Directories are the predecessors of the modern day phone book. They listed the inhabitants of a locality, with their addresses and occupation (and sometimes business address). Since most directories list residents alphabetically, they are one of the most easy-to-use record forms available to genealogists.

The most important piece of information that comes from finding your ancestor in a directory is placing him in a particular place, at a particular time. Because the directories were issued yearly, they can help to pinpoint migration years, or the year of death (many times women were listed as "widow of" after their husbands passed away). Using a map, you can trace your ancestor’s movements by plotting the addresses from city directories. Also, by using the address found in a city directory, you can find what enumeration district your ancestor was in and find them in unindexed censuses. Additional information provided in directories such as occupation, may help determine which "John Smith" is yours when more than one is found in other records.

Although directories are extremely valuable tools, it is important to remember that the directories often contain inaccuracies, or may be incomplete. If you don’t find your ancestor, be sure to check for misspellings. At certain times, there may have been more than one directory published for a particular year by different publishers. While your relative may have been missed in one directory, the other may have picked him up. It is also possible, that one may have more information than the other, so be sure to check all the directories available for a particular time and place. In some cases, reverse directories are available (listing residents by address, instead of alphabetically) and these directories can be helpful in seeing everyone who is listed at a particular address, as well as neighbors (who may have come over from the old country with your family). These directories aren’t always as easy to find though.

Directories are available at many libraries, historical societies, and archives and now some are even available online. Ancestry currently has some city directories online, including several from the important ports of New York City and Philadelphia, and current residential listings for the whole U.S. (see listings at the bottom of this article). One advantage to searching the directories online, is the ability to search by address when reverse directories are not available.

Modern-day directories can be our friends too. A few years ago I wrote an article for Ancestry Magazine about my grand-uncle chronicling letters that he had written home from World War I to his sister and father. It revived my mother’s and my interest in finding his descendants, so that we could pass these incredible letters on to their rightful heirs. We knew that my grand-uncle, Edwin, had a daughter, and we had her married name. I did a quick search for the name in an online directory and the first listing was for New Jersey (where we had been told they lived). My mother called the number we found and soon she was talking to one of Edwin’s grandsons, "Cousin Bob." I think Bob’s words can better sum up how much this connection meant to him:

" . . . you have given me a grandfather. Where before I had nothing but one grainy photograph, a steel box and my imagination I will now have his words, second only to our acts of love and kindness in what we can leave the world."

We now correspond with Bob via e-mail regularly, and this connection has enriched all of our lives.