Jackson County
Historical Society
Archives,
Research Library and Archives
CITY DIRECTORIES (8 December 2010) The Jackson County Historical Society
collects, preserves, and makes available to researchers materials that provide
a broad insight into the county's civic, social, cultural, economic, and
educational development. According to Janice Schultz, Branch
Librarian at the Midwest Genealogy Center, “City directories are a snapshot
of urban life in any given year. Once can trace ancestors year by year
instead of once every ten years as with the census. One can trace house
histories and neighborhoods. One can find out who was living at a specific address
years ago.� She ads that, “Each city directory has a different look depending on
the era in which it was printed.... It may have trolley stops listed.... Once
can find advertisements, businesses listed by category, alphabetical lists of
people, and addresses in alphabetical order by street name,
and phone numbers in numerical order by exchange. In the alphabetical lists
of names one could find names of people over 18 years of age, occupation and
place of employment, complete street address including apartment number, the
[spouse’s] name and sometimes a maiden name initial, widow’s listing the
deceased husband’s name, telephone number, business firms showing the name
of the business owner, corporations showing officers, and business
partnerships showing partners. In the address section once can find out if
the occupant is the homeowner, which addresses are vacant, and an indication
of new occupants at an address.� (Genealogy News Bites newsletter of the
Mid-Continent Public Library’s Genealogy and Local History Branch, Volume
1, Issue 4, April 2005) City directories are arranged alphabetically
by the city located in Jackson County, Missouri. Each listing is then followed by the
inclusive dates that are currently available at the Jackson County Historical
Society. Unlike telephone books that
may cover more than one town in one volume, city directories are specific to
the boundaries of the city or cities covered. For this reason, researchers should know
the exact political subdivision the person or business was located when
searching through city directories. See separate listing of telephone
directories. Also consult various Missouri gazetteers for municipalities in
Jackson County, Missouri. Blue Springs, Missouri
1905-1906 (in Independence directory);
1974-1977; 1979; 1981-1983; 1985; 1988; 1990-1991 Grandview, Missouri
1976; 1980 Independence, Missouri 1866-1867 Business Guide only (in J. West
Goodwin’s Pacific Railway Business Guide and Gazetteer of Missouri and
Kansas); 1888-1889; 1899-1900; 1905 (in Kansas City directory); 1905-06;
1906-1910 (in Kansas City directory); 1911; 1911 (in Kansas City directory);
1912-1916 (in Kansas City directory); 1920; 1924-1942 (every two years during
this period); 1943; 1946; 1950-1956 (every two years during this period);
1957; 1959-1991; 1993 Jackson County,
Missouri
1998; 2000 Kansas City, Missouri
1859-1860; 1860-1861; 1865-1866; 1866-1867
(in J. West Goodwin’s Pacific Railway Business Guide and Gazetteer of
Missouri and Kansas); 1867-1868; 1870-1885; 1887-1892; 1894-1942; 1945;
1947-1953; 1955-1990; 1994-1995. It is speculated that there were no
directories published during the Civil War and World War II. Lee’s Summit, Missouri 1888-1889 (in Independence directory);
1905-06 (in Independence directory); 1975 Raytown, Missouri
1960; 1962-1963; 1965; 1967; 1968; 1970-1986;
1987-1991 Thank
you for helping us to assemble a more complete collection. Donations are
welcome. Please contact us. Other institutions with large collections of
these types of records are the Kansas City (Missouri) Public Library's
Special Collections, and Mid-Continent Public Library's Genealogy Branch. The
three organizations work together to share duplicates to build one
another’s collections. |