Finding a specific life story in the Southern Illinoisan newspaper obituaries used to mean getting ink on your fingers and leaning over a microfilm reader at the local library. Honestly, it was a whole mood, but it was also a massive headache if you didn't know the exact date of death. Things have changed. Now, "The Southern"—as everyone around Carbondale and Marion calls it—is a digital-first beast, and tracking down a tribute to a loved one or a long-lost relative involves a very different set of steps.
Most people assume these records are just "there" on the internet forever. Kinda, but not exactly.
The Southern Illinoisan has gone through some wild shifts lately. In late 2023, the paper was sold by Lee Enterprises to Paxton Media Group. That transition was messy. It led to the entire newsroom staff being let go, which understandably left the community feeling a bit disconnected. If you're looking for an obituary from last week versus one from 1952, you’re looking at two totally different digital maps.
The Modern Search: Legacy.com and the 30-Day Window
If you need to find a recent notice, you’ve probably noticed the website redirects you. The Southern Illinoisan newspaper obituaries are primarily hosted through a partnership with Legacy.com.
📖 Related: Finding Your Way: Hurricane Milton Emergency Resources and What to Do Next in The Villages
Basically, when a family or a funeral home pays for an obituary, it goes into this massive database. You can search by name, but here's the kicker: the search filters on the main "The Southern" website can be finicky. Sometimes they only show the last 30 days by default. If you’re looking for someone who passed away three months ago, you have to manually adjust that date range or you’ll think the record is gone. It’s not. It’s just buried.
Why the Price Matters (and Why Some People are Missing)
You’ve probably noticed some people don’t have an obit in the paper at all. Why? Because it is expensive.
- The Flat Fee: Most standard obituaries start with a base price—often around $85 or more—just to get the name and basic details in.
- The "Per Inch" Struggle: The Southern Illinoisan, like many papers under Paxton Media Group, often charges per column inch. If your grandpa had a long, storied life involving three wars and ten grandkids, that tribute could easily cost $300 or $400.
- Verification: The paper won't just take your word for it. They require verification from a funeral home or a death certificate. This keeps the trolls away, but it adds a layer of bureaucracy to the grieving process.
Because of these costs, many families are opting for "Death Notices" (which are shorter and cheaper) or skipping the paper entirely for social media. This is making the Southern Illinoisan newspaper obituaries a less-than-complete record of everyone who has passed in the region.
Hunting for History: The Archive Maze
If you are a genealogy nerd looking for someone from the 1940s or 50s, the Legacy.com link won't help you much. "The Southern" was formed in 1947 when three local papers—the Daily Free Press (Carbondale), the Daily Independent (Murphysboro), and the Daily Journal (Herrin)—merged.
👉 See also: Social Security Changes in 2026: What Most People Get Wrong
If you are looking for an ancestor, you aren't just searching one title. You're searching a lineage of papers.
Where to Actually Look
- GenealogyBank & NewsLibrary: These are paid services, but they have the most high-res scans of the actual newspaper pages from the mid-20th century.
- The Chronicling America Project: Run by the Library of Congress, this is free. It’s great for those "pre-merger" years, though it doesn't always have the most recent decades.
- Morris Library (SIU): If you're actually in Carbondale, Southern Illinois University’s Morris Library is the gold standard. They have the microfilm that the internet hasn't swallowed yet.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Guestbooks
There is a weird misconception that the "Guestbook" on the Southern Illinoisan newspaper obituaries page is a private place for family. It’s actually very public. Legacy.com monitors these entries, but they are indexed by Google.
If you leave a heartfelt, private message there, it’s searchable. Forever. I’ve seen people use these guestbooks to air family grievances or post very personal contact info. Don’t do that. These digital records are the new "permanent record." Treat them with the same weight you’d treat a tombstone.
Writing a Tribute That Actually Lasts
If you’re the one tasked with writing an obit for The Southern, don’t just follow a template. Since the paper moved to a three-day-a-week print schedule (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday), your "print" window is smaller.
🔗 Read more: Kelly Nevitt Portsmouth RI: The Legacy of a Life That Changed a Town
Focus on the "So-What." People in Southern Illinois care about connections. Did they work at the SIU physical plant for 30 years? Were they a regular at Mary Lou’s Cafe? Did they volunteer at the Murphysboro Apple Festival? Those local "hooks" are what make the Southern Illinoisan newspaper obituaries more than just a list of dates. They make them a community history.
Actionable Steps for Your Search
- Check the Funeral Home First: Before paying for an archive search, go to the website of the funeral home (like Meredith or Crain). They usually host the full text of the obituary for free, forever, and they often include more photos than the newspaper does.
- Use Broad Date Ranges: If a name isn't popping up, expand your search by 10 days after the suspected death. Sometimes the paper delay or a weekend publication schedule pushes the obit back further than you'd expect.
- Verify the County: Remember that The Southern covers a huge swath of the "Little Egypt" region. If you can't find them there, they might be in the Harrisburg Register or the Benton Evening News.
If you are trying to piece together a family tree, start with the Illinois State Archives' online death index (1916–1950) to get a firm date. Once you have that date, searching the Southern Illinoisan newspaper obituaries becomes a 5-minute task instead of a 5-hour ordeal.
To get the best results for a recent passing, go directly to the Southern Illinoisan's official obituary portal on Legacy.com and use the "Advanced Search" feature to bypass the 30-day limit. This ensures you're seeing the full database rather than just the most recent headlines.