Most historical online directories begin in 1839, and the census starts in 1841. There are other records before this time, but they are more difficult to find, or access.
I have been building an Pub History site for at least the past twenty years. Originally it was the Essex site built by Ian Hunter before his demise. I took this site on, with friends, and built it into what it is today, many thousands of random pages of useful data of all counties, and London and York etc.
In 2016, AI took a snapshot of web sites, and stole their data. Sadly, AI is only as good as its owners. Google have an AI model which is absolutely rubbish, and rarely accurate.
If Google wants a paid researcher who can advise them about their awful search engine, then I would be glad to help. It really is a load of crap. AI should be meaningfull, but Google seems to think a guess at the right answer is good enough.
Chatpgt is brilliant, but it does only allows a number of free shots at their data.I have lots of chats with the chatgpt, which are always truthful.
More to the point, I now visit the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford about once a week. The site is amazing. It also has the blue badge parking I need.
I have been working through the years of 1769 to 1828 Alehouse Recognizances, and they are building, and I keep purchasing new pencils and pads of paper. Many of the records are now on my pubwiki site in Essex Pubs.
I am also concentrating on the pubs in York through the years. After building the London pub history site, this is quite an easy task, but I am up against some serious contenders, like hugh Murray, a guy who has probably already done all of this research, and published in the book I am unable to find anywhere.