Building a timeline with

City directories

While the census can be a wonderful resource in establishing a list of all residents in a household, it has the drawback of offering this information only once every ten years. Many changes can occur within a family in a decade's time. This is where city directories come in.

If your family lived mostly in rural areas, relatives will be fairly easy to find in unindexed census enumerations, but it is a bit of a trade-off since these families cannot be located in city directories. While urban areas in the census are much more difficult to scour through to find relatives, success can usually be achieved with a little effort, plus there is the added benefit of being able to search the yearly city directories and establish a more complete timeline.

City directories typically list the head of the household plus all employed individuals residing there. They offer quick indexing since all information is alphabetized, much like a hardcover phone book. Some include a street cross-reference which allows you to view a list of names of all household heads living on a given street.

List of available city directories:

New Jersey [NJ] (years not completely continuous)

Asbury Park 1885-1982 Atlantic City 1899, 1954, 1965-82 Bayonne 1879-1923, 1938-51 Berkeley Heights 1965-80 Beverly 1926, 1929, 1945, 1956 Bloomfield 1965-71 Bridgeton 1964-86 Burlington 1926, 29, 1945, 1956 Caldwell 1953-69 Camden 1837-1978 Cedar Grove 1953-69 Chatham 1965-69 Clifton 1954-74 Delanco 1926, 1929, 1945, 1956 East Orange 1916, 1970 Edgewater Park 1926, 29, 45, 56 Edison 1968 Elizabeth 1897-1969 Essex Fells 1953-69 Fairfield 1953-69 Fanwood 1966-68 Freehold 1962-82 Glen Ridge 1953-71 Hackensack 1947-48 Haddonfield 1961 Haledon 1952-71 Hammonton 1950-51 Hawthorne 1952-71 Irvington 1946-67 Jersey City 1861-1901 Kearney 1966-71 Little Falls 1952-71 Livingston 1956-68 Long Branch 1965, 1970 Madison 1965-69 Millburn 1962-81 Millville 1957-87 Montclair 1889-1971 Monmouth Co 1898-99

Morristown 1965-82 New Brunswick 1962-81 New Providence 1965-80 Newark 1861-1935, 1951-65 Newton 1965-86 North Haledon 1952-71 North Plainfield 1901, 16, 1967-73 Ocean City 1928, 37, 48, 64-81 Orange 1916, 1970 Palmyra 1926, 1929, 1945, 1956 Passaic 1924,1954 Paterson 1861-1935, 1952-71 Perth Amboy 1964-67 Plainfield 1870-1977 Pleasantville 1966, 1968 Prospect Park 1952-71 Princeton 1913-87 Rahway 1964-80 Red Bank 1904, 1964-81 Ridgewood 1966-70 Riverside 1926, 29, 45, 56 Riverton 1926, 29, 45, 56 Roseland 1956-68 Scotch Plains 1966-68 Somerville 1964-84 South Orange 1916, 1970 Springfield 1946-81 Summit 1962-81 Trenton 1845-1971 Toms River 1966, 1969 Totowa 1952-71 Union 1946-73 Verona 1953-69 Vineland 1924-25, 1959-87 Wayne 1965-69 West Orange 1916, 1956-78 West Paterson 1952-71 Westfield 1962-82 Wildwood 1960-67