The R.L. Polk company, though not the earliest company to do so, published their first city directory in the 1870s, as a way to centralize community information.  They employed sales associates and census enumerators to go door to door to collect information, sell advertising and make sales for their new directories. These handy guides were the quitessential Google search of their day--the go-to resource for finding information. These same directories can be an important resource for genealogy … [Read more...]