Oklahoma Obituaries

Oklahoma’s first newspapers appeared in 1844 in Indian Territory: a Baptist mission’s Cherokee Messenger and the Cherokee Nation’s bilingual Cherokee Advocate. The Oklahoma Historical Society’s Gateway to Oklahoma History has digitized papers from both Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory and is free to search.

Recent Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma are:

• The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City)
• Tulsa World
• Norman Transcript
• Lawton Constitution
• Enid News & Eagle

Legacy.com’s Oklahoma 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.

Oklahoma obituaries in historic newspapers

The Cherokee Advocate began in Tahlequah in 1844 and printed in English and the Cherokee syllabary. Other Indian Territory papers served the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole nations, and their notices are an important record of deaths in tribal communities.

After the land runs began in 1889, hundreds of papers sprang up in new towns across Oklahoma Territory, some lasting only a few years. Oklahoma also had historic all-Black towns such as Boley and Langston, whose newspapers recorded their residents. Later papers record the oil booms, the Dust Bowl and the 1921 Tulsa massacre.

The Gateway to Oklahoma History, built by the Oklahoma Historical Society with the University of North Texas, holds a large and growing collection of digitized Oklahoma newspapers. The Historical Society’s research center in Oklahoma City has genealogy guides and newspaper microfilm.

Where to find older Oklahoma obituaries

Digitized Oklahoma newspapers

• The Gateway to Oklahoma History — Free digitized Oklahoma and Indian Territory newspapers.

Archives and libraries

• Genealogy, Oklahoma Historical Society — Guides to Oklahoma death records, tribal records and newspaper research.
• Oklahoma Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Oklahoma 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.

Oklahoma death records

Oklahoma death certificates are restricted to family and others with an interest for 25 years, ordered from OSDH. The Oklahoma Historical Society has guides to older death records, tribal records and newspapers.

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

Tips for finding an obituary in Oklahoma

• Use the Gateway. The Gateway to Oklahoma History has free Oklahoma and Indian Territory papers.
• Check tribal papers and records. Tribal nations kept their own newspapers and records that may note deaths.
• Statehood was 1907. Deaths in Indian and Oklahoma territories are best found in newspapers and tribal records.
• 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