Necrologies - Frequently Asked Questions

return to necrology search page

I'd like to know...

What exactly is a necrology?
Why aren't I getting any search results?
What do the Publication abbreviations mean?
What does a question mark in a name field mean?
I know the person I'm looking for was a Congregationalist. Why isn't s/he listed?
Now that have a citation, how can I see the actual necrology?
How can I find more information about Congregational ministers?

What exactly is a necrology?

It's an obituary, but in this context we use the term to indicate that the information is specifically about a person's religious service. The most basic necrologies include dates and places of birth, ordination, and death, as well as a list of places where the deceased served (i.e. churches, missions, organizational boards, etc.). Depending upon the publication and the prominence of the person in question, there may be a fuller obituary article that includes more biographical information.

return to top

return to necrology search page

Why aren't I getting any search results?

Either the person you're looking for isn't in the database, or they aren't listed in the format you're using to look for them.

Sometimes people were only listed by their initials. Try searching by just their last name, or use a wildcard (*) after their first initial -- e.g. "G*" rather than "George".

If you're searching by year, remember that the dates in the database are the years in which the source materials were published, not necessarily the year in which the person died. Try searching for a year or two later than the death date, or leave it blank.

return to top

return to necrology search page

What do the Publication abbreviations mean?

return to top

return to necrology search page

What does a question mark in a name field mean?

If there is a question mark (?) in a name field, it means that the person is question is referenced or implied to have existed, but their name is not given. This occurs most commonly with women.

• Clergymen's necrologies often refer to wives only by title, or imply their existence through the mention of children.
• Wives of clergy or missionaries who were also daughters of clergy or missionaries are sometimes named only in reference to their fathers, i.e. "...married a daughter of Rev. Shepard".
• Biographies for children of ministers and missionaries often refer to the subjects' fathers but neglect to name their mothers explicitly. In these cases, we have gathered the mothers' names from the fathers' necrologies whenever possible.
• In rare cases, the subjects of the necrologies themselves are listed only by last name. In such instances, we have attempted to gather their first names from other sources.

return to top

return to necrology search page

I know the person I'm looking for was a Congregationalist. Why isn't s/he listed?

There are several possible reasons:

• It was fairly common, particularly during the 19th century, for ministers to change denominations over the course of their careers. Even if s/he was ordained as a Congregationalist, a minister who was not a Congregationalist when s/he died would probably not have a necrology submitted to these yearbooks. Clergy leaving the denomination often became Presbyterian, Unitarian, Evangelical, Methodist, or Baptist. See our page of Useful Links for links to other archives and historical societies.
• The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference does not include necrologies in its yearbook. If the minister in question was not associated with any other group, s/he will not have a necrology to be listed here.
• The person in question may fall outside the current scope of our database. It includes obituaries for missionaries from 1810 to 1999, and clergy from 1854 to 2011. (There are also a number of Welsh clergy from Pennsylvania from 1797 to 1931.) If you are looking for someone who may have died earlier than the publication of our sources, please contact us. We may be able to find the information in another part of our collection.
• The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches includes laypeople who are not clergy or missionaries in its necrology lists. Because they are do not fall into either category, they are not currently included in our index.

return to top

return to necrology search page

Now that I have a citation, how can I see the actual necrology?

You have several options:

• Many of the publications listed can be viewed online. For a demonstration of how to see those, watch this brief video.
  • There are scanned copies of the 19th and early 20th century Congregational yearbooks available online through the Internet Archive. Direct links to individual years can be found on our yearbook index page.
  • There are scanned copies of the NACCC yearbooks for 1963-2005 on the Internet Archive, and digital yearbooks for recent years on the NACCC site. Direct links to individual years can be found on the NACCC index page.
  • There are scanned copies of the Vinton books available online through the Internet Archive. Direct links to each volume can be found on the Vinton portal page.
  • There is a scanned copy of the Memorial volume of Welsh Congregationalists available online through the Internet Archive.
• We can usually provide copies (photocopy by mail or scan by e-mail) of these materials upon request.
• Due to copyright restrictions, we can only provide excerpts from certain periodicals and more recent yearbooks on an individual basis. Please contact us to request those materials, or for help finding copies of the publications in your area.
• If you are in the Boston area, come by and take a look in person.
• See if there is a copy of the publication in your area by searching WorldCat.

return to top

return to necrology search page

How can I find more information about Congregational ministers?

There is a wealth of information in our collection, including memorials, ordination sermons, church histories and anniversary materials, and records of disbanded churches. Take a look at our online catalog. It is a work in progress containing more than 80,000 items with more added every day.

We have an archival collection for the Congregational Board of Pastoral Supply that contains files for many East Coast ministers from 1893 to 1975. Browse the finding guide for this collection, or simply type the name of the person you're looking for into the search box at the top of the page.

return to top

return to necrology search page