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Archiver > PHILLY-ROOTS > 1998-08 > 0903012749


From: Barbara Bonner <>
Subject: Re: City Directories
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 08:52:29 -0400


Lynn,

Your advise on the City directories is right on - I was missing huge
chunks of people within relatively small areas like Lancaster and
Columbia PA. Then I went to the city directories, found many names
and patterns of who lived with whom for multiple years. By following
the patterns for 20 years, was able to determine mother-in-law, her
daughters (who were cousins to my grandfather's side of family) and
many others.

Just did the same for Harrisburgh relatives, and wanted to add one
more note to others starting to use this method:

Make sure you look not only at the spelling you "know" is the right one,
but look at the variations, too. Between people's personal preferences,
family feuds (which have caused some name changes), creative spelling
(Pres. Andrew Jackson has been quoted as saying he didn't admire anyone
who didn't have at least 2 ways to spell something!)I have lost, then
found many
people within the directories.

For some areas, their occupation is also listed, which is a good way to
determine if you have the right person, or at least get more info
for where else to look.

Since most of my mother's side of the family knowledge stopped at her
father's
level, I have used the census and directories to go back 4 more
generations.....
A great set of tools!

Barbara

LYNN JEFFERIES wrote:
>
> With Ancestry adding the 1890 directory to their web site, I wanted
> to throw in words of warning. One year can be helpful, but what is
> really needed is a year-by-year search. Why? Because one year,
> barring errors by the compiler, is an indicator only. Some families
> moved frequently and unless you have proof that the address remained
> the same, the listing could be incorrect for research purposes. For
> example, if you are trying to find someone in the 1900 census, check
> the directories for 1899, 1900 and 1901. What you want is a pattern
> of addresses.
>
> The potential value of the city directories is undeniable for several
> reasons:
> 1. To find the family in a census.
> 2. To differentiate your family from others with the same or similar
> names. The use of the occupation is helpful here. Just keep in mind
> that different names might be used for an occupation from year to
> year.
> 3. To pinpoint a date of death for a male. If you're lucky and his
> wife outlives him, she will show up as "widow of" and give you an
> approximate death date.
> 4. To find other family members. Always check down the list, for
> others living at the same address or close by. Especially for
> uncommon names. Make a note of who you find, even if they are not at
> the same address. This might save you repeating your research later.
>
> 5. Etc. I'm sure there are other points, but I can't think of them at
> the moment. Perhaps someone else would care to add to the list.
>
> Also, if someone disappears from a directory for several years, don't
> stop checking for them. The person might appear after a absence of
> years. This often occurs when the person is elderly and living with
> one of their children. Or they might have left the city for a while
> and returned.
>
> Keep in mind too that mistakes do happen. Given the scope of the data
> collection, they are few, but do happen. Don't let a discrepancy of
> one year get you wondering and go off on a tangent. If all the other
> information fits, then just note it as a probable error.
>
> Lynn

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