Obituary Research in Brevard County
Tips  | Online  |  Library Requests  |  Newspapers: Olde & New

 

When you find your obituary information, be a true Family Historian and abstract the information and add it to the Florida GenWeb FLBrevard Group and to the appropriate Surname List.

That's the first step towards becoming a Genealogy hero!

 

Obituary Research Tips

• Double-check spelling of the person's name, then check all possible variations and mispellings.
• Publication is usually in local newspapers where the death occurred or in the hometown paper..
• Publication is usually at the discretion of the family or funeral home, and publication can be withheld for a variety of reasons.
• Due to the new practice of charging for obituary publication, the obituary you are seeking may not have been published. Obituaries are not always posted in newspapers, but there may be a Death Notice.

 

Obituaries Available Online

• Florida TODAY newspaper
  For a recent obit (December 1999 to date) check their searchable database http://www.flatoday.net/obits/search.htm
  
• Orlando Sentinel newspaper
  Recent obituaries can be found at: http://www.legacy.com/orlandosentinel/LegacyHome.asp  The Orlando Sentinel's searchable archive goes back as far as January 1985 and is located here: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/
  
• Brevard County Obituary Query Group
  
• Obituary Daily Times
  
• Memorials / Obituaries Of KSC-Area Space Pioneers

 

Request an Obituary from the Brevard County Library

If you do not live in Brevard County but wish the library staff to do an obituary search for you, here is the procedure to follow:

First, check Newspapers Available at Brevard Libraries to be sure that they have the appropriate newspaper for your search. If your request fits the location and date ranges of the newspapers held by the Brevard County Libraries or available via the databases they subscribe to, send a letter detailing the information you are seeking to the address below. You must include the name of the deceased, the city of death, and the date of death within two weeks. The newspapers on microfilm do not have indexes, and staff cannot conduct an extensive search for you without this information. Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope and the appropriate fee to cover the cost of the copies.

Send your letter to:
Central Brevard Library Documents Dept.
308 Forrest Ave.
Cocoa, FL 32922

Request a Brevard Obituary from the Orange County Library

For Orlando Sentinel obituaries earlier than 1985, contact the Orange County Public Library via their web site at http://www.ocls.lib.fl.us They have indexed the obituaries which have appeared in the Orlando Sentinel. They can verify that an obituary appeared and probably for a nominal fee provide you with a copy of it.

 

Newspapers Available at Brevard Libraries

• Obituaries published in our local newspaper, Florida TODAY (which covers all of Brevard County), may be searched on microfilm available at the Melbourne Public Library (1969 to present) and the Central Brevard Library and Reference Center (1966 to present).

Earlier years of newspapers on microfilm include:

• East Coast Advocate and Indian River Chronicle (weekly, 1890-1929) available at the Titusville Library.
  
• Florida Star (Titusville) (weekly, 1880-1914) available at the Central Brevard Library and Reference Center.
  
• Cocoa Tribune (Cocoa) (1917-67) available at the Central Brevard Library and Reference Center. [...1935 - 1967 indexed by Jim and Bonnie Garmon]
• Melbourne Times (Melbourne) (weekly 1926-1970) available at the Central Brevard Library and Reference Center and the Melbourne Public Library.
  
• Titusville Star Advocate (weekly, 1930-1965) available at the Titusville Library.

NOTE: Most of the above newspapers do not have an index, so a death date will be needed for a successful search. See Request an Obituary from the Brevard County Library for directions on how to request an obituary search from Brevard County Libraries.

Brevard County Libraries subscribe to the Obituaries and Death Notices database compiled by Newsbank. This is a national database covering various locations and time periods. This database is only accessible from within one of our system libraries.

 

Brevard County Newspapers (current):

Florida TODAY

Main office located at:

1 Gannett Plaza
Melbourne, FL 32940
Phone: 321-242-3500
8 AM - 6 PM weekdays

Mailing address:
FLORIDA TODAY
P.O. Box 419000
Melbourne, FL 32941-9000

Orlando Sentinel

Some Brevard County obituaries may be listed in The Orlando Sentinel. Their address and phone number are:

633 N Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32801-1349
Phone: (407) 420-5757