Some historic addresses are about to disappear, as Norfolk County's municipal government eliminates duplicate street names to facilitate the 9-1-1 emergency telephone system. (Unique street address are presumably safe. Duplicates are are up for grabs.)

Municipal re-structuring has caused name changes before (see previous changes), but this round (announced March 2003) will be the largest (and potentially most genealogically disruptive) set of name changes in recent memory.

We'll track changes here as they are announced, and do our best to provide you with tips and techniques, documenting these changes. Meantime all of us will have to decide how to respond in our genealogies. Future generations  won't find references to no longer existent streets very helpful.

One possibility: give the address as you have it -- followed by its GPS coordinates, which are not subject to municipal restructuring decisions.

We'll keep you posted as the situation evolves. For now, you should be aware that if your genealogy notes say an ancestor lived at a specific street address, that address itself may be about to disappear. (Perhaps your Notes should include GPS coordinates for your ancestor's home.)