To receive a copy of an obituary, please use this online request form and provide the deceased's name, obituary publication date, and newspaper where the obituary was published. Library staff will scan the obituary or article from the newspaper and email it to you. We ask that you limit your requests to 3 per week.
For research assistance with obituaries or other local topics, visit the Walker Local and Family History Center at the Main Library or call us at 803-929-3402.
You can find a listing of obituary publication dates in our online obituary index, which is searchable by name. The index does not contain the full-text of the articles, so please use the request form to request a copy of an article.
The obituary index is continually being updated. It currently includes obituaries, death notices, and some marriage announcements from the following papers: The State (1891-present), Columbia Record (1909-present), The Columbia Daily Register (1875-1892), Columbia Daily Union (1892-1893), Christian Neighbor (Methodist), 1884 and 1885 and The Palmetto Leader (African American), 1925-1928, 1930, January-April 1931, 1937-1939, 1941.
Richland Library card holders can access historic issues of The State newspaper online through South Carolina Historical Newspapers.
