An ongoing journal of the history of the Bolles Family. From the first settler, Joseph Bolles of Wells, Maine in 1640, all past and present facts, thoughts, events, research and items of interest on this and allied families.
Meanwhile, we support the good work—and the rights—of thousands of
genealogists who share their own research, photos and other data online.
Users should be able to share in good faith that it will be appreciated
but not misappropriated.
Whether you’re the one sharing or you want to use what others have
posted, here’s the short answer—and the long answer—to the question,
“Who owns my content when I post it on a genealogy website?”
Copyright basics for genealogists
Before we answer that question, it’s helpful to define a key term here: copyright. According to Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, author of Carmack’s Guide to Copyright and Contracts,
copyright is “the right to make and distribute copies of a work, to
create adaptations or derivative works (such as making a painting from a
photograph) and to perform or display the work. Only the copyright
holder owns these rights, unless she transfers them to someone else. One
way this can be done is by signing a contract to allow a magazine to
publish her article. If someone wrongfully uses her material, she can
sue.”
Most of us understand how and why copyright law protects, say, the
author of a book against those who would steal its content and pass it
off as their own. But how does this apply to the photos or other content
you post online at a genealogy website?
Copyright on user-submitted content on genealogy websites
Find a Grave
Generally speaking, genealogy websites only want to you to post
material you own—and according to their terms of service, you retain
that ownership. Practically speaking (for them), this keeps websites
from being liable if individual users violate copyright laws. For
example, Find A Grave’s Terms of Service (now
part of Ancestry.com’s Terms of Service) say, “You have all the
necessary legal rights to upload or post your User Provided Content” and
“Any User Provided Content you provide complies with the Ancestry Community Rules.” By submitting content, you’re agreeing to abide by this statement.
It’s up to you to determine whether you own the content you want to post. Copyright protects different kinds of materials for specific periods of time. Also, your physical ownership of an old item doesn’t automatically mean you own the rights to it. Read this article about how to identify copyright holders and obtain permission.
Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com’s copyright policy
makes it clear what rights Ancestry has regarding the photos and other
items you submit: “… by submitting User Provided Content through any of
the Services, you grant Ancestry a perpetual, sublicensable, worldwide, non-revocable,
royalty-free license to host, store, copy, publish, distribute, provide
access to, create derivative works of, and otherwise use such User
Provided Content to the extent and in the form or context we deem
appropriate on or through any media or medium and with any technology or
devices now known or hereafter developed or discovered. This includes
the right for Ancestry to copy, display, and index your User Provided
Content. Ancestry will own the indexes it creates.” (emphasis added).
MyHeritage
Genealogy website MyHeritage.com expands on what it means to be a licensed distributor of your content in its Terms and Conditions:
“By posting content on the Website, you grant us a royalty-free,
worldwide, perpetual and non-exclusive license to host, copy, post and
distribute such content” (emphasis added).
The ways genealogy websites distribute your content vary by site. For
example, at MyHeritage.com, users build individual family trees on
their own family websites and invite other relatives to view them on an
individual basis. Beyond that, users can set their trees (and whatever
content is contained in them) to be private or publicly searchable and
viewable to those who aren’t part of their family websites. Within this
system, MyHeritage expects other users to respect content ownership:
“Copying information or photos from other family sites without the
permission of their owners is prohibited and members who do this are at
risk of being banned from the Service at the discretion of MyHeritage.”
The MyHeritage terms do acknowledge that “inviting other members to
your family site, or accepting their membership requests, will give
these members access to the family site and they might copy parts of
it.” Furthermore, once shared, content “may become accessible to all
persons accessing the Website or any websites in the MyHeritage Website
Group, depending on permission settings in your control.”
FamilySearch.org
Compare this model with the free, not-for-profit FamilySearch.org.
There, users contribute research knowledge, images, and other data to a
single, massive and totally public community tree. User-contributed
content attached to the profiles of deceased individuals are viewable,
downloadable and printable for personal, noncommercial use by others.
The FamilySearch Terms of Use
reflect its collaborative intent: “We may utilize Contributed Content,
including any personal information of living individuals, that you
submit for the purpose of collaborating and sharing with other
individuals and organizations (including commercial genealogical
organizations) in order, for example, to create a global common
pedigree.”
How to maintain the content-sharing you want
As you can see by the comparison between these two sites, it’s
important to always read a site’s terms of use and privacy policies:
Always read the user agreements carefully. Then, consider the level
of privacy you want for your tree data, images and other materials you
may upload. On the sites you already use, adjust your privacy settings
to best reflect your level of comfort with sharing. If those sites can’t
offer something you’re comfortable with, consider deleting your data.
Other users may not follow the rules
Wherever and however you choose to share your research data, you may
still find site users not abiding by the rules. Some researchers believe
that once material is posted on a genealogy website, it’s “fair game,”
whatever any rules or laws may say to the contrary. If it’s important to
you that researchers ask your permission to use your content, consider
politely requesting that in the notes field of the item you upload.
Tips for abiding by the rules
To be sure you’re always respectful of the content others post,
consider these rules of thumb. Copyright applies to creative and written
works, such as a photo or document, but not to facts, according to
Debartolo Carmack. Copyright also doesn’t apply to “government-created,
genealogically useful documents including military service records,
birth certificates, census schedules.” But it might apply to someone’s
digital image of that document. To be safe, view and extract information
from records posted by others. Cite the records. But ask permission
before saving or downloading that image.
Finally, you’ll also want to consider privacy issues for your DNA data as well. Read this Q&A
for expert information about DNA data ownership, terms of use by
genetic genealogy companies, misuse of genetic information and more.
Last updated, September 2018. The information above reflects website terms of service at that time.
Photos and papers dominate most genealogy collections, and we usually think of expensive items like jewelry or watches
when imagining precious heirlooms. But your family history collection
might well include your ancestors’ books, magazines and other bound,
made-for-the-public materials.
Here’s how to preserve old books and magazines, be they your grandfather’s copy of War and Peace or your aunt’s collection of Time magazines. The advice below also applies to publications like city directories, or keepsakes like family Bibles.
1. Keep Books and Magazines Off the Ground
A quote attributed to Dr. Seuss advises, “Fill your house with stacks
of books/In all the crannies and all the nooks. Seuss knew a thing or
two about storing books—cool, dark crannies and nooks (including
bookshelves, closets, cupboards, and cabinets) are all good places to
preserve a precious personal library. Don’t pile—elevate.
Keep books off the floor, where dust, pet hair, or flooding can cause
damage, and be mindful of light from lamps or windows that can cause
irreversible damage to covers and pages. Books in good condition can be
stored vertically or flat on sturdy shelves. If you must stack, avoid
tall piles that exert extreme pressure on the bottom volumes,
potentially weakening the binding or spine.
2. Handle the Publications with Care
Wash your hands before working with your collection. Don’t grab a
book by the spine when removing it from a shelf; fabric bindings fade,
and leather bindings become dry and cracked. Instead, move the books on
either side of it to create some space, then lightly pinch the covers of
the book with your thumb and forefinger.
To view the inside pages, cradle the book on a soft pillow to avoid cracking and damaging the binding.
3. Lightly Clean Books, but Hire Professionals for Repairs
You can clean dusty books with a vacuum’s brush attachment or an
artist’s brush. Never try to repair a book’s bind or pages with adhesive
tape. Consult a book conservator for help with foxing, broken spines,
and torn pages; find one through the American Institute for Conservation.
4. Get the Right Storage Supplies
Use dust covers or slipcases to protect special books from light and
dust damage, or cover them with acid-free archival paper or polyester
book jackets. Store each book individually, in a fitted acid-free box.
If the box is too large, add a bit of crumbled acid-free tissue so the
book fits snugly.
For magazines, remove any staples and stack the issues (perhaps each
encased in a polyester-archival magazine sleeve, to prevent handling
damage) in a same-size acid-free archival box.
Take extra precaution. Modern magazines, with their photo-heavy
glossy pages that tend to stick together when damp, should especially be
stored in locations with consistent humidity and temperature.
“Bookworms” might be people who loves books, but literal pests like
booklice pose a threat to your old volumes. Place insect traps near book
and magazine storage, and check regularly for any pests who love to eat
up pages.
6. Do Not Laminate Pages
If you or your ancestor was featured in a magazine or book, don’t be
tempted to preserve the event by laminating the page or encasing it in
resin on a wooden block. Instead, scan the page, print in full color,
and frame for display. It’s a simple and inexpensive solution that
protects the original and shares the news with your entire family.
Gravestone cleaning can turn back the wheels of time to make
your ancestor’s final resting place nearly as beautiful as the day their family
members gathered there to wish them farewell.
Time has been hard on gravestones that were originally
considered nearly permanent. Weathering, erosion, neglect, and vandalism have all
taken their toll.
While some of this damage cannot be reversed, in other cases,
preservation and prevention can make all the difference. And as more
people become interested in genealogical research, there is a greater
desire to preserve what is left of our ancestor’s legacies in stone.
By cleaning and caring for historic resting places you can
provide an opportunity for future generations to glimpse the past. Then burial
grounds will become treasures of information that would otherwise have been
forgotten or lost.
Cleaning gravestones can preserve them for future generations. Photo Credit
BillionGraves and Save
Your Stones
BillionGraves has partnered with the gravestone preservation company Save Your Stones to provide you with the best guidelines and tools for cleaning your family headstones.
The owner of Save Your Stones, Jarrod Roll, is a
professional museum curator in Sparta, Wisconsin. Roll was trained
during graduate school to clean stone, so it was a natural step for him
to begin a gravestone preservation business.
Save Your Stones now brings its 13 years of gravestone
cleaning expertise to BillionGraves. You will benefit by being able to
not only clean your ancestor’s headstones with a BillionGraves
Gravestone Cleaning Kit but also take photos with the free BillionGraves
app. The gravestones will not only shine again, but they will have a
GPS-linked image posted on BillionGraves.com for your family members to
enjoy for generations to come.
Why Should You Clean a Gravestone?
There are two main reasons to clean a gravestone. First, it may need to be cleaned to preserve its structural integrity.
For example, plant roots can creep into the stone and cause cracking
that may split the stone. Lichen can eat away at the surface causing it
to crumble.
And second, plant growth or darkening can obscure names, dates, and
other data. Correct and careful cleaning procedures, as used by
professional conservationists, can keep the stone readable and prevent future deterioration.
When Should You NOT Clean a Gravestone?
Before you get started, it is important to decide if a headstone really needs to be cleaned.
Sometimes cleaning is done needlessly. For instance, it can be easy
to mistake the natural patina of aging for dirt. Marble headstones will
not look as white as the day they were set because the nature of marble
is to change color as it is exposed to the elements. It may be best to
leave those stones alone.
Next, consider the effect that cleaning solutions and methods will
have on the stone. Then weigh the benefits against the potential risk of
possibly damaging the surface. Cleaning may only make damage worse if
the gravestone is already flaking or peeling.
Finally, assess the stability of the monument. Sometimes after
careful consideration, it may be best to decide to leave the gravestone
in its current state.
Avoid cleaning the headstone just to honor the memory of your loved
one. Only clean it if it is really needed. Bless your heart for wanting
to do it, but let’s find other ways to keep their memory alive!
Cleaning the orange lichen from this gravestone has made all the difference. Photo Credit
Sources of Gravestone Damage
There are several reasons you will want to consider gravestone
cleaning. Cleaning can be so important to prevent decay to the stone.
Damage is caused to gravestones by . . .
Biological growth
Soiling
Staining
Understand Laws and Regulations
BillionGraves subscriber, Doug McCallum, the son of a cemetery
commissioner, said, “It is critical to know the local ordinances. In
some places, cleaning any stone – no matter how safe the product – would
be considered vandalism and may make you subject to large fines. It is
100% important to ask permission before doing any modification to a stone.”
McCallum’s father noted that some Revolutionary War monuments in the
northeastern United States were being damaged by well-intentioned
people.
So please, use common sense in considering the condition of a
gravestone. Be careful, seek permission, and check online for any
pertinent cemetery, city, county, state, or federal ordinances
pertaining to the area where you wish to clean a gravestone.
Source of Gravestone
Damage #1: Biological Growth
Biological growth in the cemetery is just what it sounds
like – living things growing on the gravestones such as moss, lichen, algae,
fungi, mold, and other plant life. And while a headstone covered with ivy or
fringed with moss and lichen may give a sense of antiquity and nostalgia to the
cemetery, it is also extremely damaging. If left untreated, biological growth
can cause headstones to crack, crumble, and split over time.
Algae, fungi, and lichen
Algae, fungi, and lichen may be green, gray, black, red,
orange, yellow, blue, or brown. These organisms can damage headstones by
trapping moisture on the stone and beneath the surface of the stone. Then as
temperatures change, the moisture freezes and thaws. Consequently, thermal
expansion and contraction cause cracking
and flaking.
The trapped moisture also continues to foster the growth of
additional algae, fungi, and lichen, which extend into the pores of the stone.
Then as the moisture levels fluctuate, the “roots” or hyphae of these living
organisms swell and shrink causing cracking, peeling, and flaking to occur.
Plants
Plants – such as grass, ivy, moss, and ferns – that grow on or under
gravestones can be damaging because their roots penetrate the stone and
cause splitting. And like algae, fungi, and lichen, they also trap
moisture.
If you’ve ever seen a dandelion or a blade of grass poking up through
a cement driveway or causing a sidewalk to heave, you understand the
power of tiny plant roots!
Acids
Plants, lichen, moss, algae and other natural growths can
contain acid. Acidic substances can be damaging to some types of stone and it
can become more severe over time.
For example, marble is composed primarily of calcium carbonate.
Lichen secretes an acid that can dissolve the calcite. This can cause a loss of
carving details, erosion to the surface, and even damage the structural
integrity of the headstone.
Source of Gravestone
Damage #2: Soiling
Dirt often settles on flat gravestones. Cleaning can make the data readable again. Photo Credit
Flat grave markers are particularly susceptible to damage from dirt,
soil, and mud. Dirt that penetrates into the pores of the stone can
cause a dingy appearance. It can also lead to staining. For example,
minerals in the soil, such as iron, can leach into the headstone and
cause rust-colored stains.
If a headstone sinks into the ground over time and is later
raised and reset, an obvious line of soiling can be visible. Soil can also
retain moisture after snow and rainfall, leading to the growth of mildew and
mold.
Even upright headstones can be damaged and eroded by airborne dirt in windstorms. This is a
particular concern in deserts where cemetery ground is frequently left bare.
For cemeteries located near factories or in large cities
with lots of traffic, air pollution can be a problem. Pollutants can interact
with the stone, changing the appearance and etching the surface.
The National Center for Preservation Training and Technology (NCPTT)
states that “sulfur dioxide produced through manufacturing processes
and vehicle exhaust can interact with marble surfaces to cause gypsum
crusts. These crusts can capture soil and pollution particles to create
rough, gray surfaces.”
Source of Gravestone
Damage #3: Staining
Gravestones near trees or bushes are at risk for staining
from two sources: sap and animals.
Overhanging tree branches and plants may drip sap onto gravestones.
Sap contains resins that can be difficult to remove. Sugar in the sap
can attract insects, which may lay eggs or burrow into the stone. The
sap sugars also provide a source of food for mildew and mold. Bushes and
shrubs sometimes have falling berries that can stain headstone
surfaces.
Animal urine, feces, and bird droppings can leave
gravestones with brown, yellow or white stains that become set into the pores
of the stone. These stains may be difficult to remove, depending on the
animal’s diet.
Headstone Cleaning Tips
Here are some dos and don’ts for gravestone cleaning.
DON’T
Don’t do anything that will damage the surface of the headstone
Don’t use common household cleaners
Don’t use strong bases or acids
Don’t use power tools, such as sanders or drills with wire brushes
Don’t sandblast
Don’t use power washers or pressure over 300 psi
Don’t use bleach
Don’t use cleaners with salt in them
Don’t rub the gravestone surface with hard-bristled brushes
Don’t scrape the gravestone surface with anything harder than the stone
DO
Do no harm!
Choose the gentlest cleaning method possible
Do read and follow product manufacturer’s guidelines
Do use good safety practices
Do test small areas before cleaning the entire headstone
Do keep the stone wet as you work
Do obtain the approval of other family members before cleaning
Gravestone Cleaning
Supplies
Water
Water mister, spray bottle, bucket, or hose
Soft plastic scraper
Soft bristle brushes
Wooden pick
D/2 Biological Solution
Safety glasses (optional)
Gloves (optional)
Water
First and most important is water. Water will not damage the
stone and should be used first to gently wash away dirt, soil, and dried grass
clippings. Before you use chemical cleaners,
wet the surface of the stone. Then as you are working, continually keep
rewetting the stone to avoid letting the cleaner dry on the surface.
Water will keep the gravestone from getting damaged as you
clean, so it is essential to either locate a source of water at the cemetery or
bring water with you. If the cemetery has a water source you can use, bring a
bucket or jug to transport it.
If you have traveled from out of town to clean your ancestor’s
gravestone, you could purchase a gallon of distilled water to take with you to
the cemetery.
Plastic scraper
Gravestones may be safely cleaned with the same methods conservators use. Photo Credit
Use a soft plastic scraper to gently remove biological
overgrowth, such as moss or lichen. Scrapers should be softer than the stone
itself and may be made of pliable plastic or silicone.
Brushes
When it comes to using brushes for gravestone cleaning, think of the
surface as being like the enamel on your teeth. The bristles need to be
soft enough to do no damage but firm enough to get the job done.
The brush may be made of natural fibers or soft nylon. With
any brush you use, run your fingers over the bristles, checking for gentle pliability. If there are any metal or
rough edges, they should be covered with duct tape to avoid accidentally
scratching the stone.
Wooden Pick
A wooden pick can be useful to remove lichen or algae,
especially if it is growing in indentations or etched lettering.
D/2 Biological
Solution
Cleaners used on gravestones should be the gentlest possible
choice to get the job done. D/2 is a gentle biocide and very effective for
headstones covered in biological growth – lichen, moss, fungi, algae, and
plants.
D/2 Biological
Solution was designed by conservators for conservators. It was successfully
tested in a 6-year study. Finally, it was recognized
as the official cleaner of the Department of Veteran Affairs National
Cemetery Administration and specified to be used on U.S. military gravestones.
Historic Monuments Cleaned with D/2
Conservationists have used D/2 to clean millions of historic
buildings and monuments as well as for gravestone cleaning. Here are
some of the historic places that have been cleaned and restored using a D/2 biocide:
Gravestones at Arlington Cemetery
The White House
The New York City Public Library
The Washington Monument
The state of Washington capitol
The Biltmore Estate (the largest private home in
America)
Burial Hill (one of the oldest cemeteries in
America)
Frank Lloyd
Wright’s Taliesin estate
Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry
The Alamo
There are many more but that is enough to give you the idea . . .
this is a respected, well-researched product that has been used on some
of the finest buildings and monuments in the world.
Using D/2
If there is landscaping near
the gravestone you plan to clean, spray them with water before starting.
Wetting flowers, grass, and foliage first will help protect them from
overspray.
Safety
D/2 is non-toxic but may irritate eyes and skin. Safety glasses and
gloves are an optional precaution. Masks may be worn if there is a
danger of overspray on windy days. Always read the label on the cleaning
product you are using and follow the manufacturer’s guidelines.
This video demonstrates a gravestone being cleaned. Click on the arrow to start the video.
Methods for
Gravestone Cleaning
Using the proper cleaning methods will protect the stone and
protect you.
Gravestone Test Spot
Before spraying the entire stone with a chemical cleaner, it
is a good idea to do a small test spot in
an inconspicuous area to ensure you won’t be damaging the stone. If you wish, use
painter’s tape to mark off a small square near the base or back of the
gravestone. Spray the area inside the taped off section with water and then
follow with D/2. Gently brush the sprayed square with a soft brush to test the
results.
Soak with Water
When you are ready to clean the headstone, wet the entire surface
with water. If you don’t have an easy source of water at the cemetery,
purchase gallons of distilled water or fill water jugs at home to bring
with you.
Large spray misters are helpful for large monuments and small hand spray bottles of water are fine for small stones.
Stone is very porous and absorbent. Spraying with water liberally will keep the cleaner on the surface and out of the pores.
What a remarkable difference between the before and after photos of this gravestone! Photo by Save Your Stones
Cleaning the
Gravestone
Start cleaning from the bottom of the stone and work your
way up. This will minimize the effects of streaking if the cleaner runs down
the surface.
Scrape off any large clumps of biological growth with a
plastic or wood scraper. Rinse.
Spray the cleaner generously over the surface of the stone
in an area that can be easily worked before it dries out. Then allow the
biocide to sit on the stone for about 10-15 minutes. Next, gently scour the
stone in small circular motions with a soft brush. Work the cleaner into the
crevices and lettering.
It is better to scrub gently several times over the same
area than to try to scrub too hard on the first attempt. Watch carefully for
any damage to the stone your pressure may cause and if you see flaking, stop and
reassess your methods.
Work in Sections
Spray D/2 Biological Solution generously on the gravestone. Allow
to sit for about 5 minutes. Remember, if you are cleaning a large monument work
in sections. Keep the gravestone wet as you work by continually spraying it with
D/2.
It is helpful to use varying brush sizes for different areas
of the tombstone. Use a wooden pick to remove debris and growth from etched
lettering and detailed carvings.
Repeat these steps as needed to remove persistent stains and
growth.
Finally, rinse the stone when you are done cleaning,
striving to leave no visible cleaner on the surface.
D/2 Cleans and Keeps
on Cleaning
You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that even after you have cleaned a gravestone with D/2 Biological Cleaner it will continue to clean the headstone on its own for the next few weeks to months -without you having to anything else.
As the cleaner seeps into the pores of the stone it will kill more
biological growth. And you will be able to see a noticeable lightening
of the stone during this time.
Photograph with the BillionGraves App
Finally, take a photo of your newly cleaned gravestone using the BillionGraves app
on your smartphone. To get the app, go to the App Store on an iPhone
or the Google Play Store on an Android phone. Using the app is quick
and easy.
In fact, it’s so easy that you can take about 250 photos per hour as a
beginner. That means you could photograph ALL the gravestones in your
ancestor’s cemetery!
GPS coordinates will automatically be linked to the images as you
take the photos. GPS markers are then posted on satellite maps, so
others can also find their ancestor’s gravestones by entering a name on
their BillionGraves app. (Click HERE to learn how to use the BillionGraves app to find a particular gravestone in a cemetery.)
When you upload your photos you will be given the option to transcribe the data yourself or have another volunteer transcribe it.
The information will then be available online for families
around the world for generations to come!
Rachel Christian
New Media Editor Family Tree Magazine
I’ll
admit, I’m not the most organized person. Without a doubt the thing
that most easily gets out of hand for me is…my to-do lists! I’m guilty
of randomly jotting down to-do items on spare envelopes and sticky
notes, which just ends up as a big disorganized mess.
I’ve
since sought help for my chronic to-do listing, and I’ve learned a
system that helps me contain the chaos, and this method can also easily
be applied to organizing genealogy research tasks. My method is based on this blog post from Art of Manliness author Brett McKay, who based his method off of the book First Things First by Stephen R. Covey.
The
first step is to set recurring planning times. I like to have these
planning sessions once a week and it usually takes me about an hour.
Next,
you will need three lists. I keep mine in the Notes app on my phone.
You can call these lists whatever you like but they each serve a
specific purpose. I call my lists In Tray, Back Burner, and Projects.
Go
in to your In Tray and write down all the genealogy tasks, to-dos,
research questions and miscellaneous thoughts you can think of: search
for that record, contact that cousin, fact-check that record hint, check
out that book, update your tree…everything. Don’t hold back! By the end
you should have a long list.
Next, go through each item line by line. If an item can be accomplished in two minutes or less, go ahead and do it right then and there. Be honest with yourself, a two-minute genealogy task can easily grow into a whole night of research!
If
an item can’t be done in two minutes or less, estimate roughly how long
it will take you to accomplish that task and put in on your calendar or
schedule.
Now,
you will likely come to an item that takes multiple steps to
accomplish. When this happens, the item becomes a Project. Take that
item, move it to the Projects list, and list out of all the steps it
will take to accomplish that item. Then, repeat the same process (doing
the quick tasks right away and scheduling the rest).
Of
course, eventually you will run out of time in the week and this is
where your final list comes in: the Back Burner. Take all the remaining
items in your In Tray that haven’t been crossed off, scheduled, or made
into Projects and move them to the Back Burner.
If
you’ve made it this far, breathe a sigh of relief because you did it!
You organized your genealogy research to-dos and created a system for
keeping them organized in the future.
Now,
anytime a new thought, question or task comes to you just put it in
your In Tray. The next time you have a planning session, rinse and
repeat.
Online memorials are a lovely option for family and friends who want
to share stories of a deceased loved one. In addition to your memories
and tributes, it’s a great way to share pictures and condolences. There
are a lot of options these days and many of them are very easy to use.
If you’re looking to create a page for someone you’ve lost, these are
some of our favorite options.
In addition to providing guidance and support to those who have
recently lost a loved one, Ever Loved (formerly Wonderful Life) also
offers you the ability to create online memorials or obituaries. Anyone
who wishes to share photos, stories, or condolences on your memorial
page can do so after easily creating an account. Users can also
subscribe to the memorial so they receive a notification anytime a
photo, story, or other update is added to the memorial.
Archive your loved one’s Facebook account following these instructions.
This adds “Remembering” to the person’s profile name, removes the page
from public search, and lets connected Facebook members post to the
person’s timeline (depending on the privacy settings).
Registered members of this burial database and companion app can
search for a deceased relative’s name. Then add photos, virtual flowers
or a note to the listing. If the relative isn’t in Find A Grave, click
Add a Memorial to enter his or her information.
Here, you can add photos and stories to an existing memorial or to a
new one you create. Click the Memorials tab to search for memorial pages
to those who died on the USS Arizona or while serving in the Vietnam
War, or to other veterans (US Honor Wall). To start a new page, select
Create a Memorial and follow the prompts.
Here, create a free public or invite-only memorial site with words,
photos, video, music, a guest book and more. It’ll stay viewable for two
weeks, after which you can purchase a renewable annual sponsorship to
reactivate it for a year.
This free site and app by Ancestry lets you create an attractive
memorial. Share it so others can add their photos and memories (they’ll
need to register with the site). If you have an Ancestry account, the
same login works here, and vice versa.
With its goal to connect pages for individuals into a single,
collaborative family tree, this wiki will appeal to avid genealogy
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Written by Maureen A. Taylor, unless otherwise noted
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Ever wish you could find out what your family was doing between the decennial US census enumerations?
You can. City directories and similar listings provide a
regular—usually, annual or biannual—glimpse into the everyday lives of
your ancestors, from employment to residences to what they did with
their leisure time. Simply put, they can put your ancestor in a time and
place, making it easier to locate other genealogical records.
This guide will guide you to the directories likely to name your kin,
and help you mine these listings for every possible ancestral clue. Here’s how to find and read old city directories.
Types of Directories
Names and addresses are the fundamental components of directories.
Beyond that, directories may differ, with their focus on various
populations, listings by house number or name, additional details about
individuals, and other supplemental content. The basic types of
directories of interest to genealogists are:
City directories
Similar to phone books, city directories list residents of a
particular locale. (Despite the name, some also covered small towns and
rural areas.) Two prominent publishers of these books, which usually
came out annually or biannually for a given area, were R.L. Polk &
Co., and Williams.
The first US city directories as we know them today were issued in
Philadelphia in 1785 by two competing companies. Many other cities
followed suit.
City directories were originally intended for businessmen to find
customers, so the earliest ones may name only property owners, employed
individuals (which excludes most women) or socially prominent citizens.
Later directories usually list heads of households with their spouses
and adult children.
Information given varies with the time and place, but generally includes
name
address
occupation
employer
marital status
whether he or she owns the residence, rents or boards.
The latter details are usually indicated by abbreviations such as bds (boards), rms (rooms), wid (widow) and stu (student), and shortened occupation titles such as hrnsmkr (harness maker). You also might see names abbreviated, such as Chas (Charles) or Wm
(William). We provide a list of common abbreviations below, and you can
look in the front or back sections of a directory for a key to other
abbreviations it uses.
By the mid-19th century, directories often included supplemental
local information, such as local government details; maps; guides to
street-name changes and renumberings; lists of churches, clubs and
organizations; categorized lists of businesses; and “criss-cross
directories” with lists of residents by the street name and house
number. You might even find a list of deaths with the age of the
deceased, births in that year, and where former residents moved.
House directories
These handy volumes contain information similar to city directories,
but they’re arranged by street and house number instead of surname—a
criss-cross directory, but in its own volume. These give you a picture
of each household, letting you see generations that resided together or
lived near each other. You’ll get a feel for an ancestral neighborhood,
from who lived there to nearby churches and businesses.
Beware of street numbering changes, which can make it appear your
ancestor moved when he didn’t. Double-check addresses using city
directories.
Unfortunately, separate house directories are limited, mostly to
larger cities and towns. Be sure to check the back sections of city
directories for criss-cross listings.
Business directories
While city and house directories may contain business information
within general listings or in a separate section, business directories
list only businesses. For a given area, they’re usually organized in
alphabetical order, but sometimes arranged by type of business, such as
jewelry manufacturing, or auto dealers.
Two caveats for researching in business directories: These aren’t
available for all locations or time periods, and they may not be
all-inclusive. Not all companies participated in the publication.
Trade directories
You also might find a directory of businesses in a single category
that covers the entire country, such as Seeger and Guernsey’s Cyclopaedia of the Manufactures and Products of the United States (several editions of which are available free through Google Books) or Farley’s Reference Directory of Booksellers, Stationers, and Printers in the US and Canada (published since 1886; with various editions available on Internet Archive).
Professional directories, which usually cover the whole country, list
prominent professionals and tradespeople such as railway workers,
doctors or lawyers.
Telephone directories
You can view the first phone book, dated 21 February 1878 (shortly
after Alexander Graham Bell made his first successful telephone call),
online at Old Telephone Books.
It’s a single sheet of 50 business subscribers—with no addresses or
phone numbers—to the New Haven, Conn., telephone exchange. As the number
of people with phone service increased, telephone directories began to
resemble their contemporary descendants.
Naturally, for your ancestor to appear in a telephone directory, he
had to own a telephone. Most cities had both city directories and
telephone directories until phone service became ubiquitous. Phone
directories replaced city directories for the most part in the mid-20th
century.
How to Find Directories
All major cities had city directories by the mid-19th century. Rural
communities might be covered in directories for nearby cities, and/or in
directories titled by region. The introduction of house and business
directories varies with the place; you might find these combined with a
city directory.
If you’re not sure whether a directory exists for the community
you’re interested in, you could ask at the local library or check the
state listings in the online microforms catalog from Gale (filter collections by the word Directories).
Directories are relatively easy to find on microfilm, and even
better, they’re increasingly available online. Here’s how to find the
ones you need.
Libraries
The main branch of the library where your ancestors lived
is a great starting point for city, business and house directories from
that place, whether on paper, microfilm or online. Large municipal and
county libraries may have directories for nearby cities, other major
cities in the state, and “feeder” regions—common places of origin for
settlers of that area.
Also look for local directories at historical societies, state
archives and libraries, and university libraries. Some libraries have
old phone books, but they were printed on poor-quality paper and usually
tossed when the next year’s edition was printed.
Directory collections at large genealogical libraries may cover
cities across the United States. If you live near Washington, DC, you
can use the country’s largest city directory collection at the Library of Congress.
The Family History Library in Salt Lake City also has directories. Search the online catalog by place, then look under the directories heading to see what’s available.
Don’t live near a library whose directory collection covers your
ancestral hometown? You may be able to borrow directories on microfilm
or microfiche via interlibrary loan. Ask your reference librarian for
help making the request; it’ll cost roughly $5 to $10 per borrowed item
and you’ll need to use it in your library.
City directories online
City and other directories are becoming increasingly easy to find online. A great starting point is Online Historical Directories,
where genealogist Miriam Robbins categorizes links to online
directories (both free and fee-based) by country, state and county. Use
the Home drop-down at top right to navigate her site.
The print quality often isn’t great in these books—which, after all,
were meant to be used only until the next edition came out. Optical
character recognition (OCR) indexing can make it difficult to search for
names on pages where the OCR software couldn’t “read” the text. When
your name search doesn’t find someone who should be there, browse the
pages.
Local library websites
If you’re lucky, your ancestor’s local library will have digitized
city directories—look for a link to If you’re lucky, your ancestor’s
local library will have digitized city directories—look for a link to
genealogy databases or digital resources. Scrolling the alphabetical
listings is a good idea no matter where you find your digital directory.
Perhaps because of the size of the collection, many people think that
if the directory isn’t on Ancestry.com, it doesn’t exist. Yes,
Ancestry’s collection is enormous, but it doesn’t have everything.
Though Ancestry.com’s collection of city directories is massive, it
doesn’t include all of the ones that have been published. The local
public library and other websites can help you fill in the gaps.
Besides hosting the Wayback Machine, Internet Archive has digitized
millions of items, including city and county directories. To find them,
begin with a basic search of city directory or county directory (For example, Indianapolis city directory or Nassau county directory.)
Use the same search strategy that you would on Internet Archive.
However, be aware that some results may only be a snippet or preview of
the full directory.
If the local public library doesn’t have the directory you need and
you can’t find it digitized online, look it up in WorldCat to see what
other libraries have it.
Portions of this section written by Amy Johnson Crow
12 Ways to Use City Directories
Working backward a year at a time, check directories for each year
your ancestor lived. Keep track of each mention of him or her, the
details of the listing, and the source of the information in the sheet
on the last page of this workbook. You’ll be creating a timeline for their lives and sorting out clues you can use to.
Read on for some ways you can use city directories.
1. Find more records
Directories are full of clues to direct you to additional records.
When a woman suddenly appears in a directory as a widow, you’ve narrowed
the window for her husband’s death. The employer or occupation could
direct you to occupational records, or at least let you learn more about the work a person did. A notation that the person owned his home will send you to research deed records in the county. The first date an immigrant ancestor appears in a directory could be a useful clue when looking for naturalization records. If you’re looking for church, synagogue or religious school records, start with churches of your ancestor’s religion that were near his residence.
Finally, the address, occupation and other details can help you identify the right person in other genealogical records.
2. Fill in blanks
In areas and times where decennial US census records are missing—including virtually the entire enumeration for 1890—city
directories can serve as a substitute source. Once you have a good idea
of the place your ancestor lived during the census, check city
directories for those areas. Unsure where the person lived? Try
searching large databases of directories, such as Ancestry.com’s.
3. Browse the census
If your problem isn’t missing census records but instead an ancestor missing from the US census,
find his address in the city directory published nearest to that
census. Then use the address to determine the census enumeration
district and browse records for that district.
4. Track movements
A sudden appearance or disappearance tells you a person moved in or
out, or died (although it could take new residents a couple of years to
be listed in a directory). If a young woman goes missing from her
parents’ household, try looking for her in marriage records. Creating a
timeline of a person’s appearances in city directories and other records
can help you track confusing migrations, separate same-named
individuals and solve other research brick walls.
Example: I often use city directories to track my
relatives’ lives from year to year. I can see subtle (and occasionally
dramatic) changes in the household. These events are not captured by
censuses taken only every 10 years. For example, the life of the young
WWII veteran John Felix unfolds in Pueblo city directories in the years
following that 1945 entry:
As you can see, by 1948, John’s a married man. He and my grandmother
Barbara are both in the workforce. She’s a telephone operator and he’s a
driver. Within two years, Barbara has become a stay-at-home mother and
John is a foreman at the Sun Valley Dairy, a position he still holds in
the 1952 directory. By 1956, he has taken a job at the Sinton Dairy, and
the family has moved from Siloam to Bear Creek Canyon. The next three
years see him holding steady as a plant employee at Sinton.
Example written by Sunny Morton
5. Establish family groups
Same-surnamed individuals listed at the same address are likely
related—just don’t assume it’s always a parent-child or a sibling
relationship; a cousin or daughter-in-law may have moved in. Also
consider that folks with the same last name who work for the same
employer or live next door could be relatives. Note that MyHeritage’s
directories allow you to easily view who else lived at an address.
Example: The residential listings in city
directories may include your ancestors’ address; names of adults and
their occupations. In addition, they’ll reveal whether they rented,
owned or boarded at their residence; and their addresses. Occasionally
other gems appear, too. Take a look at this listing for my grandfather
and great-grandparents in the 1945 Pueblo, Colorado city directory.
Entry in the 1945 Pueblo, Colorado city directory
This entry, digitized on Ancestry.com, shows my great-grandfather’s
death date and age at death. His son, my grandfather, is listed beneath
him. His occupation as “USA” hints at his recent release from WWII
military service. Next appears my great-grandmother, identified as the
widow of John J. It’s a sad but powerful snapshot of my family just
after the war.
Example written by Sunny Morton
6. Map the neighborhood
Use cross directories or house directories in combination with an old map
to get a picture of your ancestor’s street and who the neighbors were.
In city or business directories, look up your ancestor’s employer,
church, school, social clubs and other organizations he patronized. You
can use Google Earth to plot the residences and other places you discover, creating a visual reference for your research.
7. Date mystery photos
Do you have an old photo with a photographer’s imprint? These
imprints usually provide the studio name and address, so you can look it
up in consecutive city or business directories. Once you know what
years the studio operated, you’ll have a date range for your photo.
8. Research house history
You can also use directories to research houses.
Look up an ancestral address in house directories (or the criss-cross
listings in city directories) to identify previous and subsequent owners
of your ancestor’s house.
Example:Here’s how expert cartographer Randy Majors does this.
I especially love how, once he discovered that a street name changed,
he used entries for the neighbors to determine the previous name of the
street and trace its occupancy back to around the time it was built.
I like to browse each year of a city directory in which my ancestor
appears to see what else I can learn. Sometimes I’ll find listings for
the family’s places of employment. I can see how far away they worked
from home. I may find listings for a relative’s church or school, or the
names of cemeteries or funeral homes that served the family. In the
1889 city directory for Johnstown, Pennsylvania, I discovered the
stunning tale of my Felix ancestors in the Great Johnstown Flood: the
great-grandpa whose death was listed in the 1945 directory above was a
teenager at the time. Watch that below.
The Ancestry.com city directory listing for the family reveals that
the entire family survived. They took in flood survivors, tripling the
size of their household (that’s what the number “4-12” means at the end
of the Felix listing, as explained in the front of the directory).
Another part of the directory tells the story of the flood, down to
details about how each neighborhood fared, including the Felix’ part of
town.
Example written by Sunny Morton
9. Trace businesses
If your ancestor was a business owner, directories can help you
determine the type of business and the years it operated (perhaps
pointing you to records such as permits, licenses and manufacturing
censuses). You might even find an old advertisement for his company.
10. Learn about street name changes
Many urban areas have changed street names and renumbered addresses
over the years, as Chicago did in 1909 and 1911, and Cincinnati did in
1897 and 1918. You’ll usually find the changes explained in city or
house directories published soon after the change took effect.
11. Find local newspapers
Directories might also list some of the newspapers published in the area, helping you identify additional resources.
12. Locate living relatives
Use recent directories such as telephone books and online address
listings to find other descendants of your ancestors—a path to family
information and photos that didn’t travel down your line.
Substitutes for City Directories
If you can’t find directories for a particular area, try substituting tax records,
which were usually also recorded annually. They probably won’t contain
all the information in a directory, but you can find them for
consecutive years to estimate when an ancestor lived in a certain town.
Common Abbreviations in City Directories
• b or bds: boards, boarder • bkpr: bookkeeper • c or cor: corner • carp: carpenter • ch: church • clk: clerk • col or col’d: colored • dom: domestic (often used for a housewife) • fcty: factory • gro: grocer • h: house, householder
Directories usually came out every year or two. The format and
contents vary by location, time period and publisher. Most directories
list people by surname; some are arranged by address or have a “cross
listing” by street in the back. Residents may be listed separately from
businesses and organizations, or combined, as in the 1913 directory from
Rome, Ga., below. In some places, primarily in the South before 1960,
African-Americans were listed in a separate section. You’ll also see
businesses’ ads.
When using a city directory, review the table of contents and
introductory text to understand the organization, format and
abbreviations in the book.
Individual listings often give a person’s occupation in abbreviated
form, sometimes with the type of business or employer’s name. A married
man’s name may be followed by his wife’s name in parentheses. Other
notations may indicate a single woman or a widow. If a widow appears at
the same address where the husband lived in the previous year’s
directory, you’ve narrowed his date of death.
Searching a chronological run of annual city directories can help you
estimate when a family arrived in an area. Use old maps to locate the
place of employment, as well as nearby churches and schools the person
may have attended.
1. “Miss” might follow the name of a single woman.
Widows may be noted with “w” or “wid,” and some directories include the
name or initials of the deceased spouse. Here, a single Mary Holbrook
resides at the same address as Mary J. Holbrook, the widow of G.M.
Holbrook, and Geo. R. Holbrook, a laborer (lab). It’s a strong
possibility they’re related, perhaps a mother and her children.
2. This directory gives a man’s occupation and
employer’s name. J.C. Holcombe, whose wife’s name is Mary, is a
conductor for the Southern Railway (condr S: Ry). Check the front of the
book for a key to abbreviations.
3. Check all the listings for a surname. Those
living at the same address are usually related. Miss Anna Holder, Miss
Emma Holder and Miss Ida Holder all live at 808 S. Broad. The address
can help you locate hard-to-find folks in censuses; 1880 and later
censuses give each person’s relationship to the head of the household.
4. Persons with the same surname and employer may be
related. Emma D. Holder is a bookkeeper for the Averett Grocery Co.
William I. Holder is the president of that company, Scott T. Holder is
secretary-treasurer, and C.W. Holder is a clerk there. Scott T. Holder
and his wife (Clara) live at 7 Klassing, as does Miss Hazel Holder,
suggesting she’s a daughter.
5. Watch for errors. The address given for G. B.
Holder and his wife, Annie, is 808 S. Rome. Misses Anna, Emma and Ida
Holder are listed as living at 808 S. Broad, and both Ida and G. B. work
for the Rome Mercantile Co. So there’s a strong reason to believe that
G. B. and Annie are the parents of the three single women, and that all
five live in the same household. Other records indeed confirm the family
lives at 808 S. Broad; the city directory’s 808 S. Rome listing is an
error.
Written by George Morgan, from the December 2013 issue of Family Tree Magazine
Bibliography of American Directories Through 1860 by Dorothea Spear (American Antiquarian Society)
City Directories of the United States (Research Publications)
City Directories of the United States, 1860–1901: Guide to the Microfilm Collection (Research Publications)
Guide to American Business Directories by Marjorie V. Davis (Public Affairs Press)
Directories Fast Facts
Coverage: Most large urban centers; time varies,
with the earliest in the United States in 1785 (Philadelphia) and
widespread adoption by the mid-1800s
Location: Printed copies for the local area are
available in many public libraries, which may have microfilm copies
available through interlibrary loan. The Library of Congress,
Ancestry.com and MyHeritage have the largest collections of US
directories.
Key details: Names of adults or employees in
area/profession; names of businesses; addresses of people and places;
occupations/employment information; marital status
Search terms: Enter name of city plus city directory, house directory or telephone book; or name of trade plus trade directory.
How to find in the FamilySearch catalog: Run a place search for the county or town, then look under the directories heading.
Alternate and substitute records: tax lists, state and federal censuses, voter registrations
Versions of this article appeared in the December 2013, December 2014 and May/June 2022 issues of Family Tree Magazine.
