Finding a specific name in the Albany Times Union death notices isn't always as simple as a quick Google search. Honestly, it can be a bit of a headache if you don't know where to look or how the newspaper actually archives this stuff. You'd think everything is just "there" online, but between paywalls, third-party hosting sites like Legacy, and the literal physical archives at the library, things get messy fast.
People usually start their search because they need to find service times or they’re doing some deep-dive genealogy work. The Capital Region has a long, dense history. The Times Union has been the "paper of record" here for a massive chunk of that history.
The Confusion Between Obituaries and Death Notices
Most people use these terms interchangeably. They shouldn't. In the world of the Albany Times Union, they are two very different beasts.
Basically, a death notice is a paid advertisement. It’s a classified. The family or the funeral home pays the Times Union to print the basics: name, date of death, and where the wake is happening. They are short. Very short.
An obituary, on the other hand, is technically a news story. In the old days, reporters wrote these for prominent citizens. Nowadays, most "obituaries" you see are actually "Paid Obituaries." These are longer, they have the "Babchi" nicknames and the stories about how much the person loved the Adirondacks or the Saratoga Race Course.
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Why the distinction matters
If you are looking for someone who wasn't a public figure and the family was on a tight budget, you might only find a three-line death notice. If you’re searching for "Obituaries" and nothing comes up, try searching specifically for Albany Times Union death notices. Sometimes the metadata on search engines treats them differently.
How to Search the Archives (Without Losing Your Mind)
If the death happened in the last couple of weeks, you're in luck. The Times Union website and Legacy.com usually have these front and center. But what if you’re looking for someone who passed away in 1994? Or 1952?
- The Digital Gap: Most of the "easy" online records only go back to around 2001 or so. This is when newspapers really started digitizing everything in real-time.
- GenealogyBank and Newspapers.com: These are paid services, but they are often the only way to find scans of the actual newspaper pages from the mid-20th century.
- The Albany Public Library: Kinda an old-school move, but the Washington Ave branch has microfilm. If you have a specific date from a death certificate but can't find the notice online, the microfilm won't lie.
Search tips that actually work:
- Search by the husband's name: If you are looking for a woman who passed away before the 1970s, she might be listed as "Mrs. John Smith" rather than "Mary Smith." It’s frustrating, but that’s how it was done.
- Watch for typos: OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software is what turns old newspaper scans into searchable text. It’s not perfect. "Albany" might be read as "AIbany" with an 'I'. Try searching for just the last name and the year if the full name fails.
- Check the "In Memoriam" section: Sometimes families post notices on the anniversary of a death. These can pop up years after the initial Albany Times Union death notices were published.
The Real Cost of Saying Goodbye
Let's talk money, because placing these isn't cheap. For a lot of families in Troy, Schenectady, or Albany, the cost of a full-color obituary with a photo can be several hundred dollars.
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The Times Union typically charges by the line. As of now, a basic notice starts around $35, but that’s just the bare bones. If you want it to run for three days—which many families do so that people have time to see it before the funeral—the price jumps.
There’s a little "hack" though. If you buy two days of publication, the Times Union often gives you the third day for free. It’s a standard package they offer through their "EzAds" portal.
Where the Data Lives Now
In 2026, the paper's partnership with Legacy.com is still the primary way digital notices are handled. When a funeral home in the Capital District—like McVeigh, Dufresne, or New Comer—handles a service, they usually upload the notice directly to this system.
The cool part? These digital notices have guestbooks. You’ll see people leaving "memories" or lighting virtual candles. For researchers, these guestbooks are goldmines because they often list friends and distant cousins that weren't in the official list of survivors.
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Actionable Steps for Your Search
If you are currently trying to track down a notice or place one, here is exactly what you should do:
- Start at the Times Union "Local" section: They have a dedicated "Latest Obituaries" feed that updates daily.
- Use the "Advanced Search" on Legacy: Don't just type the name. Filter by "Albany, NY" and set a date range. If the name is common (like Smith or Sullivan), add a keyword like "Saratoga" or "GE" to narrow it down.
- Contact the New York State Department of Health: If you can't find a notice at all, you might need a death certificate. Their vital records office is right here in Albany. Just remember, death certificates aren't public records in NYS until 50 years after the death (for genealogy purposes).
- Call the Classifieds: If you are trying to place a notice and the online portal is glitching, call 518-454-5085. That’s the direct line for the TU classified department.
Searching for Albany Times Union death notices is essentially a way of piecing together the social fabric of the Capital Region. Whether it's a prominent politician or a quiet neighbor from Pine Hills, these records are the final word on a life lived in upstate New York.
Next Steps:
Go to the Times Union's official obituary page and use the "Date Range" filter specifically. If you're looking for historical records before 2000, check if your local library card gives you free access to the "NewsBank" or "GenealogyBank" databases, which often carry the TU archives for free.