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The Kentucky Room has been indexing obituaries in the
Owensboro newspapers since 1977. This online index is added to and updated almost daily.
The amount of data abstracted divides the database into three time periods:
1842-1919, 1920-1989 and 1990 to present.
Obituary index of 1842-1919 and 1990 to present contain the data fields:
- Name
- Obituary Date
- Age
- Birth Date
- Birth Place
- Death Date
- Death Place
- Cemetery
- Cause of Death
- Survivors
- Comments
Obituary index of 1920-1989 contain the data fields:
- Name
- Obituary Date
- Age
- Birth Place
- Death Place
Note that data abstracted varied for the different time periods. The Simple Search form
allows you to search by name and date. The Advanced Search form allows you to perform
a soundex, like or starts with search for a first or last name. Also
with it you can search by the additional data fields. Each of the
non-date field categories can be searched separately or several
jointly by keyword(s). Searching for a phrase works
best when it is enclosed by quotation marks. The obituary date field can be searched
by a year, month & year or a range of dates.
Over the years there have been several different newspapers published in Owensboro.
The particular newspaper title is indicated by a two-letter abbreviation in the Source
field on each individual form preceding the obituary date. If an obituary also appeared
in a different newspaper title then the code for the additional title(s) is found in the
Comments field following the phrase “see also”.
The Source codes for the various newspapers are as follows:
- KO = Kentucky Oil Journal
- KR = Kentucky Reporter
- ME = Owensboro Messenger & Examiner
- MI = Owensboro Messenger & Inquirer
- MO = Owensboro Monitor
- OB = Owensboro Bulletin
- OE = Owensboro Examiner
- OG = Owensboro Gazette
- OI = Owensboro Inquirer
- OM = Owensboro Messenger
- OS = Owensboro Star
- OT = Owensboro Daily Tribune
- OW = Owensboro Weekly Messenger
- SE = Owensboro Semi-Weekly Messenger & Examiner
- SM = Owensboro Semi-Weekly Messenger
- SS = Southern Shield
- TM = Owensboro Tri-Weekly Messenger
- WI = Whitesville Independent Press
Index for pre-1920 obituaries:
The index for the obituaries since 1920 is essentially a name index.
The indexes for the pre-1920 deaths are a full abstract of all vital data
found in the original article(s). The two sections of the database vary significantly
by the format, complexity and intended goals.
Jerry Long has created the pre-1920 obituary index. He started on it in
1990. The pre-1920 obituary index strives to be much
more than just a name index. It is essentially a full abstract of all vital
information found. It seeks to be a more complex and integrated tool for
both genealogical and historical research.
All items indicating (or suggesting) a death in Western Kentucky or
Southern Indiana were indexed. Every column and page was closely scanned to locate deaths.
This was necessary since at the time death notices did not appear in one particular
spot but were scattered here and there throughout and many items were only a couple of lines.
For the pre-1920 obituary index all deaths in the following 46 counties
of Western Kentucky were abstracted. |
