History of Wigan   (Help with ancient and recent history.)

David,

Some directories (not just Kelly's) are limited to businesses so you might find the names of the owners, for pubs you can often see the names of the landlords. Some of the larger directories (e.g. those that have specific entries for towns) will often have a list of residents by street as well as business details - these are very useful. Bear in mind that the information can be a couple of years out of date, for example finding someone listed in 1930 doesn't guarantee that they were actually alive in the year.