Massachusetts Obituaries

Massachusetts printed the first newspaper in the American colonies, and Boston papers have recorded deaths ever since. There is no single statewide archive, so obituary searches usually combine Boston Public Library databases, Chronicling America and local library indexes.

Recent Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts are:

• Boston Globe
• Boston Herald
• Telegram & Gazette (Worcester)
• The Republican (Springfield)
• Cape Cod Times
• Patriot Ledger (Quincy)

Legacy.com’s Massachusetts 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.

Massachusetts obituaries in historic newspapers

Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick appeared in Boston in 1690 and was shut down after one issue. The Boston News-Letter, begun in 1704, became the first continuously published newspaper in the colonies. Eighteenth-century Boston papers reported the deaths of prominent residents, ministers and sea captains, and printed lists of burials during epidemics.

By the 1800s the Columbian Centinel, the Boston Evening Transcript and later the Boston Globe and Boston Herald carried long-running death-notice columns, and nearly every Massachusetts city had its own daily. The Transcript is especially valued by genealogists for its notices and its genealogy query column.

Boston Public Library joined the National Digital Newspaper Program in 2021 and has been adding Massachusetts titles to Chronicling America. Many other Massachusetts papers are available free to residents through a Boston Public Library e-card.

Where to find older Massachusetts obituaries

Digitized Massachusetts newspapers

• Massachusetts Newspapers Online, Boston Public Library — Guide to every digitized Massachusetts newspaper BPL offers, many free with a Massachusetts e-card.
• Digital Commonwealth — Statewide digital library that includes page images of some Boston newspapers.
• Massachusetts newspapers on Chronicling America — Library of Congress overview of the Massachusetts titles digitized so far.

Obituary and death indexes

• Vital records, Massachusetts Archives — State vital records from 1841 to 1925, with research help at Columbia Point in Boston.

Archives and libraries

• American Ancestors (New England Historic Genealogical Society) — Subscription databases that include New England death notices and newspaper abstracts.
• Massachusetts Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Massachusetts 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.

Massachusetts death records

Massachusetts death records are public. Order copies from the city or town clerk or the Registry of Vital Records; the Massachusetts Archives holds state vital records from 1841 to 1925.

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

Tips for finding an obituary in Massachusetts

• Massachusetts records go back to 1841. State death records start in 1841, and town records much earlier.
• Use your BPL e-card. Massachusetts residents get free access to many digitized papers with a Boston Public Library e-card.
• Search the town paper. Most towns had a weekly or daily paper with local obituaries.
• 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