I'm looking at the City Directories for Youngstown, Ohio (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. )
My ancestor William Staines (with his wife Catherine) and two of his sons moved to Youngstown from England in the late 1890s. A son from Catherine's previous marriage (Willam Morris) also moved to the USA in the same time frame.
In the 1900 census william Staines the elder is a 68-year old 'Day labourer'; he had been an iron worker from 1851 until at least 1893. Catherine was 66 in the same census. Neither of them appear in the 1910 census.
In 1900, 1901 and 1902 I can find entries for William Staines (and his wife Catherine), William Staines Jr and Ernest Ernest Staines
In 1903 Ernest is present, but neither of the Williams.
In 1904 Ernest and the younger William are present; the younger William is no longer shown as William jr.
William sr's wife Catherine appears in the 1905 census of New Jersey with her son William Morris; there is no indication that she is a widow, but her husband is not present
By 1908, she is back in Youngstown and recorded as a widow.
I conclude from this that William sr died between 1902 (when he was last recorded in Youngstown) and 1908 (when Catherine is first recorded as a widow).
Does the fact that William jr ceased to be shown as William jr in 1904 suggest that William is dead by then, or could it simply mean that he was no longer resident in Youngstown?
Does the fact that the 1903 directory was published in January 1903 tell me anything about when the data was gathered -- and so, when William sr ceased to be resident for whatever reason?