; Legacy.com's Mississippi page |
| 1990s to recent decades | Newspaper and genealogy databases through your public library and the Mississippi Library Commission |
| Older or historic | MDAH newspaper holdings on microfilm; the Mississippi Digital Library; Chronicling America; county genealogical and historical societies |
| Official death record | MDAH has microfiche copies of state death records from November 1912 to 1943. For later records, see how to order a Mississippi death record. |
Major newspapers' obituary pages
- Sun Herald (Gulf Coast), on Legacy.com
- Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo): the link goes to its Legacy.com obituary page
- Legacy.com's Mississippi page: an index of Mississippi newspaper and funeral home notices
The Clarion Ledger (Jackson) has an obituary page, but its site blocked our check.
Libraries and archives
- MDAH genealogy research: death records 1912–1943, and its catalog at opac2.mdah.ms.gov
- MDAH Mississippi newspaper holdings
- Mississippi Digital Library
- Mississippi Library Commission databases: includes HeritageQuest
- FamilySearch's Mississippi obituaries guide
Timeline expectations
- Recent obituaries: these appear online once the family or funeral home publishes them, so timing varies.
- Digitized newspapers: coverage varies a great deal by county. Many local papers are on microfilm only.
- Death records at MDAH: November 1912 to 1943.
Tips
- MDAH death records often name the parents and their birthplaces, which helps you confirm you have the right person.
- For small towns, check which paper served the county in that year (MDAH's newspaper holdings list helps), then ask that county's library about microfilm.
- On the Gulf Coast, start with the Sun Herald. In northeast Mississippi, start with the Daily Journal.
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.