© 2009
Kim Marie Fischer Peters FlGaAncestors@aol.com
Background.
City Directories in America were first published in larger cities in the late 1780s – some earlier.
Most were published between 1860 and 1930 – some later.
Most include adult males, children of legal age, widows, and wives.
Early directories index residents by surname and occupation.
More recent directories also index by street address.
What can we find in City Directories?
Maps and Photos
Local History
Notable Events
Names and Addresses
Occupations and Employers
Spouses and Children
Deaths and Divorces
Arrivals and Departures
Original use was by merchants . . .
To identify good credit risks
For making home deliveries
To determine home ownership
To identify customers’ employment status
To locate customers who owed money
To advertise to businesses, organizations, and individuals who purchased directories
Genealogists use directories . . .
As census substitutes and supplements - (1890 census destroyed, locate in non census years, name indexed incorrectly in census, etc.)
For maps and photographs
For local history and events
To find addresses, occupations and employers
To locate other family members
To discover deaths, divorces and marriages
To pinpoint arrivals and departures
General Information.
1. Check abbreviations – publishers use abbreviations to limit space for each entry. Directories may include a list of general abbreviations and some even use abbreviations for major employers
2. Directories usually include first name, middle initial, last name, home address, occupation, and often business address, employer and may indicate marital status “( wife’s name ) or wid.”
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3. Directories also include advertisements. These may contain conflicting or supplemental information.
4. Some directories include a map of the geographic area covered by the directory. Maps may also include a key to major businesses, churches and organizations.
5. Directories may include photographs of public officials, prominent citizens, homes, buildings, churches, or civic organizations.
6. Directories may include a chronology of events from the previous year. These may even include deaths and marriages.
Things to remember . . .
1. There may have been two companies publishing directories in some years. Check ALL directories published – they may contain different or additional information.
2. Check by surname, by address and by occupation. Also read front and back matter and check for list of advertisers. Check advertisements that might mention your ancestors.
3. Note everyone living at the same address. They may be relatives.
4. Some people were missed. The fact that they are not in the directory, does NOT mean they were not there – it just means they are not in the directory.
5. Names are often misspelled. Look for variations in spelling just as you do with other databases.
Hints:
To allow easy analysis, record directory information chronologically in a spreadsheet or table.
ALWAYS get what you can for free before paying for copies – you will eventually have to pay for copies, so don’t waste your money on copies you can get for FREE!
Learning About and Locating City Directories Online
1. Ancestry Library Edition
– Digitized directories. (Access - library or with paid subscription)
1890 Census substitute – Partial information; no images.
World directories - Digital images; can be downloaded and printed.
2. Heritage Quest – Digitized directories (Free access home or library)
Search Books. Digital images can be printed and downloaded.
3. DistantCousin.com
– Free digitized directories
4. Central Florida Memory – www.CFMemory.org – Free Digitized Orlando area directories
Use Advanced Search and Exact W ord search on “Directory.”
5. FamilySearch.org
– Microfiche and microfilm
Search Catalog by City/State or County/State. Check subject headings for “Directories.”
Check to see if available on fiche or film and order at a Family History Center.
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6. Genealogy Today – www.dir.genealogytoday.com/city_directories.html
7. Library of Congress – www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/telephon.html
8. WorldCat.org
– Search library holdings across the country
Locate directories and other texts relating to the location you are searching.
Interlibrary Loan or Lookup Angels to get copies of needed information.
Keywor d search for location (city state county) and “Directory”
9. Orange County Library catalog – www.OCLS.info – Search OCLS holdings.
10. State & University online archives – Check digital collections
Google search your state or state university and terms like: digital archives genealogy.
Florida Archives - http://www.floridamemory.com/Collections/
11. Lookups by volunteers - RAOGK.org & USGenWeb.org
Locate the county/state of interest and check for volunteers doing City Directory lookups for that area. Be sure to request source citation (copy of the title page) with your request.
City Directory Resources at the Orlando Public Library
1. Pre 1860 U.S. Directories – microfiche (Dorothea Spear’s book, Bibliography of American directories through 1860, is guide to this collection)
2. 1890 census substitute (85 cities)
– microfilm
3. Orlando / Orange County directories: telephone, street, criss cross, and gazetteers:
1887 to present. 1915-1960
– microfilm, 1961 forward - print. Some originals and/or reprints from other areas. A few pre-1915 on CFMemory.org and reprints in the genealogy collection at
RG 925.924.
FYI: Microfilm and Microfiche at the Orlando Public Library.
Images can be printed or saved to disk or flash drive.
Cost to print is 50 cents for 8 ½ x 11 and $1.00 for 11 x 17 (bring quarters).
NO CHAREGE to save images to disk or flash drive.
4. Reprinted directories from other locales - www.OCLS.info – Search Library catalog for print sources.
5. Print resources for learning about and locating directories:
City directories of the United States, pre 1860-1901 : Guide to the Microfilm Collection
RG 016.973 CIT
Checklist of Canadian Directories 1790-1950 . RG 971 RYD
Bibliography of American Directories through 1860 . RG 016.973 SPE
The Handy Book for Genealogists. RG 929 HAN
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How to do Everything with Your Genealogy. RG 929.1 MOR
The Official Guide to Ancestry.Com. RG 929.1 MOR
The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. RG 929.1 SOU
6. 800+ Genealogy periodicals – Periodical Source Index (print and Heritage Quest)
7. Interlibrary loans – photocopies from other libraries ($2 minimum)
Note: If your library does not offer Interlibrary Loans, check WorldCat.org to determine which library holds the directory you need. All libraries publish a telephone number, address, or email “Contact
Us ” link on their sites. Be concise and specific and ask if they will make copies and allow you to pay them directly. Many do!
8. FREE access to Ancestry Library Edition, Heritage Quest, and other online databases in the
Genealogy Department – 4th Floor.
Cite Your Sources
City directory source citations should include: title, publisher, editor, publication date, publication location, and page numbers. Also note where information was found: database, library, periodical.
There are many excellent print and online aids in determining how to properly cite your sources. If you are using a genealogy family tree type software, you are prompted to enter the appropriate information each time you enter a fact.
 How to cite common sources used in genealogical research by John Wylie. http://www.genealogy.com/19_wylie.html
 How to cite sources using MLA, APA, Harvard, Chicago, Turabian styles. Locate title and click on “ Cite this item” http://www.WorldCat.org
 Evidence Explained: Citing history sources from artifacts to cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown
Mills. RG 929.1 MIL
City Directory Recap
Directories may include:
Maps and Photos
Local History
Notable Events
Names & Addresses
Occupations & Employers
Spouses and Children
Deaths & Divorces
Arrivals & Departures
Researching city directories provide information on our ancestors and the communities in which they lived. They provide information that can lead to property records, business licenses, church records,
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marriage records, newspaper articles, obituaries, death records, cemetery records, photographs, business advertisements, and a whole lot more!
Bibliography
1. Ancestry.com. Using Ancestry.com: City Directories. http://www.ancestry.com/learn
/library/article.aspx?article=11273 : accessed 3 October 2008)
2. City directories of the United States, pre-1860-1901: A Guide to the microfilm collection.
Woodbridge, CT: Research Publications. 1984.
3. Eichholz, Alice Ph.D., CG, editor. Ancestry’s RedBook: American State, County, & Town Sources,
3 rd Edition. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 2004.
4. The Handy Book for Genealogists, United States of America.
Eleventh Edition. Logan, Utah:
Everton Publishers, Inc., 2006.
5. H owell, Cyndi. Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet. (http://www.cyndislist.com : accessed 2 October 2008)
6. DistantCousin.com. Welcome to City Directories at DistantCousin.com (http://distantcousin. com/Directories : accessed 2 October 2008)
7. Meyerink, Kory L. AG, FUGA. Effective Use of City Directories. (http://www.progenealogists
.com/citydirectories.htm : accessed 3 October 2008)
8. Morgan, George G. How to Do Everything with Your Genealogy. Emeryville, CA: McGraw-
Hill/Osborne, 2004.
9. Morgan, George G. The Official Guide to Ancestry.com. 2 nd Edition. Provo, Utah: The Generations
Network, 2008.
10. Spear, Dorothea N. Bibliography of American Directories Through 1860. Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press, 1978.
11. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy.
Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves
Luebking, editors. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 2006
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