Where can I find old city directories?
Where can I find old city directories?
Six Free Places to Look for Old City Directories
- The public library in the city or county of interest. Public libraries often collect directories for their own city and county.
- MyHeritage.
- Internet Archive.
- Google Books.
- Online Historical Directories Website.
- WorldCat.
Do city directories still exist?
City directories are compiled through door-to-door surveys and are published at irregular intervals. Researchers should be aware, however, that there are no current city directories for many major U.S. cities–among them Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
What is a US city directory?
City directories are among the most important sources of information about urban areas and their inhabitants. They provide personal and professional information about a city’s residents as well as information about its business, civic, social, religious, charitable, and literary institutions.
What does do mean in old city directories?
City Directory Abbreviations
| ab | above |
|---|---|
| do | ditto (or the same as above) |
| dom | domestic |
| drugst | drugstore |
| e, E | east |
Which state is not included in the US city directories database?
The database currently contains directories for all states except Alaska. Generally a city directory will contain an alphabetical list of citizens, listing the names of the heads of households, their addresses, and occupational information.
What are Polk directories?
Polk directories contain an alphabetical listing of residents and businesses in a city. They usually also contain a section with properties listed in consecutive order by address. In addition to city directories, the company published bank directories.
What does R mean in city directories?
Resident Types In early directories, ‘r’ means resident and ‘b’ means boarder. In later directories, ‘r’ means roomer/renter and ‘h’ means homeowner/householder.
What does OS mean in genealogy?
Common family tree abbreviations
| Common family tree abbreviations | |
|---|---|
| O.S. | Old Style (Julian) Calendar |
| o.t.p. | Of this Parish |
| p.r. | Parish Register |
| R.C. | Roman Catholic |
What information is contained in a city directory?
A city directory is a listing of residents, streets, businesses, organizations or institutions, giving their location in a city. It may be arranged alphabetically or geographically or in other ways. Antedating telephone directories, they were in use for centuries.
What is the Polk Directory?
R. L. Polk & Company was founded by Ralph Lane Polk in 1870 in Detroit as a publisher of business directories. Polk directories contain an alphabetical listing of residents and businesses in a city. They usually also contain a section with properties listed in consecutive order by address.