Use Criss-Cross or Cross-Reference Directories And Reverse Telephone Directories To Find People

From reading this page you'll learn strategies for using free criss-cross or cross-reference directories to find people and have free access to online reverse telephone directories.

Criss-cross directory is a cross-reference directory. It's also called a reverse telephone directory. This type of directory is a free search tool used to find people.

You can find complete collections of criss cross directories to find people covering the entire state usually at larger libraries. It'll list every street in any given community alphabetically with each street number in consecutive order. Under each street you'll find the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the people who live on those streets.

You would use this part of the directory if all you have is the address to go on. You"ll do a search on the address and if it's listed, a name and phone number will show up.

The other section of the criss-cross directory lists all the telephone numbers in sequence using the prefix as a base to find people. Each telephone number lists address and names of the owners of the residence. You would use this part of the directory if all you have is the telephone number to go on. You"ll do a search on the phone number and if it's listed, a name and address will show up.

When searching for names in the phone directory, the first part of the name of the missing person may not be listed as you may think. You may know the person only by his or her nickname. Or, the name you called this person could be his or her middle name, and you never gave it a thought that it wasn't the first name.

Thus, the first part of the name may be listed in the phone directory under his or her nickname, middle name, or birth name. Also, the missing person may have it listed with initials in different combinations such as first and middle initials, first name and middle initial, or just one initial with the last name.

Obviously, you may not find the phone number of the person you're trying to locate because:

• the phone number is unlisted
• the person moved to another city
• the person may have remarried and has a new name that is unknown to you

You might want to call the phone directory assistance to check for a listing of the person that you're trying to find if you are aware of the local area the person may be living. The directory operator can tell you if the person's phone number is unlisted or that the person you're trying to find still lives in that area.

What about if the person you're trying to find moved to another city? Even so, the telephone book can still be of use to you by providing names of family members who may still live in that city. You can call or send a letter to find out if they are related to the missing person and if they would be willing to give you information.

Most public libraries keep local phone directories from past years - up to thirty or more years. The main library, if the town has more than one, is your best bet in finding what you need. These older telephone books come in handy because the person you are looking for may have been listed.

All you need to do is search for the former address in the phone directory of the year that you think that the person may have lived in that location.

Then if you found it, use the criss-cross directory to find the addresses of the former neighbors. Check the address from the cross-reference directory to the current phone directory to determine if the neighbors still live at those addresses. If not, then use the current telephone directory to locate the former neighbors' current addresses.

Then call them. Hopefully you will find a neighbor who remembers the person your trying to find and knows where this person resides.

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