City directories are wonderful resources for genealogists and local historians, providing a glimpse into the everyday lives of people who lived and worked in a community. Published periodically, these directories typically listed residents, occupations, home addresses, businesses, and sometimes the names of spouses. They are especially useful for tracing individuals between census years, documenting changes in employment, residence, and family circumstances.
The three Slatington, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, directories presented here date from 1885, 1890, and 1895. Together, they offer a snapshot of the borough during a period when the slate industry played an important role in the local economy. In addition to residents and their occupations, the directories contain advertisements for businesses, hotels, merchants, and tradespeople, providing a fascinating picture of commercial and social life in late nineteenth-century Slatington.
My Great-Great-Great-Grandfather, Jesse LaBar
One of the people I have been able to trace through these directories is my great-great-grandfather, Jesse LaBar. In the 1885 directory, Jesse is listed as the superintendent of a slate company, residing at 417 Main Street.
Five years later, the 1890 directory identifies him as a slate dealer, living on Upper Main Street. This edition also provides a valuable family detail: the name of his wife, Permila.
By 1895, Jesse’s occupation had changed again. He was listed in connection with a general store on Upper Main Street, where he also resided. His wife’s name appears in this directory as Parmelia.
These three brief entries illustrate the value of city directories in family history research. Over the course of a decade, they document Jesse’s changing occupations, establish where he lived, and provide additional information about his family. When used alongside census records, tax lists, deeds, and other historical documents, directories can help piece together the lives of people whose stories might otherwise be lost.
The directories below have been reproduced from historical copies, preserving the original listings and period advertisements. Click on a page to view it or download the pdf.
These are from my postcard collection. You may use these any way you like. I have higher res versions if you need it for printing or publishing. My Slatington ancestors were the Labars, Jesse and his daughter Laura, who married into the Straub family.
This article caught my attention because of my own LaBar family in Northampton and Lehigh Counties, Pennsylvania. Dunaway specifically mentions Peter Le Barre and his brothers, Charles and Abraham, French Huguenots who settled in the vicinity of the Delaware Water Gap about 1730. These three men are often identified as immigrant ancestors of the Pennsylvania…
Slatington is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, located 20 miles north of Bethlehem, 62 miles south of Scranton, and 70 miles north of Philadelphia. Situated across from Walnutport on the west side of the Lehigh River, Slatington is at the northeast corner of Washington Township. Before the first white settlers established homesteads in the…
