Oregon Obituaries

Oregon’s first newspaper, the Oregon Spectator, appeared in 1846, the first American newspaper on the Pacific coast. The University of Oregon’s free Historic Oregon Newspapers site is the best place to start.

Recent Oregon 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 Oregon are:

• The Oregonian (Portland)
• Statesman Journal (Salem)
• The Register-Guard (Eugene)
• The Bulletin (Bend)

Legacy.com’s Oregon 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.

Oregon obituaries in historic newspapers

The Oregon Spectator began in Oregon City in 1846, at the end of the Oregon Trail. Its notices recorded deaths among overland emigrants and settlers in the Willamette Valley, and later papers such as the Oregonian, founded in Portland in 1850, became the region’s main record.

Gold rushes in southern and eastern Oregon, the timber industry and the salmon canneries on the Columbia all brought new towns and papers. Portland had German, Scandinavian, Chinese and Japanese papers, and small-town weeklies across the state reported pioneer deaths in detail, often noting the year the deceased crossed the plains.

Historic Oregon Newspapers, from the University of Oregon Libraries, hosts digitized Oregon papers from the 1840s onward, including titles contributed to Chronicling America. The Oregon State Archives in Salem has state death records.

Where to find older Oregon obituaries

Digitized Oregon newspapers

• Historic Oregon Newspapers — Free digitized Oregon newspapers from the University of Oregon.

Obituary and death indexes

• Oregon Death Index, 1903–1998 (FamilySearch) — Free statewide index of Oregon deaths.

Archives and libraries

• Oregon State Archives — State death records and genealogy guidance in Salem.
• Oregon Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Oregon 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.

Oregon death records

Oregon death certificates are restricted to family and others with an interest for 50 years, ordered from OHA. Older records move to the Oregon State Archives, which has death indexes and certificates open to researchers.

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

Tips for finding an obituary in Oregon

• Use the Death Index. The Oregon Death Index gives the date and county to search.
• Search Washington papers. Portland-area deaths also appeared in Vancouver, Washington papers.
• Check Historic Oregon Newspapers. The University of Oregon's free collection covers papers from every 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