Post Office directory 1889

[PC2267]

Ladies/Gents,

Has anyone got any experience of using this directory as a research tool, how much success have you had using it and how much information does it contain?

I'm trying to research a police officer who I know served in J Division at Bethnal Green at the time of the Whitechapel murders (I know he was in J Division 1888-1890). Due to his service dates the census will be of no use in tracing an address, I wondered whether the post office directory might hold the key?

[Rosemary]

Excellent idea

Wish I knew. Can't find them just on a small basic search. Or I'm just tired.

[Wickerman]

The post office directory provides the address of businesses, not residencies.

http://cdm16445.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16445coll4/id/8865

[Pcdunn]

The post office directory provides the address of businesses, not residencies.
http://cdm16445.contentdm.oclc.org/c...5coll4/id/8865

That is correct. Early directories were listings of commercial businesses; it wasn't until the advent of the telephone that listings of both commercial and private residences began to appear in telephone directories. (Due to the relatively few telephones in the beginning, directories were at first very slim volumes.)

PC2267, I am a librarian, and suggest you use census reports to find the address of your subject, if you know his name and occupation. Depending upon your country, some records may be available for free from your national library or records archive; otherwise you may need to join a genealogy site to perform searches on him. Let me know by PM if you need help, I've got an Ancestory International subscription and could do a search for you.

[GUT]

Great if your looking for business or professionals but for individuals not much use.

[David Orsam]

You will find the addresses of prominent individuals in the "Court" section of the directory, and the street directories do list some individuals in the well-to-do areas, but, for the most part, it won't help with home addresses of normal people, certainly not an ordinary police officer.

[Robert]

Since the Historical Directories site was 'improved,' I couldn't find London let alone someone living there.

There are electoral rolls, plus any info from birth and marriage records, school records etc.