City Directories: Difference between revisions

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'''City Directories''' were created for salesmen, merchants, and other interested in contacting residents of an area. They are arranged alphabetically giving lists of names and addresses. These often list the adult residents of a city or area.
<p>Chicago city directories cover the years 1839-1928, with a few gaps, most of which come after 1917. With a few exceptions, they generally included heads of household (including widows) and individuals who were working. Front matter generally included lists of government offices, churches, and civic organizations, and back matter included business listings.
 
</p><p>Chicago directories can be found online at Footnote.com (subscription site) and ChicagoAncestors.org (click on the "Tools" tab to access the directories). They can also be found on Family History Library microfilm and at many research facilities in the Chicago area. <br>
The most helpful directories for genealogical research are city and county directories of local residents and businesses. These are generally published annually and may include an individual's address, occupation, spouse's name, and other helpful facts. An individual's address can be very helpful when searching an unindexed census of a large city.  
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<ul><li><a href="http://distantcousin.com/Directories/IL/Chicago/1844/">1844</a> and <a href="http://distantcousin.com/Directories/IL/Chicago/1855_6/">1855/56</a> Chicago City Directories (at CousinConnect.com; other Illinois cities also available)
===Why Use Directories?===
</li></ul>
 
<ul><li><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=EugCAAAAYAAJ&amp;printsec=frontcover#PPA3,M1">1856</a> Chicago City Directory and Business Advertiser , Fergus, May Supplement (at Google Books; searchable by address)
*Directories are particularly helpful for research in large cities, where a high percentage of the people were renters, new arrivals, or temporary residents.
</li></ul>
*A directory may be the only source to list an ancestor if he or she was not registered to vote and did not own property or if a census enumerator did not enumerate an ancestor.
<ul><li><a href="http://chicagoancestors.org/downloads/1866front.pdf">1866</a> Chicago City Directory (PDF at www.chicagoancestors.org)
*Learn the exact years your ancestor inhabited a place.
</li></ul>
*Locate ancestor in a census that hasn’t been indexed (esp. state census) or on a census page that otherwise is unreadable.
<ul><li><a href="http://chicagoancestors.org/downloads/1870front.pdf">1870</a> Chicago City Directory (PDF at www.chicagoancestors.org)
*Estimate year of immigration.
</li></ul>
*Learn occupation and employer as identifiers
<ul><li><a href="http://chicagoancestors.org/downloads/1871a.pdf">1871</a> Chicago City Directory (PDF at www.chicagoancestors.org)
*Find other family members.
</li></ul>
 
<ul><li><a href="http://chicagoancestors.org/downloads/1880front.pdf">1880</a> Chicago City Directory (PDF at www.chicagoancestors.org)<br>
===Potential Content===
</li><li><a href="http://chicagoancestors.org/downloads/1885front.pdf">1885</a> Chicago City Directory (PDF at www.chicagoancestors.org)
 
</li><li><a href="http://chicagoancestors.org/downloads/1892front.pdf">1892</a> Chicago City Directory (PDF at www.chicagoancestors.org)
*An alphabetical listing of inhabitants (arranged by name, address, and occupation).
</li></ul>
*A street address listing (arranged by address, name, and occupation).
<ul><li><a href="http://chicagoancestors.org/downloads/1900front.pdf">1900</a> Chicago City Directory&nbsp;(PDF at www.chicagoancestors.org)
*Widows, working women, and adult children at home.
</li></ul>
*Ward maps.
<ul><li>The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year-Book, 1905 (p. 446-454 "Old Residents of Chicago" arranged by year of arrival; at Google Books; searchable by address)
*Street locator, including cross streets.
</li></ul>
*Street name changes.
<ul><li><a href="http://chicagoancestors.org/downloads/1910front.pdf">1910</a> Chicago City Directory (PDF at www.chicagoancestors.org)
*Removals (sometimes destinations!).
</li></ul>
*Businesses (and index to advertisers).
<ul><li><a href="http://www.chsmedia.org/househistory/polk/start.pdf">1928/29</a> Polk's Directory (by street address; PDF Chicago History Museum website; loads slowly)<br>
*Addresses and maps of churches, schools, funeral homes, cemeteries, post offices, courts, hospitals, benevolent associations, newspapers and often the names of persons associated with those entities.
</li></ul>
*Many early directories listed only businesspeople.
*Some directories list wife in parenthesis.
*Whether a woman is a widow (including name of husband).
*List of marriages and deaths of previous year.
*Death date of recently deceased person who had been listed in a prior directory.
*Date of canvas that was used to create the directory (which may help pinpoint the time of year an ancestor may have arrived in a place)
 
==Online Historical Directories Website==
Miriam Robbins Midkiff has created a website, '''''Online Historical Directories Website''''' (or simply, [https://sites.google.com/site/onlinedirectorysite/ '''Online Directory Site''']), where she is cataloging as many online city directories as possible. The website includes other historic directories as well, such as alumni, business, and fraternal orders. Directories are organized by geography and date.
 
==Wiki Articles==
*[[United States Directories|'''United States Directories''']]
*[[Directories in England and Wales|'''Directories in England and Wales''']]
 
==Wiki Articles: Sidebar Links==
'''Each country and U.S. State have a main page. In the main page, there is sidebar on the right with links to articles about types of records. Here you can usually find a link to an article on "Directories".'''
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{|
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|style="border:solid black 2px; padding:10px; vertical-align:top"|
<center> <span style="color:DarkViolet">'''See the links to "Directories" in the right sidebar in this typical Wiki main page.'''</span><center>
[[File:Directories sidebar.png|1000px]]
|}
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[[Category:City Directories]]

Revision as of 13:43, 9 November 2008

Chicago city directories cover the years 1839-1928, with a few gaps, most of which come after 1917. With a few exceptions, they generally included heads of household (including widows) and individuals who were working. Front matter generally included lists of government offices, churches, and civic organizations, and back matter included business listings.

Chicago directories can be found online at Footnote.com (subscription site) and ChicagoAncestors.org (click on the "Tools" tab to access the directories). They can also be found on Family History Library microfilm and at many research facilities in the Chicago area.

  • The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year-Book, 1905 (p. 446-454 "Old Residents of Chicago" arranged by year of arrival; at Google Books; searchable by address)
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