Source:U.K. and U.S. Directories, 1680-1830

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.K. and U.S. Directories, 1680-1830 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.

Original data: Avero Publications. Biography Database, 1680-1830. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England: Avero Publications, 1998.

About U.K. and U.S. Directories, 1680-1830

This database was originally published under the name of Biography Database, 1680-1830 by Avero Publications, but Ancestry.com has renamed it online to help researchers better understand what it contains. The database is actually a massive collection of U.K. and U.S. biographical records, directories, and lists from the following sources:

• National, town, and trade directories of the United Kingdom and United States
• All known book subscription lists
• All birth, marriage, death, promotions, and bankruptcies from a number of regular journals, including the Gentleman's Magazine from its inception in 1731 to 1870
• All extant society membership lists from the period
• A number of miscellaneous additional biographical sources contributed by individual academics, who consulted for the project.

The database makes available biographical sources that were previously too large and too dispersed for practical consultation. It also lets genealogists trace some individuals and families from birth to death, including everything in between, such as marriage, work, reading interests, offices, children, and social groups.

The entire data collection has been distributed in three installments, which together provide information on more than 2.5 million individuals. A new installment is published each year, with the most recent being the third set. This database now represents all three installments.