December 2023 Monthly Meeting- Mining Information from City Directories with Susan O’Connor- HYBRID

Register in advance for this meeting

To attend in person: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=ugv9txbab&oeidk=a07ek48cltrdffce6d1

To attend via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEudeqgqD0iH9AY4WEvUNbCU6mCwxstBVjV

Before phone books, many municipalities had City Directories which were comprehensive, annually-updated listings of adult residents, their addresses, occupation, spouse’s name and other helpful facts about these people and the “city” in which they lived. Initially intended for salesmen and merchants who wanted to contact people in the area, city directories are a gold mine for genealogy research. Participants in this session will learn the variety of information that is contained in city directories and how to use it not only to help find their ancestors but also to learn what they were really like. Through the use of a case study, a portion of the presentation will focus on how to use spreadsheets to record, organize, and manipulate the data and to use city directory information as a gateway to other resources.

Presented by Susan O’Connor

Susan O’Connor has researched her family in Ireland, Australia and the United States and those of her husband in French Canada for over 25 years. She holds a Certificate in Genealogy Research from Boston University. Susan is the President of the Massachusetts Genealogical Council and Treasurer for NEAPG.  Prior to her “retirement” in 2014, Susan was the Executive Director of the Timothy Smith Network (TSN), a regional consortium of community technology centers in the greater Roxbury section of Boston working toward the community’s economic advancement through technology proficiency. She was the Transition Manager of Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN), Boston’s Public Access TV Station from 2017 to 2019.
Susan has over 25 years’ experience in technology and program development, IT support and training in the banking industry. As an undergraduate, she majored in mathematics, physics and secondary education at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, WI. Susan received a Master of Science in Training & Development in 1994 from Lesley University.