Directories can be used as (incomplete) census substitutes. Ancestry.com have added "Lovell's Canadian Dominion directory for 1871: containing the names of professional and business men, and other inhabitants, of the cities, towns and villages, throughout the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island, ... corrected to January, 1871."
City directories can be excellent sources of genealogical information. You can find out the address and occupation of ancestors, as well as the names of other people who were living with them, depending on the directory. As far as census substitutes go, directories are some of the best sources out there.
ReplyDeleteStephanie at the Irish Family History blog