All researchers (genealogical and otherwise) should know of the existence of city directories (not telephone directories) of large and medium cities. These are even better--when you can find them--in many cases--than the censuses, as the listing frequently gives the address and name of the employer of the listed person (no age or birthplace). And you will learn a lot about the economics of that place! Some of these directories were published VERY early (as in Lexington, KY) and continued until at least the mid-1950s, and perhaps later for smaller places. Do NOT confuse these directories with telephone directories. Until about the 1940s or so, most people did NOT have telephones unless they were needed for business, etc. Let's explore: One subscriber on the Williams list is looking for a rather recently-deceased person in Pittsburgh, PA. I am fairly SURE that there a series of city directories for Pittsburgh, as I helped a Canadian resident locate her grandmother and parents in a Pittsburgh directory (widow of a glass manufacturer). I found these directories were generally published every two years--R. L. Polk was the usual publisher, it seems. (And directories for counties are excellent for doing English research, although only tradespeople and the gentry are listed.) The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has a number of these US city directories on film and/or fiche, so I would suggest you access the catalog at www.familysearch.org. However, there are not as many as may be wished--as they are rather expensive to purchase, I am told. Type in your locality (place) in the FHL Catalog and as you scroll down the alphabetically arranged topics, look for the word Directories. See if there is a film or a fiche which may be borrowed through your nearby LDS FHC. I know from experience that Salt Lake City does not have many of these, but your nearby large City library may have them, as well may some University libraries. The Los Angeles City Public Library [www.lapl.org] has a large number of these--but they do NOT do research for you. If you cannot find these directories near you or at the FHL in SLC, e-mail me privately, and I will furnish you the name of a geneal. society in so. Calif which MAY do your research--for a fee, of course!!!! (Do you know how much parking costs in downtown Los Angeles--almost as much as airfare to SLC?) Even counties had some of these directories in the 1920s and 1930s--I discovered my in-laws and their parents in a small town because of these county directories. The larger cities in the same county may have had a separate directory from the county directory. While researching in a distant State, I prowled through the city directories in the public library. I found in the back part of the directory (the later ones at least), there was a reverse directory. That is, there was an address list (not a person list, as in the front part of the directory) By looking up a rather unusual surname, I found an address for a 'usual suspect' in the front part of the directory. In the reverse directory at the back, which was arranged by the address (not the name), were some other names of others in the household--his widowed but unemployed mother--who was just the person for whom I was searching--as her deceased husband was my GGmos brother. It even indicated she was widowed. While attending recently a lecture on the 1930 census, I learned that only the Southern States have a Soundex index, and so ALL of us who search the 1930 census with localities outside the South are going to have to learn to use City Directories to at least study the ward maps which most of them contain. Find the book The Source (either edition) and any other "how-to" book on genealogy and see what is listed in the index or the Table of Contents for Directories or City Directories. Once you learn how to use these, you will begin relying on them to find your city folks--and their employers--and so on! And be sure to read the ads--you will learn a lot about that place in that time period. This is a case where you have to teach yourself--by picking up a city directory (which the Library generally calls a hard copy)--or by studying the film/fiche. Good luck to all you who are lucky enough to find a City Directory--listed under Directories in FHLC. E.W.Wallace