Maybe our distant
ancestors didn’t have telephones, but in the 1800's (and in some cases the 1700's) cities did have directories with
a person's address and possibly their occupation. I found
among my father’s things a postcard from 1907 my then single grandmother had
sent to my grandfather from the place her family frequented in the summer (She
called him Dear Boy… awwww). He had moved to Montreal from Kingston and I
looked his name up in the City Directories, trying to find approximately how long
he had lived there…. but he wasn’t
listed??? Many of the directories,
besides having an alphabetic index, also had a street index. This comes in handy when you know from
another document or census that your ancestor lived at a certain address, but
they are not in the directory. They may
not be listed if the dwelling belonged to someone else. So if you go to the street index and find the
address, you will see who owns the house. Your ancestor may be staying with
family or friends, or even boarding with a stranger. In my case I discovered my grandfather was living
at the home of Mrs Dixon, widow.
The directories also include listings of businesses, churches, schools, social organizations, municipal services, etc. and their directors. You can use the directory to perhaps get a closer date when your ancestor immigrated. Keep in mind a person may have moved and his listing not been changed yet.
Do you know the address where your ancestors lived? Did they move often? Do you know if they owned, rented or boarded? Answers to these questions add another dimension to your ancestors. I have listed below links to some city directories. If the one you need is not listed, try googling “[town] city directories”. If you get too many recent results, you can throw “historical” in the mix. Also use keywords "list of persons".
Relevant Links:
McLaughlin's Quebec directory (incl plan of city) 1857
Annuaires Marcotte de Québec et leurs prédécesseurs, 1822-1920
Les Almanachs de Quebec 1780-1841
Lovell Directories of Montreal 1842-1999
Les Almanachs de Quebec 1780-1841
Lovell Directories of Montreal 1842-1999
Toronto City Directories
Ottawa City Directories
Kingston City Directories
McAlpine's Maritime Provinces Directory for 1870-71
British Columbia Directories
The Henderson's Directories of the Prairies
US City Directories
Scotland City Directories
Directories of England and Wales
Irish Directories
PRONI - Irish City Directories
Williamson's directory for the city of Edinburgh, Canongate, Leith, and suburbs.
Online Historical Directories
List of Wright's Directories - world
Mitchell & Co.'s Canada classified directory for 1865-66
Newfoundland Almanac and PO Directory – several years
The Victoria Post Office Directory (AU) 1866
The Victoria Post Office Directory (AU) - 1869
Ottawa City Directories
Kingston City Directories
McAlpine's Maritime Provinces Directory for 1870-71
British Columbia Directories
The Henderson's Directories of the Prairies
US City Directories
Scotland City Directories
Directories of England and Wales
Irish Directories
PRONI - Irish City Directories
Williamson's directory for the city of Edinburgh, Canongate, Leith, and suburbs.
Online Historical Directories
List of Wright's Directories - world
Mitchell & Co.'s Canada classified directory for 1865-66
Newfoundland Almanac and PO Directory – several years
The Victoria Post Office Directory (AU) 1866
The Victoria Post Office Directory (AU) - 1869
Huntingdon County Business and Farmers Directory 1889 (Quebec, Canada)
The Municipal year book and public utilities directory of the UK – 1911
The Liverpool Directory, for the Year 1766
Fall River Directories – Mass
Pacific coast directory, for 1880-81 : containing names, business and address of merchants, manufacturers and professional men; county, city, state, territorial and federal officers, and notaries public, of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, and British Columbia : together with a sketch of the different cities and towns ... : complete classified and alphabetical lists, convenient for reference : invaluable for all business men.
The Municipal year book and public utilities directory of the UK – 1911
The Liverpool Directory, for the Year 1766
Fall River Directories – Mass
Pacific coast directory, for 1880-81 : containing names, business and address of merchants, manufacturers and professional men; county, city, state, territorial and federal officers, and notaries public, of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, and British Columbia : together with a sketch of the different cities and towns ... : complete classified and alphabetical lists, convenient for reference : invaluable for all business men.
Robson's London directory, street key, classification of trades, and Royal Court guide and peerage – 1842
Saugus (Mass) List of Persons Under 21 - various years
Directory & Gazetteer County Palatine of Lancaster - Liverpool & Manchester 1824
Saugus (Mass) List of Persons Under 21 - various years
Directory & Gazetteer County Palatine of Lancaster - Liverpool & Manchester 1824
I've found many addresses, professions and names in the Lovell Montreal directories. Cross checking the list of names with the streets has been helpful when a name was spelt wrong and I know where my mother's family lived due to the directories as the end of the street they lived on was not found in the 1921 census. Either several household were not enumerated or the end of the street is lost or in the wrong group of census.
ReplyDeleteWhat a disappointment to not find her as it would have been the earliest record of her I had found... have yet to find her birth certificate.