Directories

City Directories are basically the local phone book, or at least a very early version of them. They show the address, but also often the names of everyone in the family, which didn't happen in the White Pages directories, at least for the older kids. Decent size cities generally have them, and I found many for Middletown, but they're rare out in the more rural areas.

About U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995
This database is a collection of directories for U.S. cities and counties in various years. The database currently contains directories for all states except Alaska.

Generally a city directory will contain an alphabetical list of citizens, listing the names of the heads of households, their addresses, and occupational information. Sometimes a wife's name will be listed in parentheses or italics following the husband's. Other helpful information might include death dates for individuals who had been listed in the previous year's directory, names of partners in firms, and forwarding addresses or post offices for people who had moved to another town.