NRB Press release
October 13, 2004
NARA Mid Atlantic Acquires Collection of Philadelphia City Directories
The National Archives and Records Administration's Mid Atlantic Region is pleased to announce the acquisition of a complete collection of Philadelphia city directories. The collection contains 588 microfiche and 69 microfilm rolls covering the years from 1785-1930 and 1935 (none were published from 1931-1934).
The directories, generally published annually around the beginning of each calendar year, contain an alphabetical listing of city residents providing name, residence, and occupation. Directories before 1855 include residents of the City of Philadelphia and the built-up areas to the immediate north and south including Northern Liberties, Spring Garden, Kensington, and Southwark. The 1855 directory, the first published after the Consolidation Act of 1854, includes separate listings for communities outside of this central area such as Bustleton, Chestnut Hill, Fox Chase, Germantown, and Mount Airy. Many of the directories also include listings for Camden, New Jersey.
Many of the directories also include a section on businesses. Prior to 1868, the business section appeared at the end of the general directory. After that year, several companies also began to produce business directories that were distributed as separate publications.
Additionally, the directories contain a rich trove of historical lore about the city and its institutions. Included are lists of city government offices, wards, streets, schools, churches, social and charitable institutions, cemeteries, and hospitals as well as advertisements for innumerable businesses and products.
The alphabetical name list is invaluable for genealogical research because it enables individuals to locate ancestors who may have been living in the city or its environs at a particular place and time. The directories will supplement NARA Mid Atlantic's holdings of federal census records by making it possible for those with ancestors living in Philadelphia to trace the movement of those individuals during the 10-year interval between federal census enumerations. Social studies teachers in the Philadelphia School District who are collaborating with NARA Mid Atlantic in a multi-year program to design curriculum projects that engage students in research in primary source documents will also use the collection.
The Philadelphia City Directories collection is free and open to the public during the National Archives' business hours: Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and the second and fourth Saturdays of each month from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The Mid Atlantic Regional Archives facility is located 900 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107-4292 (entrance on Chestnut Street, between 9th and 10th Streets.)
For further information, please contact the reference staff of NARA Mid Atlantic Region at (215) 606-0112 or via e-mail at philadelphia.archives@nara.gov.
