Most are thick books listing the heads of household with address and occupation; later the spouse and adult children appear. Add business listings and ads plus government agencies, relief agencies, civic and religious organizations, and other listings and you have a goldmine of information. Do you know how and when the material was collected? The differences in the early ones? How to use them for the history of businesses, owners, and other entities. What about the unique directories that serve as a census, tell of military service, where someone moved to, include fake names, and provide clues to vital records. The problems with some digitized directories, issues with the canvassing for listings, and the sales pushed that occurred will be covered. I’ll share the rewards of in-depth sleuthing about the directories, their compilation, some surprises, and obvious and hidden places to find them today.
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I was amazed at the amount of information these include and that I would have missed without guidance! Thankyou
lots of great information. one suggestion would be to get clearer screen prints … many were very blurry.
She makes it fun! Great handout and presentation.
Very eye opening, had no idea directories might include all that type of information.
informative
Lots of new information about directories I ‘lll use in the future. Thanks
Love City Directories. Found lots of great info in the NYC directories.
lots of new to me info and a desire to go to the library to look for stuff. Will have to start online though. Extremely helpful.