Birmingham City Directories are located in the Southern History Department. The directories date from 1883-present. Due to the hardship of the Great Depression and, later, the Second World War, directories were not published in the following years: 1933, 1936, 1943, and 1945. Because of their fragility, some of our original directories have been replaced with microfilm editions.
BPL's Digital Collections were created to preserve and make available the local history of Birmingham and the surrounding area. These resources may help students, teachers, genealogists, historians and interested citizens learn more about the history of Birmingham.
The Southern History Department maintains a large collection of family files. The content of each file varies greatly and some are much larger than others.
The Library has a large collection of published family histories. All of these are listed in the catalog. To search for a book on a particular family, simply choose the subject option and type in the surname followed by the word "family".
- David Crider
General research, including
German, Latin, and Czech languages.
e-mail: dbcrider@gmail.com - Laura Gentry
Birmingham, AL
205-292-7615
email: laura.gentry@hotmail.com
Specializing in historical, genealogical, and church
records research and archival preservation.
- G. Algernon Gill
1700 34th Street Ensley
Birmingham, AL 35208
(205) 567-1650
e-mail: librarian4hire@yahoo.com
- Mary L. Jones
Specializing in African American Research
P.O. Box 217
Faunsdale, Alabama 36738
phone (334) 627-3772
e-mail: mljonesv@aim.com
- Charles Mills
404-509-8748
email: cmills87@charter.net
- Alan Pitts
Confederate Research
5200 Old Mill Circle
Indian Springs, AL 35124
e-mail: pittsaj14@hotmail.com
- Richard A. Smallwood, Sr.
1008 Harrison Avenue, SE,
Huntsville, AL 35801-3139
(256) 536-0491
e-mail: smally@aol.com
- Jim Snider
446 E. Vanderbilt Loop
Montgomery, AL 36109
website: http://www.alatree.com
email: jim@alatree.com - Barbara B. Thompson
7610 Hwy. 17
Maylene, AL 35114
(205) 664-9095
email: bbtonthefarm@cs.com - Mae Thompson
P.O. Box 28587
Midfield , AL 35228
email: maethompson6@bellsouth.com - Marc D Thompson
708 Enfield Rd
Delray Beach FL 33444
(561) 676-6179
email: marc@familyhistorygenealogist.com
web site: www.familyhistorygenealogist.com - Barbara Tillery
P.O. Box 741
Pleasant Grove, AL 35127
(205) 837-3587
email: jabtil@bellsouth.net - Sandy Watson
P.O. Box 530072
Birmingham, AL 35253 - Leigh Ann Withers
205-563-4546
Cemetery records, Revolutionary War Records
email: leigh.a.withers@gmail.com
The Southern History Department houses an extensive collection of newspaper clipping files. These files are arranged by subject and cover a variety of topics. Patrons may use the files for researching local neighborhoods, churches, civic organizations, and persons of note in Birmingham and Alabama history. The clippings date from the 1930's to the early 1980's.