Source Information

Ancestry.com. Newton, Massachusetts, U.S., Directory 1929 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001.
Original data: Newton, MA, 1929. Boston, MA., USA: Sampson & Murdock Co., 1929.

About Newton, Massachusetts, U.S., Directory 1929

Located in eastern Massachusetts, the city of Newton forms part Middlesex County. This database is a transcription of a directory originally published in 1929. In addition to providing the residents' names, it provides their addresses and occupational information. The database includes more than 34,200 names, mostly heads of household.

Abbreviations--agt, agent; Am, American; Assn, Association; asst, assistant; Au, Auburndale (including Riverside); av, avenue; (B), Boston; B C G Co, Boston Consolidated Gas Co; bldg, building; blk, block; B & A, Boston & Albany Railroad; c or cor, corner; C H, Chestnut Hill; ct, court; do, ditto; E, East; h, house; ins, insurance; L F. Lower Falls; mfr, manufacturer; mgr, manager; M & B St Ry, Middlesex & Boston Street Railway; nr, near; N, Newton (including Nonantum or North Village); N C, Newton Centre; N H, Newton Highlands; Nv, Newtonville; opp, opposite; opr, operative; phone, telephone; pk, park; pl, place; pres, president; prop, proprietor; r, rear; rd, road; rem, removed; res, residence; S, South; sec, secretary; sq, square; steno, stenographer; ter, terrace; treas, treasurer; U F, Upper Falls; U S A, United States Army; U S N, United States Navy; U S M C, United States Marine Corps; W, Waban; Wash, Washington; W N. West Newton. After the name of a street the word street is omitted. The initials on the right-hand margin denote Post-Office address Removals--Against the names showing removals when within the state the town only is given; if into another state both the town and state are given

City directories are primarily useful for locating people in a particular place and time. They can tell you generally where an ancestor lived and give an exact location for census years. They are also useful for linkage with sources other than censuses.

There are usually several parts to a city directory. The section of most interest to the genealogist, of course, is the alphabetical listing of names, for it is there that you may find your ancestor.

Whenever you use a directory, however, it is important to refer to the page showing abbreviations used in the alphabetical section of the directory, usually following the name in each entry. Some abbreviations are quite common, such as h for home or r, indicating residence. There may even be a subtle distinction between r for residents who are related to the homeowner and b for boarders who are not related.

Some city directories list adult children who lived with their parents but were working or going to school. Look for persons of the same surname residing at the same address. If analyzed and interpreted properly, these annual directories can tell you (by implication) which children belong to which household, when they married and started families of their own, and when they established themselves in business. In cases where specific occupation is given, you can search records pertinent to that occupation.

Once an ancestor has been found in a city directory, there are several ways the information can be used to gain access to, or link with, such sources as censuses, death and probate records, church records, naturalization records, and land records.

Taken from Chapter 11: Research in Directories, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Gordon Lewis Remington; edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Incorporated, 1997).