TheGenealogist adds pre-1841 trade and residential directories

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

Take your research back before the census with the latest release from TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist has released a collection of searchable Early Trade and Residential Directories that cover the years 1816-1839 to help find ancestors in the period before the usable census records begin.

Prior to 1841 all of the U.K. censuses were generally statistical: that is, mainly headcounts, with virtually no personal information such as names recorded and so family history researchers need to turn to a substitute to find out the address where their ancestors had lived. Trade and Residential Directories list names of tradespeople, prominent citizens and in some cases other residents of a town as well.

Many of these directories will also give a good description of the town or area which can give family historians an interesting insight into the social history of their ancestors’ locality at the time. This information usually includes the main industry, topographical details, communication links with the surrounding towns by stage coach or railway, and details of local administration offices, post offices, the clergy, charities hospitals and schools.

These directory records have been digitised by TheGenealogist and made searchable by name, so they can help researchers to find their ancestors in the Georgian and very early Victorian period.

The early Trade and Residential Directories being released in this batch include volumes that cover the areas of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Derby, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Durham, Essex, Glasgow, Hampshire, London, Liverpool, Middlesex, Northumberland, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire and Suffolk.

List of Directories in this release:

Derby 1829 History, Gazetteer and Directory
Devonshire 1830 Pigot's Directory
Durham 1828 White's Directory
Essex 1832-1833 Pigot's Directory
Glasgow 1831-1832 Post Office Directory
Lincolnshire 1826/7 Directory
Liverpool 1816 Gore's Directory
London 1816 Post Office Directory
London 1819 Robson's Directory
London 1822 Post Office Directory
London and Provincial 1823-1824 New Commercial Pigot Directory
London 1824 Post Office Directory
London 1826 Post Office Directory
London 1828 Robson's Commercial Directory
London 1829 Robson's Trades Directory
London 1831 Post Office Directory
London 1833 Robson's Directory
London 1836 Post Office Directory
London 1837 Post Office Directory
London 1839 Post Office Directory
Norfolk 1830 Pigot's Directory
Northumberland 1828 White's Directory
Nottinghamshire 1832 White’s Directory
Suffolk 1830 Pigot's Directory

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.