Finding a Winston Salem Journal obituary isn't just about reading a name on a screen. Honestly, it's about navigating a century of history in the Twin City. People think they can just Google a name and every detail pops up. It doesn't.
Searching for a loved one or an ancestor in the Journal requires knowing where the digital paper trails split. The modern records live in one place, while the grainy, scanned pages of the 1920s hide somewhere else entirely.
The Digital Split: Where to Look Today
If you're looking for someone who passed away last week, you're likely heading to Legacy.com. That’s where the Winston-Salem Journal hosts its most recent notices. It’s convenient. You get the guestbooks, the photos, and the ability to share memories directly with the family.
But here is the thing.
The online search bar on the main newspaper site can be finicky. Sometimes, if you don't have the spelling exactly right—or if the person used a nickname—the system just gives you a blank page. For example, a search for "Jim Smith" might fail if he was officially listed as "James R. Smith" in the print edition.
Always check for variations.
For the deep history buffs or people doing genealogy in Forsyth County, GenealogyBank and Ancestry are your real best friends. They have digitized the archives going back nearly 150 years. You’ll find the Twin City Sentinel records there too, which was the Journal's afternoon rival for decades until it folded in 1985.
Why the Date Matters
The date of death isn't the same as the date of publication. It sounds obvious. Yet, people spend hours searching the wrong dates.
Usually, an obituary in the Winston Salem Journal appears two to four days after the passing. If the death happened on a Friday, don't just check Saturday's paper. Check Sunday and Monday. The Sunday edition has historically been the "big" day for these notices because of the higher circulation across the Triad.
Placing a Notice: Costs and Reality
Placing a Winston Salem Journal obituary is not cheap. In 2025 and 2026, costs typically start around $274.82, but that is just the base price.
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Most families end up paying much more. Why?
- Word count: The longer the story, the higher the bill.
- Photos: Adding a picture of Grandpa in his uniform adds a significant fee.
- Duration: If you want it to run for three days instead of one, the price climbs fast.
Basically, the Journal is owned by Lee Enterprises now. They use a self-service portal called Column or AdPortal for legal notices and obituaries. If you are working with a local funeral home like Hayworth-Miller or Salem Funerals, they usually handle the submission for you. They have the templates and the direct lines to the newspaper's intake desk.
If you're doing it yourself, the deadline is usually 3:00 PM the day before you want it to run. Miss that window, and you're waiting another 24 hours.
Genealogy Gold in Forsyth County
The Winston-Salem Journal archives are a gold mine because of how the city grew. Think about the Reynolds and Hanes families. Their obituaries are basically history lessons on the tobacco and textile industries.
When you dig into the archives from the early 1900s, you’ll notice the language is different. They didn't just say someone "died." They used flowery prose like "passed into the Great Beyond" or "called home to glory."
One trick for searching women in the old archives: search for the husband's name. Up until the mid-20th century, many women were listed as "Mrs. John Doe" rather than by their own first names. It’s frustrating, but it’s the reality of how records were kept back then.
Common Search Roadblocks
- Spelling: The Journal editors were human. Typographical errors in names happen.
- The 1995 Cutback: The paper went through massive downsizing in the mid-90s. Some digital indexing from that specific era can be a bit spotty compared to the older microfilmed records or the modern digital-first era.
- Privacy: Some families opt for a "death notice" instead of a full obituary. A death notice is just the facts—name, date, funeral time. It’s cheaper, but it provides less "flavor" for future genealogists.
Actionable Steps for Your Search
If you are stuck looking for a specific Winston Salem Journal obituary, stop banging your head against the Google search bar and try these specific steps.
- Check the Public Library: The Forsyth County Public Library (Central Branch) has the Winston-Salem Journal on microfilm. If you can’t find it online, the librarians there are wizards with those old machines.
- Use Boolean Operators: If you’re searching GenealogyBank, use quotes around the name: "Robert Alexander" and add the keyword Winston.
- Find the Funeral Home: If the death was in the last 10 years, the funeral home’s website will almost always have a more complete version of the obituary for free, including more photos and a full guestbook that might not have been printed in the paper due to cost.
- Verify the County: Remember that the Journal covers more than just Winston-Salem. It’s the primary paper for Yadkin, Stokes, Davie, and parts of Davidson County. If the person lived in Clemmons or Kernersville, they are in the Journal archives.
Searching for a Winston Salem Journal obituary is a process of elimination. Start with the most recent digital archives on Legacy, move to the funeral home site for more detail, and hit the library or GenealogyBank for anything older than the mid-1990s.