If you have an ancestor who lived in a city or even a decent-sized town, then your research plan should absolutely include a search for city directories. Genealogists all know the value of placing an ancestor in a particular time and place, but city directories can also be used to follow an individual's occupation, place of employment, and place of residence, as well as potentially identify life events such as marriages, deaths, and migrations. This list of residents of Hartford, Connecticut who left the area about 1920 includes their destination -- with many headed for nearby towns, and even California, Italy, and China! Looking beyond the names of your ancestors, city directories also provide invaluable insight into your ancestor's community, often including sections on neighborhood churches, cemeteries, and hospitals, plus organizations, clubs, associations, and societies.
![Geer's Hartford [CT] 1921 City Directory. From Ancestry.com's U.S. City Directories collection.](http://0.tqn.com/d/genealogy/1/0/C/a/Hartford1921CityDirectory.jpg)
Geer's Hartford [CT] 1921 City Directory (Hartford: The Hartford Printing Co., 1921), 809;
digital images, "U.S. City Directories," Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 June 2012).
I recently was able to document the rise (and subsequent fall) of the fortunes of an entire family for about 10 years 1925-1935. The 1930 census provided some confirmation, but the directories really told the story, and led me to search newspapers in particular places and times to completely fill it in. The Polk’s directories gave me information on residence, place of business (or occupation), whether they owned or rented, and what the value of their taxable property was (in some years).
In another case, the directory showed that while my great grandmother and great grandfather lived in the same town, they were not married to each other. G-grandma was living with my grandfather (age 2) and g-grandfather was living with his wife and 2 daughters. Several pieces of the puzzle then came together for me.
Everyone…I was trying to piece together my great grandparents and where they lived. Then tracking where they lived, I began to follow my parents and grandparents. Boy, did my parents move around a lot!
Besides learning where they lived, can I learn anything more from city directories?
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