Mine city directories for ancestors

Published 4:57 pm Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Gary Zimmerman, president of the Fiske Genealogy Library, presents “Using City Directories For Your Research” at the April 12 general meeting of the Clallam County Genealogical Society.

The meeting starts at 10 a.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 Blake Ave., Sequim. Refreshments are served. The Fiske Genealogical Foundation owns the Seattle Library, has board of seven members. The Seattle Library staff assists persons doing research on their family histories for the area from the Atlantic seaboard westward to the tier of states down the west bank of the Mississippi River and also in the Old Oregon Country. It also collects resources from the European countries that supplied immigrants to its focus states.

Directories, originally created for salesmen, merchants and others interested in contacting residents of an area, are important because they fill the gap between censuses. Some date to the 1700s but most were published annually or semi-annually beginning in the mid- to late 1800s. They list names of adults, children, occupations, employers’ names, home addresses and spouses’ names. Some had advertising, death notices and even relocation addresses.

Call 417-5000 for more information.

The Clallam County Genealogical Society’s research center is at 402 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles, and is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.