MAY 2019 ISSUE – CITY DIRECTORIES FOR U.S. GENEALOGY RESEARCH
Welcome to the May issue of First Friday Genealogy with Sassy Jane, devoted to city directories and their near cousins, blue books and professional registers. Don't give up, international readers! Next month we'll talk about directories from Europe and Australasia.
I'm always happy to meet Sassy Jane readers in person. Say hi at the upcoming National Genealogical Society conference in St. Charles, Missouri. My session, S423Finding Scottish Ancestors Onlinestarts on Sat. morning at 11 am CDT.
What Can City Directories
Do for Your Research?
City directories list the names, addresses, and occupations of residents of a specific place, usually at yearly intervals. Directories also list businesses and organizations.
Genealogists love city and area directories because they:
Replace missing records, such as the lost 1890 U.S. census
Locate metropolitan ancestors, who did not own land or property
Predate telephone directories, often by many, many decades
Exist for locations in North America, Europe, and Australasia
Show residents of all income levels and occupations
Indicate family members at the same address or nearby
Include single women and widows with jobs/professions
Provide additional information, including home and work addresses and occupations
Offer some advertisements for ancestor-owned businesses or places of employment
Because they are usually arranged alphabetically, U.S. city directories are a snap for finding relatives and ancestors. Discover seven valuable sections to search and decipher in U.S. directories using the button below. Since names are not always indexed in other sections of city directories, there may be more to find about your relatives.
To find libraries and genealogy groups that may have digitized city directories, try this. Search for local public libraries (American Library Directory) and genealogical societies (Federation of Genealogical Societies) for digitized city directories in their areas.
Kudos to the partnership between the Pikes Peak Library District and the Pikes Peak Genealogical Society, providing a model for scanning, hosting, and making Colorado Springs city directories available for free.
Good luck with your research this month. See you on June 7 for next issue of First Friday Genealogy on finding and deciphering international directories for your genealogy research.
