Collection Information
Ancestry is home to an extensive collection of city and area directories. Directories typically contain entries for working family members and include name, occupation, and home and business addresses. You may find street directories, lists of advertisements (which may include your ancestor’s business), lists of government officials, charitable organizations, churches, cemeteries, hotels, maps, and much more.
City directories were printed for most cities and are especially useful for urban research. From these you can discover an ancestor's occupation and know exactly where in the city they lived.
There are several possible parts to a city directory: an alphabetical listing of names with their address and occupation, ward (political) boundary maps or descriptions, government offices, churches, civic and fraternal organizations, and local businesses, which can be a great resource for locating extended family members.
