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In genealogy today, one of my favorite resources is the city directory. Before there were telephones, these venerable publications gave loads of data about nearly every working member of a family. Then came the phone book and later the reverse phone book (if you know the phone number, you can look up who owned it and their address – if they were listed). Then their were CD phone books, and now the Internet. The paper version may well disappear soon. The electronic versions do not currently capture historical data.

I’ve had a couple of projects this year involving old phone books and reverse directories – and guess what? They are hard, or impossible, to locate. And, sometimes when you do locate them, you can’t read them (e.g. some microfiche images).

I’m going to encourage my local genealogy society to start collecting print phone books, and even to look for old ones for our area. I encourage you to do the same. Otherwise, when our kids and grand-kids go to do research, there may not be anything to help them fill the gap. I’m also going to investigate and encourage publishers to monetize their old books (if they still have them) by digitizing.

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Great news via a post on blog.EOGN.com.

Back in 2010, the political situation combined with the budget in MI resulted in a short-sighted decision by the governor to move the Library of Michigan under the Department of Education and significantly change its mission and cut its funding (including quite a number of staff). Now, at least part of the collection will be preserved and maintained by the State Archives (located in a different wing of the same building complex, and also affected in 2010, just not as severely).

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Publication Information -

Johnson, Mary K. and the Lake County Illinois Genealogical Society

Mundelein, IL: Lake County Illinois Genealogical Society

2008

Availability -

10 libraries – including Allen County, WI Hist Soc, FHL (not microfilmed)

not found online

not available at bookstores (new & used) – available from the society

Summary -

[from WorldCat, OCLC #247502255 ]
Volume 1 – Sections A & B: 3 Feb 1864-29 Jan 1910 [A covers to 28 Sep 1906; B from then to 1910]
Volume 2 – Section C: 1 Feb 1910-27 May 1915
Volume 3 – Section D: 28 May 1915-30 Dec 1920

Section A -
Data recorded includes the Surname, Given name, Date, Country of Origin, Notes & Witnesses, Volume, Page, and Index number [the latter is what is listed in the index volume]
Notes can include information such as whether the document was signed with an ‘X,’ whether it was final papers, length of time in the U.S., date and place of intention papers.

Sections B – D
Includes the information in Section A plus last foreign residence, port of entry, name of ship, birth place, occupation, date of arrival in U.S., and birth date.

Index volume – organized by surname. First names not given. Lists section and page number where surname found.

Records were transcribed (volume 1-3) and then indexed from the originals on file at the Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois.

The introduction to volume 1 describes the process used and the organization/condition of the original records (terrible). 1916 had no extant records.

Review -

Like many society-produced records, this series provides a valuable tool for accessing the original records. It is easy to use, but it would have been nice if the index included given names.

Other Reviews –

none known

Evaluation -

Check it out

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Publication Information -

Mann, Thomas
New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2005
ISBN: 0-19-518998-1

Availability -

Over 1680 libraries

Online at http://books.google.com/books?id=eAaFAPITy_QC&lr (limited preview)

bookstores (new & used) – many for under $15 used (Amazon Look Inside of 1998 edition)

Summary -

[from WorldCat, OCLC # 58050982]
[from back cover of book]
With all of the new developments in information storage and retrieval, researchers today need a clear and comprehensive overview of the full range of their options, both online and offline. In this third edition of The Oxford Guide to Library Research Thomas Mann maps out an array not just of important databases and print sources, but of several specific search techniques that can be applied profitably in any area of research. From academic resources to government documents to manuscripts in archives to business Web sites, Mann shows readers how best to exploit controlled subject headings, explains why browsing library shelves is still important in an online age, demonstrates how citation searching and related record searching produce results far beyond keyword inquiries, and offers practical tips on making personal contacts with knowledgeable people.

Throughout the book Mann enlivens his advice with real-world examples, offering along the way some energetic and reasoned arguments against those theorists who have mistakenly announced the demise of print. The Oxford Guide to Library Research offers a rich, inclusive overview of the information field, one that can save researchers countless hours of frustration in the search for the best sources on their topics.

Contents:
Preface. What research libraries can offer that the Internet cannot (both resources and search techniques) – Trade-offs of what, who, and where restrictions on free access – Hierarchy of levels of learning – Data, information, opinion, knowledge, understanding – Wisdom separate – Implications of format differences – Nine methods of subject searching – Patterns in inefficient searches
1. Initial Overviews: Encyclopedias
2. Subject Headings and the Library Catalog
3. General Browsing, Focused Browsing, and Use of Classified Bookstacks
4. Subject Headings and Indexes to Journal Articles
5. Keyword Searches
6. Citation Searches
7. Related Record Searches
8. Higher-Level Overviews: Review Articles
9. Published Bibliographies
10. Boolean Combinations and Search Limitations
11. Locating Material in Other Libraries
12. People Sources
13. Hidden Treasures
14. Special Subjects and Formats
15. Reference Sources: Searching by Types of Literature

Review -

If Val Greenwood’s “The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy” is the scholar’s guide to genealogy, this is the scholar’s guide to library/internet research, even if it is only half of Greenwood’s page count. This edition of the book has been entirely re-written to reflect use of the internet (the second edition, published in 1998, knew about the internet but really only addressed CD-ROM and mainframe-based computer databases, most of which have been superseded by internet databases which are covered in the third edition). While it may have less use in helping find specific ancestors, it will help greatly in discovering the legal, social, and historical context in which they lived. And, if the person being researched published anything from a book to a legal decision to a magazine article, you can use the techniques and resources described to uncover their body of work. The chapters on library catalogs, subject headings, and browsing can also help you when you’re exploring a large genealogical collection for the first time. I fell in love with this book when I stumbled upon a second edition in the Library of Congress bookstore during my first-ever foray into genealogical research. This third edition has kept true to that feeling.

Other Reviews –

Amazon.com & Google Books user reviews
The Australian Library Journal 49(2):183. May 2000.
Reference Reviews 20(5):6-8. 2006.

Evaluation -

Buy It!! (This should go on every serious genealogist’s bookshelf.)

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Publication Information -

E. Kay Kirkham.
Logan, UT: Everton Publishers. 1971.

Availability -

Over 250 libraries

Not found online in its entirety. Google Books has a snippet view of the 4th ed.

bookstores (new & used) – under $25, older editions under $5

Summary -

Written for genealogists, the stated purpose of this book is to provide a survey of religious records. The
author also acknowledges that the book is incomplete since only 28 states are included and not all
counties in those states are covered.

After a brief introduction and general statement, the book provides short summary histories of the ten
“major” denominations including bibliographies and mentions of any doctrinal positions that affected
record keeping. The ten denominations include: Baptist, Catholic, Church of England (Anglican Church),
Congregational, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian, and Society of Friends
(Quaker). Some descriptions include related or derivative denominations. Then follows a state-by-state
listing of holdings organized by county and major city. Each state’s entry begins with a brief overview
and bibliography. The end of the book includes a glossary and list of abbreviations.

A second volume covers “minor” denominations, but is not available for review at this time.

Review -

Considering that this edition of the book was compiled at the very beginning of the mainframe library
computer catalog era, it represents a remarkable accomplishment. Most of the material for the book was
apparently gathered via letter surveys. Still, as with most genealogy references, it continues to provide a
valuable clue to where records might be held if you are lucky enough to find your state, county, and
denomination of interest included in its entries. One of the most valuable series of resources frequently
referenced is the series of church record surveys of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Other
frequent references are to major genealogical publications, local/regional historical societies, and
denominational archives.

Other Reviews –

none known

Evaluation -

E. Kay Kirkham.
Logan, UT: Everton Publishers. 1971.

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Publication Information -

Nowlin, John. Edited by Quaife, Milo Milton.
Dearborn, MI: Dearborn Historical Commission. 6th Printing – 1992.
[Republication of an 1876 book. Footnotes and index added in 1937 by the Commission.]

Availability -

Over 300 libraries

Online at American Memory (Library of Congress) without the index or footnots

bookstores (new & used) – many for under $15

Summary -

[from WorldCat, OCLC # 105626091]

“This first-person narrative of a pioneer boyhood is intended as a tribute to the author’s parents,
who emigrated to Dearborn, Michigan, from Putnam County, New York in 1834. William Nowlin
describes his father’s frustration with subsistence on a small, debt-ridden fruit farm and his
mother’s anguish at leaving her friends, church, and relatives. He recounts the family’s
adventurous journey on the Erie Canal, the dangers of a public house in Buffalo, the perils of
their steamship voyage across Lake Erie during a storm, and the trials of establishing a new
home. Wishing to memorialize the challenges of converting wilderness into what he sees as a
prosperous and civilized community, Nowlin describes building roads, clearing the land, building
a home, fishing and hunting, handling cattle, and warding off mosquitoes, snakes, and wild
animals, all in careful detail. He remembers uneasy relations between the white community and
Native Americans, and discusses the social, legal, and moral complexities of dealing with the
fugitive slaves and free African Americans who flowed back and forth across the Canadian
border in search of freedom or job opportunities. Nowlin is conscious of the impact of modern
technology, especially the railroads, and discusses both what was raised on the family farm and
where and how it was marketed. He describes his father’s long-range strategies to enhance the
family’s material welfare, and shows how family members collaborated as an economic unit.”

Review -

The author is a true storyteller. The book is a captivating story that really gives you a feel for what it was like
to journey up the Hudson River, across the Erie Canal and Lake Erie, and into the wilderness of Michigan.
Among the images that have stayed with me: description of clearing the “road” to get from town to their
property, visits by the Indians. The location where the Nowlin’s settled is not far from today’s Henry Ford
Museum / Greenfield Village – an area of dense suburban life.

Other Reviews –

none known

Evaluation -

Check it out