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Search Texas Obituaries
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Obituary guide
How to find an obituary in Texas
For a death in the last few years, start with the funeral home's website and the local newspaper's obituary page. Many Texas papers now publish their obituaries through Legacy.com. For an older obituary, search the Portal to Texas History's digitized newspapers, then the newspaper databases at a big-city public library, which you can use with a library card.
What to have ready
- Full name, including a maiden name or nickname
- Approximate date and place of death (city and county)
- Age at death or birth year
- Names of close relatives (spouse, children, parents)
Tip: Texas is big, and most obituaries ran in the local paper, so knowing the county narrows the search more than anything else.
Where to look, by when the person died
| When the person died | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Last few years | Funeral home websites; newspaper obituary pages (listed below); Legacy.com's Texas page |
| 1990s to recent decades | Austin Public Library: the American-Statesman in NewsBank, 1989 to the present, library card needed; Houston Public Library: the Houston Chronicle, 1901 to the present; Fort Worth Public Library: the Star-Telegram (details below); Fort Bend County Libraries' obituary database |
| Older or historic | Texas Digital Newspaper Program on the Portal to Texas History; Texas State Library newspaper microfilm; Dallas Public Library: the Dallas Morning News, 1885–1984; Houston Public Library: the Houston Post, 1880–1995; Chronicling America; county genealogical societies |
| Official death record | The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) sells death indexes for 1965 and later at $10 per year. FamilySearch has a Texas Death Index, 1903–2000. See how to order a Texas death record. |
Major newspapers' obituary pages
- Houston Chronicle, on Legacy.com
- The Dallas Morning News
- San Antonio Express-News, on Legacy.com
- Austin American-Statesman
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
- El Paso Times
Recent obituaries on these pages are open to read. For older articles, a library card usually beats a paper's paid archive.
Libraries and archives
- Portal to Texas History: run by UNT. The Texas Digital Newspaper Program lists more than 2,000 titles.
- Texas State Library and Archives (TSLAC): Ancestry Library Edition and NewspaperArchive-Texas on reading-room computers in Austin and Liberty. Staff can't research for you.
- Austin Public Library obituary guide
- Houston Public Library genealogy: the Clayton Library campus holds funeral home records covering about 1921–1975.
- Dallas Public Library, Dallas and Texas history
- Fort Worth Public Library: the Star-Telegram online, 1902–1991 and 1990 to the present, plus Heritage Hub, with a library card login
Timeline expectations
- Recent obituaries go online once the family or funeral home publishes them, so timing varies.
- Austin American-Statesman: 1871–1980 and 1989 to the present are in library databases. For 1979–1988, use the microfilm at the Austin History Center.
- DSHS death indexes start in 1965 (digital). Microfiche indexes for earlier years go back to 1903.
- Small-town papers: coverage varies.
Tips
- On the Portal to Texas History, search obit* with the type set to "Newspapers". It catches "obituary", "obituaries" and "obits".
- Texas death certificates are restricted for 25 years, so the index or the newspaper notice is often the quickest way to confirm a date.
- For Houston-area suburbs, also check Fort Bend County's database. It includes some Houston Chronicle obituaries.
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.