Maryland Obituaries

Maryland has one of the oldest newspaper traditions in the country, beginning with the Maryland Gazette in 1727. The Maryland State Archives has put many historic papers online, and the University of Maryland keeps a directory of every digitized Maryland title.

Recent Maryland obituaries (2000 to today)

Most obituaries published since about 2000 are online. Daily papers post paid death notices and family-written obituaries in an Obituaries section, usually hosted by Legacy.com, and keep them online with a guest book. The largest daily papers in Maryland are:

• Baltimore Sun
• Capital Gazette (Annapolis)
• Frederick News-Post
• Herald-Mail (Hagerstown)
• Washington Post (Maryland suburbs)

Legacy.com’s Maryland page searches the obituaries of most of these papers and many smaller ones at once. Funeral homes also post obituaries on their own websites, often before the newspaper does and sometimes instead of it: search the person’s name with the town and “obituary” or “funeral home.” For obituaries no longer online, ask your public or state library: many offer NewsBank or ProQuest databases with the full text of recent newspapers, free with a library card.

Maryland obituaries in historic newspapers

The Maryland Gazette, printed in Annapolis from 1727 (and revived in 1745 by Jonas Green), reported deaths of planters, merchants and officials, and also printed runaway and estate notices that can help confirm when someone died. Baltimore’s papers took the lead after the Revolution, and the Baltimore Sun, founded in 1837, ran death notices in a daily column for well over a century.

Baltimore also had a strong German-language press and, from 1892, the Afro-American, one of the country’s most important Black newspapers, whose obituaries record families often ignored elsewhere. County weeklies on the Eastern Shore, in southern Maryland and in the western counties cover rural deaths.

The Maryland State Archives’ digitized newspapers span from the 1720s to the 1950s. The University of Maryland’s Gateway to Digitized Maryland Newspapers does not host papers itself; it links to every site that does.

Where to find older Maryland obituaries

Digitized Maryland newspapers

• Maryland Newspapers, Maryland State Archives — The state archives’ list of digitized Maryland newspapers, with links to page images.
• Gateway to Digitized Maryland Newspapers — University of Maryland directory of digitized Maryland newspapers wherever they are hosted.

Obituary and death indexes

• Maryland State Archives — Maryland death records more than 20 years old, with indexes and research help in Annapolis.

Archives and libraries

• Enoch Pratt Free Library: Maryland Center for History & Culture — Pratt's research services, including Baltimore Sun archive access and Maryland newspaper microfilm.
• Maryland Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Maryland newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with local links.

Also search the nationwide archives: Chronicling America, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Newspapers.com. See all nationwide obituary resources.

Maryland death records

Maryland death certificates are restricted to family and others with an interest, ordered from MDH. Death records more than 20 years old are transferred to the Maryland State Archives, which has indexes and copies open to researchers.

• Maryland Division of Vital Records (MDH) — the office that issues Maryland death certificates, with ordering instructions and fees.
• Where to Write for Vital Records: Maryland — the CDC’s summary of where to order, current fees and which years the office holds.
• Maryland Vital Records, FamilySearch Research Wiki — free death indexes and certificate collections, with the years each covers.

Tips for finding an obituary in Maryland

• Use the State Archives indexes. Maryland death records over 20 years old are indexed at the State Archives.
• Check Washington papers. Montgomery and Prince George's County deaths often ran in the Washington Post and Evening Star.
• Search the Afro-American. The Baltimore Afro-American recorded deaths in Black communities across the region.
• Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks, and often listed married women under the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). See death notices vs. obituaries.

Common questions