As long as I have been performing most of my research long-distance, I was amazed to only just recently locate this powerful search tool. For those seeking obituaries or other newspaper references from the Central Ohio area, the Columbus News Index - Obituary Search offers great benefits.

Hosted by the Columbus Metropolitan Library, obituary abstracts from as early as 1932 may be extracted. In my particlar instance, I was able to find a reference to my great-grandfather's newspaper obituary from 1931.

**********************
The following text accompanies the search menu:

"The Columbus News Index (CNI)Obituary Search is an index of the Columbus Dispatch obituaries from 1932 thru 1997. The asterisk (*) can be used at the end of a name as a substitute for any number of characters (Field* will display results for Field, Fields, and Fielding).

CNI includes abstracts only. To locate the full-text of the obituary, please call the Library's Science, Business and News Division at 614-645-2ASK(2275).

The Columbus Dispatch also provides access to its archives, The Columbus Dispatch Archives, which is an index of obituaries from 1996 to the present.

Visit your local Columbus Metropolitan Library location for access to the Columbus Dispatch Archives online."
**************************

The Columbus News Index, which features articles pertinent to the Franklin County, Ohio area, is accesible from the same page. The range, however, is not as extensive only covering the years 1960 - 1997.