Miscellaneous Sources

Tracing Your Roots > First Steps in Family History > Miscellaneous Sources

Directories

There is no national collection of directories, although both the Guildhall Library and the Society of Genealogists have large collections. Leicester University Library (at www.le.ac.uk) has, however, recently received lottery money to make a number of directories available on the Internet. Local studies libraries usually have directories for their area. The National Archives Library also has a small collection of street and trade directories. Many directories are now being copied and sold as microfiche or on CDs.

You can use directories for:

Checking the address of people, although you should remember that the information in directories was often a year or two out of date at the time of publication. If a family was not where they should have been on census night, it is worth checking to see whether they moved around the corner.
Checking occupations. In working-class families the householder may have continually changes jobs - so the entry in the directory may be different to that which appears on the census.
Finding out more about the community. Many directories include a description of the place, local facilities (such as schools and churches) and notable points of interest.

Creators: Simon Fowler

There is no national collection of directories, although both the Guildhall Library and the Society of Genealogists have large collections. Leicester University Library (at

www.le.ac.uk) has, however, recently received lottery money to make a number of directories available on the Internet. Local studies libraries usually have directories for their area. The National Archives Library also has a small collection of street and trade directories. Many directories are now being copied and sold as microfiche or on CDs.

Checking the address of people, although you should remember that the information in directories was often a year or two out of date at the time of publication. If a family was not where they should have been on census night, it is worth checking to see whether they moved around the corner.
Checking occupations. In working-class families the householder may have continually changes jobs - so the entry in the directory may be different to that which appears on the census.
Finding out more about the community. Many directories include a description of the place, local facilities (such as schools and churches) and notable points of interest.


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