Gazetteers

Gazetteers play an important role in genealogical research by offering detailed geographical, historical, and biographical information that can help us understand the lives of our ancestors.

A gazetteer is best described as a combination atlas and almanac about a specific region. These books were commonly published in the United States starting in the 1840s and through the 1890s. Some gazetteers also can be found as business directories.

Most gazetteers were subscription based books, which meant salesmen would go door to door selling the promise of a copy once the book was published. Customers would subscribe and pay the salesman, then receive their copy several months later.

In addition, some publishers would allow customers to contribute biographical information about themselves. Local business owners could also contribute a company profile, and purchase advertising space in the gazetteer.

Geographical information

Gazetteers are geographical in nature and are useful to help understand the history of the local region and its boundaries. Old family letters, diaries, and even photographs may mention locations and landmarks no longer in existence. Remember that locations, and even streets, changed names over time. Document these changes for your ancestors by reviewing a series of gazetteers for the region.

Boundaries also changed over time. County boundaries changed when new counties were formed or border disputes were settled. Towns and unincorporated areas were often merged into larger towns and cities.

Street name changes occurred due to the growth of a city, and to repositioning of the street naming and numbering grid. Street names changed due to political reasons as well, such as the "Americanization" of German street names in the United States during World War I.

Historical information and social history

Many genealogists want to see their ancestors in context, which means understanding what life was like when and where they lived. Some call it "filling in the dash" between the person's birth date and death date.

Gazetteers are filled with useful information to better understand the lives of our ancestors:

Descriptions and histories of towns and villages
Local business and industry
Population information and census records
Historical sketches of towns, villages, landmarks, houses of worship, and more
Timelines of historical events related to the region
Local government information including elected representatives, meeting minutes, and more
Lists of schools, colleges, and universities

Statistical information can also be found in gazetteers on topics such as:

Industry
Agriculture
Education

A study of these facts can help us understand why an ancestor migrated to or from that location.

Biographical information

While many gazetteers contain biographical sketches of prominent local residents, the information found in these sketches should be approached with caution. In many cases the person or person's family was solicited to contribute the content for a price paid to the publisher. A gazetteer was often seen as an opportunity to clean up a tarnished reputation or to elevate someone of simple means to a higher society level. Consider the data to be secondary information that will need to be proven through standard genealogy research methodology.

International and specialty gazetteers

Some international and specialty gazetteers of note are:

Meyers Orts und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs, also known as Meyers Orts-, is a German gazetteer listing every place name in the German Empire (1871-1918), it was compiled in 1912. It includes locations of civil registry offices, parishes, and other jurisdictions, as well as church information that can help locate sacramental and vital records. The best use of Meyers Orts is to help determine geographical place names since many boundaries in the region shifted over time.
Canadian Geographical Names Database is a free, online gazetteer of over 350,000 geographical locations in Canada, maintained by the Library & Archives Canada.

Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World was published in 1952, and contains information on over 170,000 locations around the world.
Gazetteer of British Place Names provides an exhaustive Place Name Index to Great Britain, containing over 280,000 entries. It lists the historic county and the main administrative areas in which each place lies.
GENUKI provides a virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland. It is a non-commercial service, maintained by a charitable trust and a group of volunteers.
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names® Online is an up-to-date online listing of geographical locations and their changes over time.

JewishGen Gazetteer is an online directory of places known to have Jewish populations useful for those researching Jewish ancestry. It contains the names of more than 2.4 million localities in 54 countries in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Accessing gazetteers

Gazetteers can be found at libraries and archives, as well as online. Many of the larger genealogy focused libraries, such as the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana have extensive collections of gazetteers.

Tips and tricks for using gazetteers

Here's how to get the most out of a gazetteer:

Check the date of the gazetteer. While most gazetteers provide historical information on locations, consult those with the latest possible publication date.
Look for boundary, jurisdictional changes, and place name changes. These changes impact where to find records, and research in the wrong area can be frustrating.
Check nearby locations. Don't limit research to a specific location based on a family story or other secondary information. Always check towns nearby for record sets.
Check for name variations. For online research, use search wildcards for the best results.
Understand abbreviations. Similar to city and business directories, publishers strived to conserve space in order to fit in as much information as possible. Consult the list of abbreviations used in the gazetteer, usually located at the front or the end of the publication.

Explore more about gazetteers

Genealogy Center at Allen County Public Library
Canadian Geographical Names Database at Natural Resources Canada
Compilation of Published Sources at MyHeritage
Digital Libraryat FamilySearch
Library Collection at FamilySearch
Gazetteer of Australia at Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying & Mapping
Gazetteer of British Place Names at The Association of British Counties
UK and Ireland: Gazetteers at GENUKI
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names® Onlineat The Getty
JewishGen Gazetteer at JewishGen
Meyers Gazetteer

Contributors

Main contributor: Thomas MacEntee

Additional contributor: Cynthia Gardner