Sunday, May 9, 2021

Research Your Home from the Comfort of Home

In February, Gossips reported that the History Room at the Hudson Area Library was digitizing its collection of city directories. That process continues. In February, there were six directories available online. Now, there are nine. The even better news, which we share today, is that the directories are now not just browsable but searchable. The obvious benefit of that is you can find out who lived in your house in any given year in the past or find out what business was located in any building on Warren Street. 

To use the search function, go to the city directories, which can be found here. Select the directory. They are organized by decade. Use "Control" and "F" to open the search box, and then type in what you're looking for. 


If you are searching for addresses, remember that between 1888 and 1889 the addresses on all east-west streets changed to introduce 100 blocks. The best place to find out what a building's address was before 1888 is still the Water Tap Book, which records when every building was hooked up to the City water supply and notes its pre-1888 and post-1889 address. That invaluable resource, which was digitized several years ago and is available on the City of Hudson website, can be accessed here.
COPYRIGHT 2021 CAROLE OSTERINK

3 comments:

  1. I would love to hear from people who learned about who lived in their houses.

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  2. I now can confirm the first American Express office; W F Ball & Son Groceries; Francis Blanchard & Richard Weaver. I knew AMEX was there as was a butcher, we thought and perhaps a blacksmith. Look forward to further research!

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