To find family activities in the newspaper, you must at least know the names of family members, the state and city or town where the family lived (or where the articles were likely to have been published), and a time frame. Obituaries often list activities, too. To find an obituary, you must at least know the full name of the individual at time of death, the approximate date of death, and the state and city or town where the death took place (or where the obituary was likely to have been published). If you do not have the minimum information to access a newspaper article, you can either:

Get help finding some of the minimum information by selecting one of the following items,

Name

Death date

Place of death

Places the family lived

click the Back button on your browser to return to the list of other places where you can find family activities, or

read the paragraph below for additional tips.

Finding family activities

You could try contacting organizations such as Kiwanis, the Rotary Club, Lion's Club, Scouts, ethnic organizations, labor unions, occupational organizations, and charitable organizations in the area where your ancestors lived. They may have membership records from the time when your ancestor lived there.

Cemetery records sometimes contain detailed records about an individual, or you may find clues to an individual's membership in an organization on their headstone. For information about finding cemeteries and cemetery records, see the topic All about cemeteries and funeral homes.

Make sure to check photo albums, scrapbooks, and diaries, at home. You also may find old shirts, hats, or pins that indicate membership in a particular club. See the topic Finding information at home for more information.

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