Best way to research for records

Submitted by mundotaku t3_10h8u0f in philadelphia

My grandparents lived here briefly in the 1940's and I am trying to find the address of the house he used to live at the time.

He was going to Wharton and my mom was born here.

Where do you think I could look for their records? I was thinking about going to the University of Pennsylvania, but I am affraid they might not give me this information due to student confidentiality.

Where else you think I might look?

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TheAdamist t1_j576ezb wrote

Maybe try finding the white pages/phonebook for that year, people's addresses used to be listed. Although its possible thats too early for them to be published or phones were too luxury at the time.

If there still is one, the research/reference desk at a Philadelphia library is where i would start.

You could also check the 1940 or 1950 full census data.

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Little_Noodles t1_j578tk1 wrote

If this information still exists at UPenn, it’s in the University Archives. You can just call them and ask if it’s extant and publicly available.

You’re also welcome to dm me his name and birth date, as well as hers. If ancestry.com captured them in census records or directories, or if they showed up in local papers, I have access to databases for work, and it’s a quick search

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misslizzie t1_j58oeiv wrote

The Historical Society of PA on 13th and Locust has a ton of genealogical records and resources!

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PollenThighs t1_j5d08fj wrote

It used to be that Wednesday evenings were open to the public for a small fee, not sure if that same schedule still holds. It was suggested that you show up with as much info you can find on your own beforehand.

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star-of-logy-bay t1_j58u6pr wrote

This may help. https://archives.upenn.edu/research/genealogy/

If you can get the date of your grandfather's attendance/graduation, even if there is no address info in the records, the year will give you a starting point to look at other sources like City Directory, phone book, marriage records, census, etc.

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