Maryland Directories: Difference between revisions

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''[[United States|United States]][[Image:Gotoarrow.png]][[United States Directories|U.S. Directories]][[Image:Gotoarrow.png]][[Maryland|Maryland]][[Image:Gotoarrow.png]][[Maryland Directories|Directories]]''
''[[United States|United States]][[Image:Gotoarrow.png]][[United States Directories|U.S. Directories]][[Image:Gotoarrow.png]][[Maryland|Maryland]][[Image:Gotoarrow.png]][[Maryland Directories|Directories]]''
== Record Coverage/Introduction/Content  ==
Directories are alphabetical lists of names and addresses. They are usually published yearly. Directories may list the following information:
*Names of inhabitants (listed alphabetically).
*Address and occupation.
*Spouse's name.
*A street address listing (arranged by address, name, and occupation).
*Widows, working women, and adult children at home.
*Ward maps.
*Street locator, including cross streets.
*Street name changes.
*Removals (a list of local people who moved away. Sometimes their destinations are listed as well).
*Businesses (and index to advertisers).
*Churches, schools, funeral homes, cemeteries, post offices, courts, hospitals, benevolent associations, and newspapers.
*Whether a woman is a widow (including name of husband).
*List of marriages and deaths of previous year.
*Many early directories listed only businesspeople.
== Why Use Directories  ==
*Learn the exact years your ancestor inhabited a place.
*Locate ancestor in a census that hasn’t been indexed (esp. state census).
*Estimate year of immigration.
*Learn occupation and employer as identifiers.
*Find other family members.
== How to Search Directories  ==
#Check the beginning of the directory for cutoff dates, geographical coverage, and the meaning of abbreviations.
#Check alphabetical listing of residents to find known ancestors. 
#After finding a known ancestor’s address in the alphabetical listings, check the street address listing to find unknown ancestors at the same address.
== Before Searching You Must Know  ==
City, County or State of residence. Find through sesarching census records.


== Where to find Maryland directories  ==
== Where to find Maryland directories  ==
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The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. has a huge collection of U.S. directories. Find directories in the [https://familysearch.org/#form=catalog Place Search] of the Family History Library Catalog by searching for the town or county. <!--{12040503182813} --><!--{12040503182814} --><!--{12040503182815} --><!--{12040503182816} -->
The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. has a huge collection of U.S. directories. Find directories in the [https://familysearch.org/#form=catalog Place Search] of the Family History Library Catalog by searching for the town or county. <!--{12040503182813} --><!--{12040503182814} --><!--{12040503182815} --><!--{12040503182816} -->
== Tips  ==
*Some early directories listed only businesspeople.
*A substitute record that existed before directories is town meeting minutes, which listed the inhabitants of a town.
*Tips
*Directories list occupants (not necessarily owners).
*Major cities: Check town or county histories for outlying towns later absorbed by a city.
*Minorities were often listed separately.
*Others at your ancestor’s address may be boarders.
*Pay attention to occupations.&nbsp;Occupations can give you an extra “handle” by which you can identify your ancestor in another record.&nbsp;If an alphabetical listing says your ancestor is “Asst. to John Doe,” see what John Doe does for a living.
*Streets were renumbered. If your ancestor’s address changes, see if his neighbors’ addresses change correspondingly.
*Second marriages: If a widow is listed at an address, then replaced by a man the next year at that address, check marriage records!
*For blank forms you can use to extract information from a directory, see www.tpl.toronto.on.ca/localhistory/directories4.html<br>
== What to do next  ==
Find ancestor in all available directories. This will yield more name handles, such as middle names or maiden or married names;&nbsp;more relatives at the same address; and more occupations.
Directories serve as springboards to other records:
*Church records.&nbsp;To narrow down the church records to search for an ancestor, use directories to find addresses of churches near your ancestor’s residence.&nbsp;If you have a marriage certificate naming the minister who performed the marriage ceremony, find his listing in directories to learn the name of his church.
*Land records.&nbsp;Directory listings often mention whether the resident is an owner, renter, or boarder. If owner, see land records!


{{Maryland|Maryland}} {{U.S. Directories}}
{{Maryland|Maryland}} {{U.S. Directories}}


[[Category:Maryland|Directories]] [[Category:Record_Types_of_the_United_States]]
[[Category:Maryland|Directories]] [[Category:Record_Types_of_the_United_States]]
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