If you ...
If you know a person's name, use ...
local sources
- Department of Motor Vehicles (web link) ... to
find name, address, plate number and type of vehicle.
- Durham City Directory (Look for this book in the News Research
Department's Ready Reference section) ... to find names,
addresses and phone numbers, as well as businesses in Durham and RTP.
- Durham City Employees Salary database (web
link) ... to find the department, job title, date hired, and salary of
anyone who worked for the city of Durham in July 1998.
- Durham County Board of Elections (web link)
... to find name, address, precinct, sex, date of birth, race, party,
state of birth, registration date and voter history.
- Durham County Property Tax Records
(cheatsheet) ... to find size of lot, assessed value of property, if the
property is owned by an individual or business. If the record is complete,
you will find the address, social security number, employer and phone
number.
-
Faculty, Student and Staff directories at the 16 UNC campuses.
- Greater Raleigh Cross Reference Directory (book) ... to find names,
addresses, phone numbers and neighbors (various years available).
- Greater Durham Cross Reference Directory (book) ... to find names,
addresses, phone numbers and neighbors for Durham, RTP, Creedmoor,
Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Pittsboro and Oxford (various years
available).
- N&O Archive (web link) ... to find any
stories that may have been written about a person or business.
- N&O People Clip files (web link) ...
to find background articles written by N&O staff before the electronic
archives.
- N&O
Wedding Announcements (web link) ... to find employer, family
members, education and other information about people who place their
wedding announcements in The N&O.
- North Carolina State Telephone
Directory (web link) ... to find names, departmental listings and a
statewide email dirctory for state employees.
- North Carolina
Secretary of State Database (web link) ... to find names, addresses and
businesses. Small business owners will often incorporate under their own name
with their home address.
- NCSU Alumni Directory
(cheatsheet) ... to find Alumni of North Carolina State University.
- Raleigh City Directory (Look for this book in the News Research
Department's Ready Reference section) ... to find names,
addresses and phone numbers, as well as businesses.
- Tar Heels of the Week (web link) ... to find
out if the person has been a Tar Heel of the Week in The News &
Observer.
- UNC Alumni Directory
(cheatsheet) ... to find Alumni of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
- Wake County Property Records
(cheatsheet) ... to find address, ownership, previous owners, square
footage of home, selling price, perimeter sketch of property.
- Wake County Register of Deeds
(cheatsheet) ... to find information on all legal documents filed in the
Register of Deeds office, including marriage licenses and divorce.
- Wake County Tax Records
(cheatsheet) ... to find billing and collection information on personal
property.
- Wake County Voter Registration
(cheatsheet) ... to find name, address, precinct, sex, date of birth,
race, party, state of birth, registration date and voter history.
general sources
- DejaNews (web
link) ... to find if a person has ever posted to a newsgroup.
- Infospace (web link) ... to
find name, address, phone, e-mail address, and a map for directions to a
persons home, in the US and Canada.
- Internet Address Finder (web link)
... to find an email address, the company the person is with and the
address of the company.
- Phone Disc (cheatsheet) ... to
find phone numbers, address, neighbors, type of business. (Mid-Atlantic
phone disc includes NC, SC, GA, VA, WV, DC, MD, DE and PA. Discs for other
states are available in News Research.)
- Switchboard (web link) ... to
find addresses and phone numbers for people and businesses. (Caution: Some
of these may be outdated.)
- WhoWhere (web link) ... to find
e-mail addresses, home addresses and phone numbers.
- Yahoo/411
Email address finder (web link) ... to find an email address and other
information if the person has filled out the 411 form
- Yahoo's People Search page
(by 411) (web link) ... to find addresses and phone numbers for people
and businesses. Updated 4 times per year.
specialty sources
- Dead People
Server (web link) ... to find out if a celebrity is dead (or just
rumored to be).
- DocFinder from
the North Carolina Medical Board (web link) ... to find all
physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practioners licensed in North
Carolina.
- Expert
Sources on the web (web link) ... to find a listing of expert
directories, expert tracking services and databases.
- Martindale-Hubbell Law
Directory (web link) .... to find the name and address of the lawyer
and his law firm, when admitted to the bar, law school attended, college
attended, birthdate, type of law practiced and associations the lawyer
belongs to.
- Military City Online (web link) ... to find
military personnel, military stories and photographs of airplanes, tanks,
ships and military vehicles.
-
Search Form for Certified Pilots (web link) ... to find all pilots
registered with the FAA.
- Vietnam War Memorial Wall
(web link) or National
Archives and Records Administration (web link) ... to
find information about soldiers who died in the Korean or Vietnam War.
- West's Legal Directory (web link)
... to find similar information to what's available in
Martindale-Hubbell.
If you know an address, use ...
- DejaNews (web link) ... to find
if a person has ever posted to a newsgroup.
- Durham County Board of Elections
(cheatsheet) ... to find name, address, precinct, sex, date of birth,
race, party, state of birth, registration date and voter history.
- Durham County Property Tax Records
(cheatsheet) ... to find size of lot, assessed value of property, if the
property is owned by an individual or business. If the record is complete,
you will find the address, social security number, employer and phone
number.
- Infospace (web link) ... to
find name, address, phone, e-mail address, and a map for directions to a
persons home, in the US and Canada.
- Phone Disc (cheatsheet) ...
to find phone numbers, address, neighbors, type of business. (Mid-Atlantic
phone disc includes NC, SC, GA, VA, WV, DC, MD, DE and PA. Discs for other
states are available in News Research.)
- Switchboard (web link) ... to
find addresses and phone numbers for people and businesses. (Caution: Some
of these may be outdated.)
- Wake County Property Records
(cheatsheet) ... to find address, ownership, previous owners, square
footage of home, selling price, perimeter sketch of property.
- Wake County Register of Deeds
(cheatsheet) ... to find information on all legal documents filed in the
Register of Deeds office, including marriage licenses and divorce.
- Wake County Tax Records
(cheatsheet) ... to find billing and collection information on personal
property.
- Wake County Voter Registration
(cheatsheet) ... to find name, address, precinct, sex, date of birth,
race, party, state of birth, registration date and voter history.
- WhoWhere (web link) ... to find
e-mail addresses, home addresses and phone numbers.
If you know a license plate number, use ...
If you know a Social Security number ...
Ask a news researcher for help.
Social Security numbers are not public record, but the researchers have
access to a number of fee-based commercial services that can be searched
using a person's SSN. If you have a number, talk to a researcher to see
what else you can find.
If you are an N&O reporter or editor, you may send a
request for research to the news
researchers.
If you're not affiliated with The News & Observer
and need research assistance, please contact
Pisys IQ.