Beginners’ guide
Search in all possible directories
Sometimes there is more than one directory for a given area for a similar time period. Look in all the directories you can find, as they may contain different information. It’s particularly helpful to do this if your ancestor is only identified by their initials in a directory. For example, stonemason ‘T Ridley’ may be listed as ‘Theobald Ridley Jr’ in a different directory, making identification easier.
Explore Archive. org for a wide range of freely available digitsed directories, such as those illustrated on these pages