by Trevia Wooster Beverly, February 1999
Even if you already know where your city-dwelling ancestor lived, a check of the city directory-if one is available-may net you some surprising information. In addition to those in the Clayton collection, directories may also be found in other public libraries, state libraries, and in genealogical and historical society libraries. Also, holdings of most university libraries will have at least a local or regional collection of U.S. city directories. Many early directories are still available in hard copy or, in some cases, as commemorative reprints. They are also widely available in microform, thanks to the efforts of individuals and institutions interested in preserving the information in these valuable resources.
Why should I use city directories?
First of all, city directories are valuable simply because they contain names, addresses, and other information about our ancestors. And since this information was collected at the time of the event-often by actual house-to-house canvassing-it carries the same evidential weight as many “original” records. Second, the information found in directories serves as an excellent “link” to other records. One very good example of a directory’s use as a link to another record has to do with the 1880 census: Soundex cards for the 1880 census were only completed for those households containing at least one child 10 years of age or younger. This being the case, the address information found in a city directory, circa 1880, may be just the linkage you need to find one of the many un-indexed families in the 1880 population schedule. Also, if you make an inquiry to the census bureau concerning population schedules that have not yet been released (1930 and later), you will need to provide the bureau with the best address information you can obtain.
How valuable are directories?
Directories are among the most valuable tools available for urban research, especially for the period 1780-1860, when cities like Baltimore, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia became magnets for immigrants newly arrived from Europe and for rural families seeking employment in urban industries. David Curtis Dearborn, in his 1988 NGS lecture, “Urban Research in Northern Cities,” points out that the search for an urban ancestor is especially difficult for the period prior to 1860. In general, the availability of “urban” records before 1860 is poor, and of the seven decennial census enumerations taken during that time period, only the 1850 and 1860 provide more than minimally useful information. After 1860, city directories still provide very valuable information. This is especially true for those periods of time between federal census enumerations and in the very special case of the 1890 census, almost totally destroyed by fire in 1921.
Will directories save me time?
Val Greenwood, in his The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, reminds us that with the city directory you may be able to accomplish in thirty minutes to an hour what might otherwise take several days. For example, if you can use a city directory to determine that your ancestor lived in Philadelphia’s 14th ward in 1860, you can then check just one ward of the 1860 census rather than the entire Philadelphia population schedule.
There have been numerous times when a client has come to me seeking a death date and a place of burial for an ancestor. If the ancestor lived in an urban area serviced by a directory publisher, I can often determine a “candidate” year of death by noting the last appearance of the ancestor’s name in successive directory issues. I have even found instances where the male ancestor’s name appears in one year and his widow’s name in the year immediately following! Once a candidate year has been determined, the directory can be further used to find possible burial places by consulting the cemetery listings.
Directories can also be used to point backward to the first appearance of an ancestor. This will often signal the date of arrival in the local area or may even mark the year of immigration to the U.S. Zeroing in on a specific year through the use of city directories can often save you weeks of research time.
How do I find the directory I need?
Finding the specific directory you need may take a little work; however, at Clayton, we have both a good selection of directories and some very good finding aids. First place to look at Clayton is in the finding aids notebooks to see what we have available in microform. Within the various “state” finding aids binders, “city directories” will be listed as a separate category. Also check the notebook entitled “Microcopy Finding Aids - Miscellaneous.” Here you will find thirty-six pages containing a complete listing of Clayton’s directory holdings. Some of these are quite early, for example, those for Boston (1789-1861), Charleston (1782-1860), and Albany (1813-1852). Texas examples include those for Austin (1857), Galveston (1856-1860), and Houston (1866-1986).
While at Clayton, you should also check the electronic catalog, since some very good directory resources are located elsewhere in the Houston Public Library system. The more significant of these non-Clayton collections are housed in the central library, which includes the Texas and Local History department in the Julia Idason building. When searching the electronic catalog, try the words “city directories.” This will produce over 200 “hits” on which to follow up.
When looking for directories, also check the “how-to” books. A good example is The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, shelved in the USA section. Chapter 11, “Research in Directories,” by Gordon Lewis Remington (pages 385-410), provides excellent background. The listing of “Directories on Microform” in this chapter serves as a “quick-check” for city directories. A word of caution, however: This is not a complete listing!
Another excellent source for information on city directories is Dorothea N. Spear’s Bibliography of American Directories through 1860. This is a good reference source for determining if an early directory exists for the city in which you are interested.
If you cannot find a library copy of the directory you need, it may be possible to purchase microform copies from companies that publish this type material. One such company is Primary Source Media, Woodbridge, Connecticut, which has a wide selection of directories. All but 45 of the 1600 titles listed in the Spear text noted above are available on microfiche. Directories for the periods 1861-1960 are available on 35-mm microfilm.
What information will I find in a city directory?
The basic pieces of information to look for in a city directory are, of course, names and addresses. Many also give the occupation, trade, or profession of the individuals listed. One example is the Houston City Directory for 1866, available on microfiche at Clayton. Listings begin with Mrs. H. M. Abbey who lived on “Travis betw Rusk and Walker sts” and ends with Miss Mary Zwieb, “milliner, Main betw Prairie st and Texas ave.” In between are the shoemakers, policemen, merchants, barkeeps, teachers, etc., all with names and locations. The directory also includes listings of city officials, churches, steamboat lines, railways, etc. plus a wide variety of advertisements. We find, for example, Bremond & Co., located on Main Street, had available “chocolates and choice liquors.” The company of John H. Ivy, a dry goods store on McKinney Street, had a fine selection of calicoes, muslins, and delaines, as well as hats, caps, boots, and shoes, and “duplex elliptic skirts.” A hard copy of the 1866 Houston directory is available at the central library, but a microform copy is available at Clayton.
A few early city directories have been reprinted or entirely republished and augmented with additional information. This is the case, for example, with the First Boston City Directory (1789) Including Extensive Annotations By John Haven Dexter (1791-1876). A commemorative edition of this work, which includes a reproduction of the 1789 plan of the town of Boston, was published by the New England Historical Genealogical Society in 1989. The work includes a reproduction of the 1789 plan of the town of Boston. This is an unusual but very useful genealogical resource in that Dexter spent the better part of his life collecting miscellaneous facts about the people listed in the city’s first directory, including information on their children and grandchildren. While, indeed, there may be errors, Dexter’s biographical notes will intrigue today’s descendants of the various shop owners, tradesmen, workmen, lawyers, doctors, teachers, politicians, and clergymen mentioned in the work. We find, for example, the following item on merchant William Shattuck:
Shattuck, William, merchant, No. 4, Long-wharf. William Shattuck kept a bookstore in State Street, 1784-. Brush, of New-York married the “lovely and accomplished Miss Sally Shattuck d. of Wm. Shattuck, merchant, of Boston” Dec. 11. 1796 - by Revd. Dr. Thacher - William, his Son d. at Salem, on board the Bellisarius, from Surinam, August, 1799, a. 21.Numerous tradesmen are mentioned such as John Bell, “cistern-maker, of Pond-street,” and John Pairservice, “pearl-ash-maker, in Eliot-street.” Another entry tells of one Col. Jos. Laughton who came from Newburyport and died suddenly “from a fall over a stool at his desk in the Treasury Office....” Many women are also mentioned, for example, Catherine Gray, who kept “a respectable boarding house” on State-street.”
One very interesting directory in the Clayton collection is Boyd’s Washington and Georgetown Directory Containing a Business Directory..., published in 1864. This includes personal listings plus listings for cemeteries, churches, libraries, and other organizations. In the personal sections we find, for example,
Beverly Jacob (col’d), waiter, bds 255 C southIn the business section, we find listings of photographers, daguerreotypists, physicians, piano tuners, saddlers, sutlers, confectioners, chandlers, and wig and toupee makers. The advertising section, with its prose and graphics, displays a fascinating array of the products these businesses were selling. In other sections of the directory, we fine information on Washington City, including details about the capitol, the executive mansion, and various departments of the government.Chase Salmon P. Hon., secretary of the Treasury, h E north cor 6th west
Hickley E. M. Mrs. emporium of fashions, 301 Pa ave
Hitz Rudolph, medical student, bds 29 A south
LINCOLN ABRAHAM, President of the United States, Executive Mansion Pa ave bet 15th and 17th west
Robinson Winney (col’d), widow, b 427 L north
Another interesting item is Tharin’s Marengo County [Alabama] Directory for 1860-61. Originally published in Mobile, this directory was photographically reproduced by the Marengo County Historical Society, Demopolis, Alabama, in 1973. While the majority of the people listed in this directory are designated as “planters,” there are a number of clerks, ministers, and teachers, plus we find several lawyers and mechanics and a few boot and shoe makers, grocers and hotel keepers. Advertisements, many including personal names, were faithfully reproduced. The original title, characteristically lengthy, describes the work as “Embracing the Names of the Voters in the County, Alphabetically Arranged, Their Occupation, Post Office and Residence; Numerous Tables of Statistics, A Short Sketch of the County, Advertisements, &c.”
What else do I need to know?
As with any genealogical resource, city directories should be very carefully examined so as not to overlook important information. The personal sections of early directories generally listed only the heads of households. This is not the case with later directories, some of which included other adult members of the household, each on a separate line in the directory. We also find instances where a person is listed twice, once at his/her residence and once at his/her place of business or employment, sometimes with a variation of name, e.g., Mrs. Dora Williams and Mrs. James Williams. Keep this in mind when going through the directory. If the trade or profession is given, be sure to look also in the business section or, if they can be located, any separate business directories that may exist for the same area.
Not all directories contain current or accurate information. Common errors include misspelled names, wrong addresses, and missing entries. If possible, examine directory entries over a span of years to check for consistency. Also, be sure to use directories in conjunction with other records, especially any available census records.
Be aware, when searching for your ancestor in a directory listing, that sometimes entire groups of people were omitted or were listed in separate directories. This is often the case with blacks, non-English-speaking groups, or groups living in distinct ethnic neighborhoods. If you don’t find your ancestor in the city’s principal directory, it may be because he or she fell into one of these groups. If you know the person’s ethnic background, try to locate a directory published specifically for that ethnic group. A somewhat late example of this type directory is the Dallas, Texas Negro City Directory, published in 1947-1948 (not currently in the Clayton collection).
How does Clayton acquire city directories?
City directories in the Clayton collection are purchased using funds budgeted by the City of Houston or acquired by donation. A very recent donation, by the Huffington Foundation, was used to purchase a number of directories, including many around the years 1890 and 1910. Clayton Library Friends welcomes cash donations designated for the purchase of city directory material. If you would like to donate funds for this purpose, please contact CLF Director John Dorroh at (713) 781-2741.