The Problem With City Directories

City directories can provide such a rich snapshot of the neighborhoods of our ancestors.

 Just look at this lovely old directory from Sacramento City, 1851.

Another beautiful example from Cleveland, Ohio, 1837.

But, I have one really big problem with city directories; not a single one of my ancestors lived in a city.  Therefore, these really are of no value to me.

Just last week, I went to the headquarters of The Ohio Genealogical Society, which is just six miles from my home.  I'm there often, but not often enough.  Friends from Indiana were headed home after the Thanksgiving holiday, and they had never been there.  Would we like to meet up?

Of course!  I arranged for them to have a tour from one of the most knowledgeable staff members I know; Missy Derrenberger.  I always tag along, for I learn things I didn't know I didn't know.  This day was no exception.

As they marveled at the holdings at this wonderful library (one of the ten largest genealogical libraries east of the Mississippi), I only listened in occasionally.  I've heard it before.  I'm there all the time.  But, this time, Missy was instructing them on the value of county directories.

I have to be honest.  I have never given them a second thought.  

When I returned home, I began to think about them more.  So, I returned on Saturday to talk with Missy.

Shelves of county directories are available at OGS.

A few years ago, she and another volunteer learned that a large collection of these directories were going to be thrown away.  Through a series of correspondence, they made the trek and returned home with hundreds of copies.

The directories cover the years 1915-1921, stop for awhile, then begin again in the 1930's.  They have consistently been published now since the 1950's.

There are several differences between these and the city directories.

The cover of the Mercer Co., Ohio Directory - 1915.

 The title page of the Trumbull Co., OH Directory - 1936.  It states the townships that are covered in the directory.

Shelby County, Ohio - 1936 County Directory

 But...look at the priceless differences in what you find in a county directory.  Look at the entry for ALTEPETER, Paul W.  His wife Herschema is listed, as well as Martha (age 1), Geo (age 2), and Phil (age 4).  I can't remember what the "T" stands for, but he is employed at Gibson Grain Prod, and lives at 54 Road 27 RD 4, Sidney, Ohio.

City directories don't typically list the family members and their ages.  At least none that I've ever looked at.

Richland County, Ohio - 1995-96 County Directory

As we come a bit closer to our time period, we notice that even phone numbers are given,  Look at the Andrew M. Troyer family.  They live on a farm and have no phone.  (My guess is that they are Amish, for this is a typically Amish name in an area where many Amish families live.)  His wife Fanny A is listed, along with a number of children.  The numbers after their names are not their ages, but their birth years.

I can see that I have a lot more research to do, which includes a lot of backtracking.  I honestly have not known too much about county directories.  When the word "directory" is brought up, I have just automatically thought city directory.  It appears I have been wrong.

The Ohio Genealogical Society houses these directories only for this state.  I must now see if there are some available for the areas of Appalachia I must search in.

The Best State Genealogical Society Ever!

Week 14. State and National Societies: Last week we paid tribute to local genealogical and historical societies. This week we’re going to think bigger. For which state, provincial or national society are you most thankful? What makes this society special? How do the publications and events of this group assist in your family history research?

I am one of the luckiest people alive!  I live just about 10 minutes from the headquarters of The Ohio Genealogical Society, one of the largest societies in the United States!!

The Ohio Genealogical Society had its beginnings in 1955, the year I was born.  Several local residents of Mansfield, Richland County (my hometown) met to form its humble beginnings.  Within a short time, even my parents became part of the the group and were among the workhorse group that began gathering cemetery information, personal genealogies, etc.

It has evolved, for sure!  There is even a chapter in Florida. 

Each year, it offers a top-notch state conference, bringing in some of the best of the best as speakers.  I have been a frequent speaker at these conferences, and have learned far more than I've ever taught.  The exhibit hall is worth going to, expecially if one is not able to afford to go to the larger national conferences.

The libary is in its new home.  This lovely building was completed just a couple of years ago in Bellville, Ohio - just a stone's throw from where I live.  It is truly state-of-the-art.  There is ample room to spread out and research, peruse its stacks, take advantage of the many classes and workshops that are held there, and be helped by the wonderful volunteers that man the information desk.

I am indeed fortunate, for I hear of many people from around the United States that would love to come to this library.  At the annual Summer Workshop, we even had an attendee from Switzerland! 

We are now getting ready for the conference, which be held in the Cleveland area this year.  Hundreds will be there.  Many will research at the Western Reserve Historical Society nearby. 

And why is there such an abundance of information and opportunity in our state?  Because Ohio was always on the way to somewhere!

It will be wonderful - again!

Free Offline Genealogy Tools

Week 4 – Free Offline Genealogy Tools: For which free offline genealogy tool are you most grateful? How did you find this tool and how has it benefitted your genealogy? Describe to others how to access this tool and spread the genealogy love.

This particular challenge takes me back to the days when I was a young girl getting my start in genealogy by watching my parents.

They did it the old-fashioned way - they still remember relatives born in the 1800's, and had first-hand knowledge of their stories, their recollections, their pictures, etc.  I would sit and listen and try to imagine myself living in their lifetime.  It seemed so far away...

My parents and I spent hours in courthouses, cemeteries and libraries.  My spelling and my handwriting was better than theirs, for I had received more education than they ever had the opportunity to obtain.  I would emerge from the dungeons of the courthouses covered in grit - and I LOVED it!  Some of the grit was the same grit ancestors had touched!!  I would run my hand over documents where their signatures were still visible, and wonder what their hands may have looked like.

But, nothing beats a cemetery.  As I state in the opening pages of my blog, I was in cemeteries when my mother was still pregnant with me.  My favorite picture is one where she is standing sideways on a bridge after a July 4th picnic.  She is getting ready for some cemetery transcribing just four days before I was born!

There we both are - Ida Stevens Clemens and me, Peggy.  I was born just four days later.

Once, when I was about 13 years old, my parents, my girlfriend and an older gentleman were in a cemetery on a Sunday afternoon.  Alice and I stayed together copying information, dad and mom were off on their own, and so was Brother Steele.  While all of my other friends were at the beach of the movies, I was in a cemetery.

My mother wore a wig.  Remember that.

Mom was down on her knees pulling weeds and trying to discover what was written on a sunken tombstone when she came face to face with a snake!  She jumped up and started doing this war-hoop dance and yelping.  Dad saw what was happening and came running with his brush - the kind you NEVER, ever use on a tombstone now.

Dad began beating this snake like it was an anaconda, when in fact it was about as long as one's arm.  The thing is, on the first strike, the snake got stuck in the wire bristles of the brush.  When he saw what had happened, he flung the brush upwards.  My mother looked up to see a snake headed straight down toward her.

My mother ran out from under her wig. 



But on any given day, turn me loose in a library.  Nothing beats a rainy day all cozied up in the corner of a library.  This is one of the first places I head to when on a genealogy trip.  I have hunkered down and read stories of ancestors, their neighborhoods and their neighbors that have taken me back in time and all over the world.  I don't want a tour of the library - just let me discover it all on my own...