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Search West Virginia Obituaries
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Obituary guide
How to find an obituary in West Virginia
For a recent death, start with the funeral home's website and the local paper's obituary page. For an older obituary, check the county library's index or microfilm, such as Cabell County's Huntington indexes or Kanawha County's Charleston papers. WVU's West Virginia and Regional History Center holds the state's largest newspaper collection.
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: Knowing the county narrows the search more than anything else. Most West Virginia newspaper microfilm isn't indexed, so the county and a date are what staff need to find a notice.
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) |
| 1990s to recent decades | The Herald-Dispatch database (1999 to the present) through Cabell County Public Library; newspaper databases at your county library |
| Older or historic | Cabell County's Herald-Dispatch obituary indexes (1895–1990 and later years); Kanawha County Public Library's microfilm of the Charleston papers; the WVU research guide to newspapers; Chronicling America; county genealogical societies |
| Official death record | The WV Archives' Vital Research Records has scanned death records you can search. State death records begin in January 1917. See how to order a West Virginia death record. |
Major newspapers' obituary pages
- Charleston Gazette-Mail
- The Herald-Dispatch (Huntington)
- The Dominion Post (Morgantown)
- The Intelligencer (Wheeling)
- Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Each page loaded without a login on our check. Older news archives usually need a subscription or a library card.
Libraries and archives
- Cabell County Public Library death index: obituary indexes for Huntington newspapers on microfilm, plus a copy-request link
- Kanawha County Public Library: the Charleston Daily Mail (1914 to now) and Charleston Gazette (1924 to now) on microfilm
- West Virginia and Regional History Center (WVU): newspapers from 1791 to the present
- West Virginia Archives and History
- West Virginia Library Commission
Timeline expectations
- Recent obituaries appear when the family or funeral home publishes them, so timing varies.
- Obituaries in West Virginia papers began appearing in the late 19th century, according to WVU.
- State death records start in 1917. Coverage for county records varies.
Tips
- Kanawha County has no obituary index. Send a letter with the name and date of death, your contact details, a self-addressed stamped envelope and one quarter per obituary.
- Cabell County staff need a complete date of death. If you know only the month, they'll search one newspaper across five days.
- Only duplicate reels of WVU's newspaper microfilm go out through interlibrary loan, so ask early.
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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.