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Request a Search
You can also request an obituary search for individuals not found in this index as long as you can provide us with a date of death. We cannot look for an obituary without a date of death provided.
This database is a partial index to obituaries and death notices from Appleton newspapers. Only the following dates are currently available to be searched:
Complete from Jan. 1, 2000 to the date indicated above; 1853-71, 1874, 1896, 1900, 1909-10, 1920-1935, 1937-1999 Most Recently Completed: 1956, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1988, 1990-91, 1995-99 Some records from 1848, 1875, 1889, 1897-99, 1902, 1915-19, 1936
Please note: this is just an index; full content from the obituaries and death notices are not available online due to federal copyright law, but the Library owns microfilm of most Appleton newspapers going back to 1853. Photocopies of items found in this index can be requested on an entry’s Details page. This service is free of charge.
If you live nearby, you can always get copies from the microfilm yourself on the upper level of the library. You can email or save to a flash drive for free, or print them for 15¢/page.
The full-text of obituaries from 1999 onward may be available online through ProQuest (available to Appleton Library card holders only).
History of the OBITUARY INDEX
The indexing project began in 2000 and is an ongoing effort of Appleton library staff and several dedicated volunteers. New records are added regularly. Use the index to discover the date, section, and page an obituary/death notice appeared in the paper; you can view the articles on the microfilm reader/scanners on the library’s upper level. Copyright law does not permit the content of the obituaries and death notices to be posted online.
The newspapers that are (or will be) included in the index:
Appleton Crescent
• February 10, 1853 – December 29, 1906
• June 28, 1919 – January 31, 1920
Appleton Daily Post
• August 11, 1899 – February 3, 1906
• January 2, 1920 – January 31, 1920
Appleton Evening Crescent
• April 18, 1901 – April 28, 1902
• January 26, 1904 – April 28, 1904
• October 8, 1906 – June 27, 1919
Appleton Evening Times
• December 30, 1874 – March 5, 1875
Appleton Motor
• September 1, 1859 – September 13, 1866
Appleton Post
• August 4, 1859 – December 9, 1861
• September 20, 1866 – April 25, 1889
• August 11, 1899 – February 2, 1906
• January 2, 1920 – January 31, 1920
Appleton Post Crescent
• February 2, 1920 – January 2, 1965
Appleton Weekly Post
• May 2, 1889 – February 3, 1906
Post Crescent
• 1965 –
The amount of information found in the indexed entries varies. Obituaries generally include more information on the deceased while death notices contain less information. When available, the following information is included in the index: Last name; First name; Maiden name; Nickname; Title (examples: Rev, Sr., etc.); Death date; Date of birth; Place of Birth; Spouses name; Newspaper; Date notice appeared in paper; Section; Page; Type (obituary or death notice); Cemetery.
From 2001 to the near present, the database indexes all obituaries and death notices that appeared in the Post-Crescent. Every effort is made to be as complete and accurate as possible in this index. We are happy to receive notification of errors or omissions.