Decades are Helpful, but They Do Contain Years

Census records gave me information that was fairly accurate, but there is a ten year gap between each one. City Directories were a precursor to telephone books, and were issued each year. Alphabetical listings included names, professions and addresses. Listings were by heads of household, or those that were employed, as well as widows. Actual directories do exist, but both the Maryland Historical Society (http://www.mdhs.org/) and the Maryland Room of the Pratt Library (http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/maryland/index.aspx?mark=Maryland+Room) have microfilm copies of these that are fairly easy to view and print out. After looking at printouts of successive years, I could see when a family moved, when professions changed, find a soft confirmation of dates of death, see how close by relatives lived, and other factors that led me to conclusions that might be confirmed by more primary sources.