Obituary & people search
Search North Carolina Obituaries
Look up obituaries, death records and people by name.
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Obituary guide
How to find an obituary in North Carolina
For a recent death, start with the funeral home's website and the obituary pages of the Charlotte Observer, News & Observer, Greensboro News & Record, Winston-Salem Journal or your local paper. For an older obituary, the State Library of North Carolina's guide lists newspaper indexes from 1950 on, and the State Archives has indexed death notices going back to 1799.
What to have ready
- Full name, including a maiden name
- Approximate date and place of death (city or town, and county)
- Age at death or birth year
- Names of close relatives (spouse, children, parents)
Tip: Knowing the county narrows the search the most. North Carolina's newspaper indexes are mostly organized by county and paper.
Where to look, by when the person died
| When the person died | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Last few years | Funeral home websites; the Charlotte Observer, News & Observer, Greensboro News & Record and Winston-Salem Journal on Legacy.com; Legacy.com's North Carolina page |
| 1990s to recent decades | The State Library's guide to newspaper indexes and abstracts, 1950 and on; the Forsyth County Public Library newspaper index for the Winston-Salem Journal; newspaper databases with a library card |
| Older or historic | The State Archives' Family Records collection, with death notices indexed from five newspapers, 1799–1893; microfilm at the State Archives; Chronicling America and DigitalNC; county genealogical societies |
| Official death record | See how to order a North Carolina death record. |
Major newspapers' obituary pages
- The Charlotte Observer, on Legacy.com
- The News & Observer (Raleigh), on Legacy.com
- Greensboro News & Record
- Winston-Salem Journal
These obituary listings loaded on our check. News articles on the papers' own sites may need a subscription. The Asheville Citizen Times and Wilmington StarNews also have obituary pages, but their sites blocked our checks.
Libraries and archives
- State Library of North Carolina: newspaper indexes and abstracts, 1950 and on
- State Archives of North Carolina
- Family Records digital collection: marriage and death notices from the Raleigh Register, North Carolina State Gazette, Daily Sentinel, Raleigh Observer and News & Observer (1799–1893), plus about 1,500 family Bible records
- Forsyth County Public Library newspaper index
Timeline expectations
- Recent obituaries: these appear online once the family or funeral home publishes them, so timing varies.
- Indexes: the State Archives' indexed notices cover 1799–1893. The State Library's guide covers indexes from 1950 on. Coverage in between varies by county.
- Lookup turnaround: not stated by these sources.
Tips
- Start with the State Library's guide. It shows which county papers have an index, so you know where to look first.
- For a Raleigh-area death in the 1800s, the Family Records collection may turn up the notice by name.
- Family Bible records in the same collection can fill in dates when no obituary ran.
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.