Almost every person on the face of the earth wishes to trace their lineage. If a person was keen on doing so, it was a difficult process since they would have to conduct this search manually, and this might involve going through the public library, or requesting the state to grant access to public records. Since we are now thriving in the age of the Internet, we can easily overcome these hurdles. You can look through online obituary to trace your ancestors. At times, an obituary search has to be paid for; whereas, there are ways which will allow you to conduct the obituary search for free.

Here are some ways you can search for an obituary for free online.

• One of the easiest ways to search obituaries for free is by finding newspapers obituaries online. There are certain websites that give its users free access to newspaper obituaries. Certain websites such as legacy.com are quite useful when it comes to searching obituary for free on the online platform. You can run a simple search with the person’s first and last name, or by naming a particular state or country to narrow down the search.
• Usually, when a person dies, the funeral home sends out death notices. You can access these death notices online through websites like obitsforlife.com. However, such websites only have death notices issued by licensed funeral homes. Also, the websites only display death notices of those funeral homes that are members of the website.
• If you wish to search an obituary for free, you can even use the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). Various websites like genealogy.com and ancestry.com give its visitors free access to search SSDI free of cost. You can look up the person by using their first or last name, date of birth, social security number or their last known residence.
• You can search for an obituary for free by accessing the city or state death records. These date back longer than SSDI and can be considered to be one of the oldest archives for birth and death records. If you wish to find an obituary that dates back to the 1900s, you wouldn’t have to pay for the subscription which is otherwise charged if the obituary dates back to the 1700s.
• The national archives are where you can conduct your search for an obituary for free. It is the home to a lot of vital records, the birth, and the death records. Also, it contains links to various websites that allow you to search an obituary for free.

Obit, or obituary is an article or a published notice in a newspaper that reports about a person’s recent demise. It typically mentions the concerned person’s life and information about the upcoming funeral. Obituaries are usually written only for people that are considered significant.

From newspapers to online resources, here are some sources for free obituary search that you should consider

Offline sources

Local newspapers
Almost all newspaper companies post obituaries on papers as well as on their online websites. Some local newspapers websites keep obituaries on their websites for at least six months. If you are not sure of the name of the newspaper that is circulated in the deceased’s hometown, there are websites like obituaries.com that provide a direct link to obituary pages of many local newspapers across the country.

Mennonite archives
These include obituaries for members from the Mennonite archives. The obituaries date back to as early as 1884. If the obituary of the person you are searching for is of Mennonite faith, it becomes easy to search for free obituaries.

Public library
If you live in the same area as the deceased person, then you can search for obituaries for free in the local libraries. Local libraries usually have local and regional newspapers for several weeks. If you want an obituary that was published years ago, ask the librarian who will help you search through back issues of the local newspapers. You can read the old issues of the newspapers through microfilm present in the libraries. Since you cannot remove the microfilm from the libraries, make sure to carry a pen and paper when you are coming to the library.

Churches
There are churches across the country that have an assortment of information regarding the obituaries of the recently deceased, and the ones that have passed away long back. You can search for a free obituary in these churches as the information is available to the public. Some churches across the country house as many as 2 million rolls of microfilm records, more than 500,000 microfiche records, and an equal number of electronic records.

Online sources
Websites such as ancestry.com, legacy.com, etc have a searchable database of various kinds of documents that include obituaries, ship manifests to census records. These websites provide information on birth, marriage, and death. For a free obituary search, ancestry.com offers a free trial for 2 weeks. Similarly, legacy.com provides information on obituaries through 100’s of newspapers from across the country. To locate the exact obituary on the website, type in individual’s first name and select the state or county where the individual might have deceased. Once you locate the exact newspaper, you can go for free obituary search through the archives of the local newspaper on the internet.

In layman terms, memorial is a symbol that is used to pay tribute to the deceased individual. In fact, there are different ways to achieve the task. Numerous shapes and sizes are available for the container design to store ashes. Cremation memorials are available in the market, according to the requirements and specifications of the users.
Selection of the memorial is based on environmental concerns as well as its cost. It is far better than embalming the body of the deceased because the whole process is expensive and is not environment-friendly. In addition, the land is sparse, therefore the services are becoming costlier and beyond the reach of the middle class.

While shopping for a permanent home to store the ashes of the loved ones, focus on the style and durability of the container. For instance, strong material goes a long way in preserving the memory of the beloved soul.

Gone are the days when people tried to bury the dead and a universal ban was imposed on burning the body. With new technology, it is now possible to accomplish the task without any hassles. If you want to find the options to buy a memorial, scour the internet. It has range of alternatives in the form of numerous containers suiting the personality of the person. If you are not sure about the choice, go by your personal belief and make selections accordingly.

In some cases, if the departed soul was a sports lover, you can always buy a cup or a shield-like structure for placing the urn. It can be placed in the sitting room to remind everybody of the deeds of the person. Memorial symbol is an epitome of what the person was in his or her life. For a person with numerous academic accomplishments, a souvenir with suitable insignia could be the best tribute to the contributions.

Size is the key while shopping for the container. In fact, one cubic inch per pound of human weight is the standard norm in the market. You should make sure that the urn is accommodated without any problem.

Small or partial urn is another factor that is to be kept in mind. It is divided among the siblings to relish the memories of the deceased person. Partial urn container is smaller in size and easily portable.

Outdoor urns are gaining popularity in recent times because they are weather resistant and are immune to environment changes. In addition, the components of a cremation memorial must be biodegradable and environment-friendly.

When your loved ones pass away, you plan their funeral and look for best possible cremation options. You place the body of a deceased member in a cremated container, which can be a traditional casket or a cardboard box, before the cremation ritual is performed.

A cremation casket is quite useful where relatives decide to conduct traditional funeral service before actual cremation. This may involve a last viewing of the body by all his closed ones and a speech with respect to the beautiful time spent by them with the deceased person during his lifetime. A casket can be made up of only wood, cloth-covered wood, wicker or bamboo material. It can either be purchased or can be hired on rent. If you hire an expensive casket on rent, then you can perform the cremation ceremony in a cardboard box or an alternative container. There are many rental casket providers who assist you in acquiring the right casket in accordance with your requirements.

There are different types of caskets options available to you. Some of the funeral homes are extremely environment-conscious and sell green caskets, which are entirely built up of natural and fully combustible materials like wicker, teak, wool, cotton, bamboo etc. If you are looking for budget-friendly options and alternatives to expensive or rented containers, you can go for a recyclable cardboard box, which is designed like a typical casket and can be used for cremation. Every culture exhibits different rituals and therefore, funeral planning companies manufacture and offer variety of caskets. For instance, Jewish caskets are specifically designed for Jewish funerals. These fully combustible containers are completely made of wood and do not contain any metal parts.

Most of the people do not buy or rent any type of casket, in which case, the crematory itself provides a container, which resembles a cardboard box as an alternative to the casket. The price of the caskets depends on the type of casket you want to buy or the kind of funeral service you are planning for. You can rent an expensive casket in a formal funeral service, which comes in hundreds of dollars price range and can, later on, choose cardboard container for cremation ritual.
A large and elegant piece of the casket, which you may have ordered online, can cost thousands of dollars and may offset any savings.

For centuries in the past, dead people were buried or cremated depending on the social and religious practices of those times. Ancient Greek civilization burned the bodies of the soldiers who died in the battle field. It introduced the custom to Europe. However, long before the great Alexander arrived on the scene, people in the Stone Age used to practice cremation on a massive scale.

In modern times, the process is performed in a giant container where the body is exhumed at 2100 degree centigrade. It is one of the best and cleanest ways to dispose of the dead body. The idea of cremation became popular in Europe and America at the end of the 19th century. It also resulted in concerns regarding sanitation when the process is accomplished. Roman Catholic Churches swung into action and banned burning for good. Instead, they asked people to opt for burial as it seemed to be an environment-friendly clean option.

Initially the practice was discarded. But with the rise in scientific temper and modern technologies, it has again come into vogue. In countries such as the US, about 25% population prefer the bodies being cremated instead of buried. Once the dead is burned, the ashes are delivered to the family members and the well wishers.

Traditional burials are also quite popular among a large section of people around the world. Natives of Israel kept the dead bodies in the open so that they were consumed by microorganisms and later, the bones were buried into the ground. Egyptians always embalmed the dead and kept it in the tomb because they believed in after life philosophy.

Some people prefer burial because they are of the view that at the time of death, a person falls into a deep sleep. Therefore, it is more humane to bury the body instead of cremating it to ashes. In modern context, development of electric chambers has revolutionized the process and made it more user-friendly. Instead of burning the body on a pyre in the open space and causing pollution, it is exhumed inside a closed unit.

Burial has its own disadvantages as the liquid applied to the dead body is toxic to the soil located beneath the earth surface. In addition, adopting the traditional form requires more land and might create logistical issues for the family. Even the costs are escalating north due to the paucity of land.

Due to scientific advancement, the whole procedure of cremating the body has undergone a sea change. It is cost effective, thereby resulting in tremendous popularity among individuals. Also, you can avail the best cremation services by finding companies that provide cremation when required. In fact, many people find the above method as more futuristic and in sync with the times.

Estate planning is not easy and that’s why it’s considered best to plan for your will document and cremation options beforehand so that your loved ones do not have to face any difficulty in preserving the remains of your deceased body after you leave this world. The emerging technologies, cost-saving funeral methodologies, and a person’s consciousness towards the environment has given birth to new trends in the funeral industry.

Cremation services are gaining importance and acceptance in various cultures and religions and even replacing a number of classic burial customs. You can contact your local or near-by funeral home to hold a memorial service, where family members and close friends can come together and spend some time to share the beautiful memories of the deceased. Buying or hiring a rented casket gives a chance to everyone to have one last look of their deceased friend before the actual cremation ceremony is conducted in your local funeral home or in a church.

Most of the in-cremation services providing funeral homes offer urns to store cremation ashes, which is another memorable and meaningful way to preserve the remains of your family member. These urns come in various kinds of materials like wood, bronze, marble, photo, vase, and in different types of shapes and sizes. Location for releasing the ashes is a complete family preference. Some of the families release ashes in places like oceans, lakes, gardens or any place, which holds certain importance to their family so that they can always remain close to their loved one.

There are customizable containers or vessels with seeds, which let families make more functional use of ashes. The seed-enabling containers help remains to grow into a tree. Many families create multimedia displays through video and audio technologies, which show the mourners and attendees a glimpse of deceased member’s life.

Families who experience financial difficulties in conducting traditional funeral can definitely opt for cost-effective cremation services. These services help families in saving thousands of dollars on factors like embalming, casket, funeral service, burial marker, land plot etc. In some cases, if the body is surrendered to the science or forensic department, cremation proceedings are free for the family. Choosing such services does not mean that families cannot opt for regular funeral practices. These services are becoming quite popular in the United States and as more families are choosing various cremation options, their types and formats are expanding.

Your local funeral home director assists you by answering all your cremation-related questions. They not only explain about the best services they have in offer, but also help you in planning the complete funeral, so that your loved one receives a memorable last farewell. You can pick any funeral home of your choice, but ensure that they are acting as a real help in your difficult time and do not act as a money-making company.

A death in the family not only causes emotional turmoil, but the task of planning a cremation adds to the anxiety. Knowing what you will face upfront regarding cremation costs will prevent you from spending too much in such a stressful time. In general, cremation costs are much less than burial costs.

Basically, three types of cremation service are known. They are traditional service with visitation, cremation with a memorial service and direct cremation with no service. The cremation costs will certainly depend on which type of cremation you do.

If you are conducting a traditional cremation, you are bound to have visitors. To perform it at an affordable price you can rent a casket and avoid buying one. This would reduce the cost. The visiting ceremony can be held in a church or even a funeral home chapel. After the visitation, the cremation is performed. A cremation with a memorial service only slightly differs from the traditional cremation. In this, the cremation is performed before, and later a memorial service is held at a particular place, and the urn with the remains can be present at the memorial service, but the body is not available as it is cremated before. On the other hand, a direct cremation costs the least, as there is no service of any kind and after the cremation of the body, the ashes are returned to the family.

Now let’s see in a nutshell what are the cremation costs, that you will have to bear
The basic service fees which will include a fee for the funeral home and their staffs.
Transporting your body to the funeral home which might cost you around $285.
A cremation container will be needed that generally starts at $100.
You can rent a casket for the cremation service which will cost around $1000.
The cremation fee will start around $300.
After the cremation, the ashes are returned to the family in an urn which will cost around $250.
Some additional costs that you have to bear are the municipal registration cost and the Coroner’s certificate.
Benefits of choosing cremation over burial
The first advantage of choosing cremation over burial is that the cremation costs are much more affordable. If you choose burial process, then the headstone, the metal casket and the grave plot itself will cost you $1500, $2395 and $1000 respectively.
You could scatter the last remains in the deceased’s favorite places if those were the last wishes. You will not have that option with burial process.
The ashes can be shared among the family members, if they wish to. Family members in many cases want to keep the remains but they may live in separate places, in that case, they can share the remains.
No land is disturbed in case of cremation, unlike burial.
The burial costs have considerably increased over the years than the cremation costs. Cremation has always been a cheaper option, and people do opt for it. Back in the 1980s, the national cremation rate was accounted as 9.7 per cent, but today it has increased four times.