Death Notices / Obituaries

Using German Newspapers

German-language newspapers are a valuable source of obituaries and other genealogical Information, and you do not have to be an expert in the German language. This presentation will offer tips for locating and deciphering obituaries in German newspapers.

 

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Westliche Post

Westliche Post was a German-language newspaper published in St. Louis from 1857 to 1938. Death notices are in German and printed in Fraktur, a Gothic typeface.

View Indexes by Name

 This index is based on issues of the newspaper now digitized and available from Newspapers.com:

The current index covers issues for 1876 – 1895 with the following gaps:

  • January–June 1879
  • July–December 1881
  • January–June 1882
  • July–December 1885
  • July–December 1886
  • April–May 1890
  • July–September 1895

Dates in the index are the dates on which notices were published. Names followed by an asterisk (*) were published in the newspaper as probable misspellings. In such cases, a reference to the entry with the probable correct spelling is included.

Anzeiger des Westens

Anzeiger des Westens was a daily St. Louis newspaper published in German from 1835 until it merged into the Westliche Post in 1898. The following is a list of death notice translations published in the Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal. The publication can be viewed at call no. R 977.8 M678J in the History & Genealogy Department or on the Missouri State Genealogical Association Website.

  • “Deaths, Anzeiger Des Westens (Sonntagsblatt), 1876.” Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal Vol. XXIV, No. 2 (2004) pp111-116.
  • “Deaths, Anzeiger Des Westens (Sonntagsblatt), 1877.” Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal Vol. XXV, No. 1 (2005) pp56-60.
  • “Deaths, Anzeiger Des Westens (Sonntagsblatt), 1878.”  Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal Vol. XXVII, No. 2 (2008) pp123-127.
  • “Funeral - Notice Data from Anzeiger Des Westens (Sonntagsblatt) (St. Louis) 04 Dec 1881 – 27 May 1883 (1/3).” Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal Vol. XXIX, No. 1 (2009) pp. 47-50 [covers 4 Dec 1881 – 18 Jun 1882]
  • “Funeral - Notice Data from Anzeiger Des Westens (Sonntagsblatt) (St. Louis) 04 Dec 1881 – 27 May 1883 (2/3).” Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal Vol. XXIX, No. 2 (2009) pp. 87-90.[covers 25 Jun 1882-17 Dec 1882]
  • “Funeral - Notice Data from Anzeiger Des Westens (Sonntagsblatt) (St. Louis) 04 Dec 1881 – 27 May 1883 (3/3).” Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal Vol. XXIX, No. 3 (2009) pp. 164-167.[covers 24 Dec 1882-27 May 1883]

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