Indiana State Library Indianapolis Commercial Index

About the Index

This site contains an index of deaths from the Indianapolis Commercial newspaper, a business publication containing only statistics. It is available on microfilm on the second floor of the library. We started this online index with the 1930s since we already have a print death index for Indianapolis 1882-1930 in our collection. The WPA index to deaths in Marion County (Indianapolis) is available in the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library.

These entries are NOT Obituaries. Any potential obituary would most likely be in the Indianapolis newspapers such as the Indianapolis Star or Indianapolis News sometime around the date of the entry in the Indianapolis Commercial.

This index is not a complete compilation. Staff and volunteers continue to add entries to the index.

Note: Not all entries have been proofread.

General Searching Instructions

The index is searchable by last name. The entry will include the name of the person, his/her age and the date of the newspaper. The cause of death is a field we added after we started the database. If your entry does not include that, we will be happy to make a copy of the entry from the newspaper for you.

You may request a copy of the entry through our Ask a Librarian service. An obituary search, including copies, costs $5.00 per name and any copies made from the Indianapolis Commercial for patrons will result in an invoice of $5.00 for 1-10 pages copied with $.50 for each additional page. An invoice will be sent with your copies; do not send payment until you receive the invoice. Please be aware that we are unable to respond immediately to requests for articles.

A copy of the death certificate should be available from the Marion County Health Department