Directories can also be used to help find the death of an ancestor. If they have appeared for a number of years and then nothing it may mean they died - that would give you an approximate year in which to start searching. Listings in early Almanacs, post-office and telephone directories are most useful in tracing the existence, whereabouts and movements of your ancestors. These records are especially useful in Australian Family History research because of the virtual non-existence of census. The last time a persons name appears in a directory can give you a good starting point to tracing their time of death.
Directories are also very useful for tracking an ancestors migrations and addresses.
Directories often contain alphabetical lists of householders names and addresses, or business and professional names, or both. Some directories only list the prominent citizens in a district. This tends to be particularly so with almanacks, which nearly always only list people holding a public office. There are a wide variety of different titles, compilers and publishers of Australian Almanacs and directories such as Wise's NSW Post Office Directory of 1886, Australian Almanack and Country Directory of 1850. Directories often contain alphabetical lists of householders names and addresses, or business and professional names, or both.