Genealogists crave any detail of their ancestors’ lives, and perhaps the most useful details in data arsenals are the places their ancestors lived. A date for birth, marriage, or death is never truly definitive unless you know where that event occurred. City directories can be the most rewarding references when searching for anyone living in an urban location within the last one hundred or even two hundred years.

The familiar adage regarding key considerations in buying a home–location, location, location–also applies in genealogical research. It is important to determine not only in which town our ancestors lived, but also their lot, ward, neighborhood, or street address. Once we verify a residence at a particular time, we can then work backward, forward, and sideways to interpret where our ancestors were born, schooled, employed, married, and even buried.

The federal census, especially beginning in 1850, provides detailed and descriptive snapshots of families and their places of residence over time. However, these particular snapshots are only generated once a decade (not to mention missing for 1890) and are not yet available for the decades after 1920. Therefore, if we discover through census data that a particular family lived in different cities in 1860 and 1870, how do we discern over that ten-year period when they relocated? Likewise, if an individual is reputed to be living in San Francisco in 1890, how might we easily verify this and pinpoint his or her street address before venturing into more accurate primary sources? City directories are often the most suitable resources to answer these questions.

City directories are underutilized, readily-available tools for any genealogist attempting to establish a detailed, year-by-year time line of an ancestor’s life or migration history. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that your ancestors lived in a community that published a city directory. It is at least worth a search to see.

Early directories of colonial America include the cities New Amsterdam (1665), Baltimore, Maryland (1752), and Charleston, South Carolina (1782). Two city directories of Philadelphia, both published in 1785, are generally recognized as the first contemporary printed directories in the country, and New York and Boston soon followed Philadelphia’s lead. Shortly thereafter, city directories were published in many urban areas. The heyday for city directories was from the mid- to late-nineteenth century and into the early- to mid-twentieth century. Even western cities like San Francisco published directories for their residents once they reached a critical population. You may discover that even small towns had rosters of residents or were associated with directories for larger, nearby cities.

The first Boston directory was issued in 1789. It has been enhanced and made even more useful to family historians through the efforts of John Haven Dexter. One of Dexter’s goals was to compile information on each of the 1,486 residents listed in the directory, including many of their children and grandchildren. The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) republished his notes and the original directory in 1989 as the First Boston City Directory (1789) Including Extensive Annotations.

Dexter’s annotated directory is invaluable for researchers with ancestors who lived in Boston in the early days of the country. While many of his observations and facts lack sources, his notes provide clues that can lead a researcher to more accurate resources. And that is exactly what any city directory can do for the genealogist: provide basic information about residents of an urban area, establish residency, and lead researchers closer to finding the locations of vital, church, and social records.

A nice summation of the history of city directories and their purpose can be found in the introduction to Dorothea N. Spear’s Bibliography of American Directories Through 1860. Most important, Ms. Spear lists all of the known city directories that were published prior to 1860 and where to find them.

A directory page is similar to a page in a phone book. Names are listed alphabetically by surname, followed by the first name (also listed alphabetically). Even young adults in a household are listed, often followed by "stu" for student. Other non-occupational designations include "wid" for widow, "Mrs," "inmate," "gent," and "old gent."

Next the person’s occupation, which is often fairly detailed and usually abbreviated, is listed. Some occupations are fairly common like "lab" (laborer), "svt" (servant), and "clk" (clerk). Others can be quite specific such as "tel op," "poor director," "boilermkr," and "harnsmkr." Business owners are listed as such: "Schabacker M J, of Shabacker & Bros," or "Schaefer, W A, meat market." Occasionally, an occupation and place of employment are listed, e.g., "Scheithe A E, clk at Clarks’ College."

After an occupation or business listing, the person may be identified as a homeowner, resident, or boarder, with his or her street address listed next. Depending upon the city, there may be abbreviations for location, compass directions, "cor" for corner, etc. It is wise to note the abbreviations before you leave the library. If you photocopy pages of a city directory, remember to copy the abbreviation page as well so that you don’t have to decipher the many abbreviations.

As you follow a name or group of names through a sequence of directories, you may notice changes in occupation, address, and marital status. Using a map to reference an address, you may find that someone moved from a rough end of town into a more upscale neighborhood. Demographic trends and socioeconomic status can also be interpreted in city directories, and sometimes social history can be learned as well. Consider the entries listing a saloon owner in the 1920s who became a purveyor of "soft drinks" during prohibition.

It is also important to cross-reference addresses listed in the name directory with the street directory, which is usually located in the back of the volume. Perhaps a female relative who lived at one address for years seemingly disappears from the directory. Looking up the address in the street listing may show that she was married but still living at the same address under a different name, or that somebody mistyped her name. A 1942 city directory of Lakeland, Florida, lists Clara Hartline, widow of George, living at 810 Lemon Street. She is not found in the 1940 directory, but a quick look in the street listing shows the resident of 810 Lemon Street as Clara Haitline, widow of George.

A city directory, like the census, is only as accurate as the recorder of the information. One of the advantages of city directories, however, is that there is no handwriting to decipher, which makes them less vulnerable to interpretation. Also, because they were published and updated on an annual basis, city directories often correct themselves over time.

If you have ever tried to locate an ancestor in the New York City census, without knowing in which ward he or she resided, you will immediately appreciate the value of a New York City directory. When you find his or her listing in a directory, you can then use the address to locate the ward, thus making your census search less time-consuming.

City directories are invaluable as census substitutes. If an urban ancestor can be located in an 1890 directory, you can usually rely on that as a lead to the information a census would otherwise tell you. Additionally, because more recent censuses are unavailable to the general public but current and historic city directories can be found on the reference shelves of city libraries, genealogists can access pertinent information for living relatives as well as those recently deceased.

Directories list more than just names. You will often find listings for churches, schools, societies, town services, and railroad schedules. Maps and advertisements are also helpful. The maps will aid you in locating a person’s residence, and you may find an advertisement for the company your ancestor owned or worked for.

Because entries are alphabetized in the main section, you won’t necessarily find all family members grouped together, especially those with a more common surname. Scanning down a list of Smiths, however, you can pick out those listed at the same residence and group them together to determine family relationships.

Directories are often published annually or biannually, but many are published more sporadically. Year-by-year listings are helpful in determining approximate death dates. If an elderly person fails to show up in a directory, it may be a clue to look in that city for a death record. Even more telling is when a man disappears from the listing but his wife is listed as a widow.

Some volumes even publish the names of residents who passed away the previous year. For example, city directories in the 1880s for Erie, Pennsylvania, published an Official Death Register which lists the names of those who died, the date of death, the cause of death, and the age at death. It is interesting to read through the nearly 600 names and view the causes of death, which include premature birth, consumption and pneumonia, and a sweep of "cholera infantum" in August 1887.

Early directories will often be found within national and regional historical societies as well as the public and university libraries in the region the city is located. The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, is reputed to have the largest collection of early city directories in the country. There are over 6,500 directories published before 1877 among its holdings. NEHGS also has a substantial number of New England city directories.

The National Archives regional branches often have microfilmed rolls for cities in their regions as a substitute for the 1890 census. And Family History Centers around the nation provide access to thousands of directories through their catalogs. Many directories have been published on CD and companies like Ancestry.com provide online access to a plethora of directories from around the country. Of course, the Library of Congress catalog can also be a valuable tool for determining what cities published directories during a certain time period.

City directories provide genealogists with surprisingly helpful information. Once you locate an appropriate city directory for members in your family, use it as a springboard to launch you further into your research.

Return to the Ancestry Magazine July/August 2001 Table of Contents.