The Progress-Index Obituaries in Petersburg, VA | The Progress-Index (2024)

FAQs

How do I find old obituaries in Virginia? ›

The Los Angeles County Library does three free obituary searches per month per patron. The person whose obituary is sought needs to have died within Los Angeles County. Please have as much information about the death as possible (date, place, name, etc.)

Information for obtaining a Death Certificate directly from the Virginia Department Health Vital Records Division can be found at: www.vdh.virginia.gov by clicking on “Births, Deaths & Marriages” or by calling one of their customer service representatives at 804-662-6200.

With the exception of the years 1896 to 1912, the Office of Vital Records has records of births, deaths, and marriages since 1853. Vital Records has divorce records on file from 1918 to the present.

Legacy.com hosts obituaries for more than three-quarters of the 100 largest newspapers in the U.S., by circulation. The site attracts more than 30 million unique visitors per month and is among the top 40 trafficked websites in the world.

Many funeral homes publish obituaries on their websites. These can usually be located with a Google search on the person's name. Local genealogical and historical societies, public libraries, and some newspaper publishers maintain clipping files of obituaries.

In 1853, Virginia passed a law requiring counties to record births, although not all counties complied or continued to record them on a consistent basis. Birth registers during the Civil War period (1861-1865) are incomplete. From 1896-1911, births were not recorded.

When writing an obituary for a woman who had a maiden name, simply write her first name and then in parentheses write her maiden name and then her married last name. For instance, Laura (Ingalls) Wilder, Marie (Sklodowska) Curie or Julia (McWilliams) Childs.

Death records are available by order or in person. All death records over 100 years old are available online from home.

Death certificate without cause of death (public record) Death certificate with cause of death (confidential for 50 years - VALID PHOTO IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED).