Working an heir search on Tuesday, my county library’s NewsBank pulled a 2004 obituary and an old city directory hit in under 10 minutes, while the pricey platform whiffed. Not saying it replaces paid tools — just worth checking your local e-resources and doing your own homework; anyone else?
Pulled a probate lead last week with my library card too, @OP; ask the reference desk to enable remote ProQuest/NewsBank logins and set a saved obit alert so heirs surface without babysitting. If your system doesn’t have those, try “Chronicling America” (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) for free scans — just note some access is geo‑locked. Which library system are you on — feels like finding a $20 in an old coat when it hits.