Genealogy Chat

Thank you all for your help and advice.

I think the thing will be just to take my list with me and see what I can find, but it is worth me listing the deaths I have from about 1900, as I might get lucky.

The Greenock Advertiser was carrying death notices for quite "ordinary" people from at least the 1830s.

No reason to think this practice was not widespread in Scotland.

Alistair

I have several accounts of funerals rather than actual obituaries, going back to 1920s, which have proved useful. They often listed those attending, together with their relationship to the deceased.

I think a lot of my family had these added to the local paper because an aunt was the local correspondent for the village, so made sure her relatives were well reported!

Elisabeth

I think for some families it would depend on cost.
As far as I know, it was not until 1950s that anyone from my father's family put an announcement in the paper. Previously they would have written to family and friends and just didn't have spare cash for obituaries.
Well connected people, clergy and doctors etc would probably have notices in the general pages of the paper back in the 1800s, if they were well known in an area.

Details of funerals as well as the actual obituaries make interesting reading. We have a report here which details all the wreaths and tributes given, as well as listing all the mourners.

Gwyn

Good Morning,

I am planning to visit York libruary at some point soon, with the intention to find as many obituaries as possible.

My question is when did putting obituaries into your local newspaper become common place?

I am listing all those I want to look for and then putting them in date order, from most recent backwards. But I am wondering when to stop looking. I hope this makes sense:)

Does anyone have any ideas?

Many thanks

Dawn