City and business directories are available online from all over the U.S. and are what I consider another important set of information that can assist you in advancing your family history and genealogy research.
This activity of presenting links is a collaborative effort between The Ancestor Hunt and Miriam Robbins, who for years has made available the Online Historical Directories website, which presents links to directories of all types that are available online, including free collections as well as those available only via subscription. I wish to thank Miriam for her help in launching this category of records at The Ancestor Hunt.
So, what kinds of directories are available to the researcher? Naturally city and business directories, but also telephone directories, and alumni, farm, lodge, rural, and social directories.
What can you find in these records? How about:
- Full names, including middle names
- Spouse name
- Occupation
- Widows, working women, and adult children at home.
- Maps
- Businesses (and index to advertisers).
- Addresses and maps of churches, schools, funeral homes, cemeteries, post offices, courts, hospitals, benevolent associations, newspapers.
- Whether a woman is a widow (including name of husband).
- List of marriages and deaths of previous year.
- Death date.
- etc.
Here are a few good primers on the benefits of searching historical city and other directories:
- FamilySearch - United States Directories
- How to Use City Directories In Your Genealogy Research
- What's In A City Directory? (a 10 article series about City Directories)
Note: Some of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections' images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital.
(Updated July, 2020; recently added links are in BOLD)
Links to these free collections are presented initially with statewide collections, followed in alphabetical order by city or county. Generally, the publishing company is included in the reference to the collection, along with the collection title, and the date(s) of the directory:
Statewide
- Business directory of central Connecticut, 1887
- Connecticut business directory and gazetteer for 1894-1911
- Connecticut business directory for, 1866-1888
- Connecticut State Register, Brown & Gross, 1866
- Connecticut State Register, Brown & Parsons, 1848
- Connecticut State Register, Secretary of State, 1904
- First families of Connecticut : the society address book, elite family directory and club list : a selected list of 3,000 of the first families of Connecticut : 1899-1900
- New England Business Directory, Sampson & Murdock, 1916 (Part 1)
- New England Business Directory, Sampson & Murdock, 1918 (Part 1)
- The Connecticut business directory for 1874
- The Connecticut business telephone directory, for 1906-1907: a classified list of all business telephone subscribers in Connecticut
Ansonia
- Ansonia (New Haven County, Conn.) city directory : including Derby, Shelton, Seymour, 1931
- Ansonia (New Haven County, Conn.) city directory : including Derby, Shelton, Seymour, 1973-1974
- Ansonia (New Haven County, Conn.) city directory : including Derby, Shelton, Seymour, 1975-1976
- Bridgeport city directory, including Stratford, Fairfield and Southport - 1879
- Bridgeport city directory, including Stratford, Fairfield and Southport - 1909
- Bridgeport city directory, including Stratford, Fairfield and Southport - 1971
- Bridgeport, Fairfield, Southport, Stratford, Easton and Trumbull directory, 1920
- Bridgeport, Fairfield, Southport, Stratford, Easton and Trumbull directory, 1921
- Enfield directory, 1891: including Thompsonville and Hazardville
- Enfield, Thompsonville, Hazardville, Suffield, Somers and Windsor Locks Connecticut directory, 1915
- Turner's directory of Greenwich and Cos Cob, Conn., Port Chester, Rye, Harrison and Mamaroneck, N.Y, 1904/1905-1908/1909
- Turner's directory of Greenwich, Port Chester, Rye, Harrison and Mamaroneck, 1903
- 1847 Hartford CT Directory OCR
- 1922 Hartford Directory
- Classified business directory and street guide, Hartford, 1939
- Classified directory and blue book of Hartford, 1917-1918
- Classified directory of prominent professional and business men and corporations of Hartford
- Gardners's 1840 Hartford City Directory Connecticut CT
- Geer's Hartford City Directory - 1896
- Geer's Hartford City Directory and Hartford Illustrated; for the year commencing July, 1881
- Geer's Hartford city directory, (1845)
- Geer's Hartford city directory, (1896)
- Geer's Hartford city directory, (1897)
- Geer's Hartford city directory, (1898)
- Geer's Hartford city directory, (1899)
- Geer's Hartford city directory, (1903)
- Geer's Hartford city directory, (1920)
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1855-1856
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1857-1858
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1872-1873
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1882
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1884
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1886
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1889
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1891
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1892
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1893
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1896
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1897
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1898
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1899
- Geer's Hartford Directory including West Hartford and East Hartford, 1900
- Geer's Hartford directory, including West Hartford and East Hartford, Connecticut, 1855-56
- Geer's Hartford directory, including West Hartford and East Hartford, Connecticut, 1857-58
- Geer's Hartford directory, including West Hartford and East Hartford, Connecticut, 1867-68
- Geer's Hartford directory, including West Hartford and East Hartford, Connecticut, 1872-73
- Hartford city directory : including West Hartford and East Hartford,, 1860-1861
- Hartford city directory : including West Hartford and East Hartford,, 1917
- Hartford city directory : including West Hartford and East Hartford,, 1922
- Hartford Connecticut Directory 1956
- Hartford Connecticut Directory 1959
- Hartford Connecticut Suburban Directory 1966
- Hartford Directory, 1799
- Hartford house directory and family address book, 1906: as a supplement to Geer's Hartford city directory
- Hartford little suburban directory, 1913-1915
- Hartford suburban directory, 1905/1906-1918/1919
- The Greater Hartford directory : including Hartford, East Hartford, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor, Bloomfield, and Newington, 1930
- The Greater Hartford directory : including Hartford, East Hartford, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor, Bloomfield, and Newington, 1940
- Middletown Directory 1875
- Middletown Directory 1884
- Middletown Directory 1885
- Middletown Directory 1886
- Middletown Directory 1900
- Middletown Directory 1901
- Middletown Directory 1902
- Middletown Directory 1903
- Middletown Directory 1904
- Middletown Directory 1905
- Middletown Directory 1906
- Middletown Directory 1907
- Middletown Directory 1908
- Middletown Directory 1909
- Middletown Directory 1910
- Middletown Directory 1915
- Middletown Directory 1919
- Middletown Directory 1925
- Middletown Directory 1930
- Middletown Directory 1935
- Middletown Directory 1941
- Middletown Directory 1945
- Middletown Directory 1950
- Middletown Directory 1960
- Middletown Directory 1965
- Middletown Directory 1970
- Middletown Directory 1975
- Middletown Directory 1978
- Middletown Directory 1981
- Middletown Directory 1990
- Middletown, Portland directory, 1886-87
- Middletown, Portland directory, 1931
- 1840 1849 New Haven CT Connecticut Directory Assistant
- 1843 New Haven CT directory
- 1851 To 1856 New Haven CT Directory Assistant Connecticut
- 1855 New Haven CT Directory Connecticut
- 1861 New Haven CT Directory Connecticut
- 1866 New Haven CT Directory Connecticut
- 1870 & 1875 New Haven CT Connecticut Directory Assistant
- 1871 New Haven CT Connecticut Directory A
- 1874 New Haven CT Directory Connecticut
- 1875 New Haven CT Directory Connecticut
- 1883 New Haven Directory CT Connecticut
- 1884 New Haven Directory CT Connecticut
- 1886 New Haven Directory CT Connecticut
- 1887 New Haven Directory CT Connecticut
- 1892 New Haven Connecticut Directory CT
- 1901 New Haven Connecticut Directory CT
- 1901 New Haven CT Directory
- Benham's New Haven city directory, 1879
- Benham's New Haven directory and annual advertiser, 1851-52
- Benham's New Haven directory and annual advertiser, 1863-64
- Catalogue of the officers and graduates of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, 1701-1898
- Directory of the living graduates of Yale University - 1904
- Directory of the living graduates of Yale University - 1916
- New Haven city directory, 1891
- New Haven city directory, 1897
- New Haven Directory, 1867
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1840
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1841/42
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1842/43
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1852/53
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1853/54
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1854/55
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1855/56
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1857/58
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1859/60
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1899
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1900
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1901
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven (New Haven County, Conn.) City Directory, 1914
- Price & Leeʹs New Haven City Directory, 1840
- Sanger's New Haven business directory and advertising circular for 1850
- Yale Alumni Directory, Class directory, 1962 / Yale class of 1952
- Yale Law School Alumni Directory, 1949
- Yale Law School Alumni Directory, 1974
- New London, Niantic and Waterford directory, (1900)
- New London, Niantic and Waterford directory, (1905)
- New London, Niantic and Waterford directory, (1907)
- New London, Niantic and Waterford directory, (1909)
- New London, Niantic and Waterford directory, (1910)
- New London, Niantic and Waterford directory, (1914)
- New London County directory and business advertiser, 1873
- 1870 Stedman's Directory Norwich And Preston Connecticut CT
- Norwich Directory - 1930
- Norwich suburban Connecticut directory, 1923/1924-1931/1932
- The Norwich city directory - 1860
- Anderson's Stonington directory, 1881, Stonington directory
- The Mystic, Stonington, and Noank, Connecticut directory - 1931-1932
- Torrington, Winsted, Litchfield, Norfolk, Goshen Directory, 1914-1915
- Torrington, Winsted, Litchfield, Norfolk, Goshen Directory, 1938
- Torrington, Winsted, Litchfield, Norfolk, Goshen Directory, 1940
- Torrington, Winsted, Litchfield, Norfolk, Goshen Directory, 1942
- Torrington, Winsted, Litchfield, Norfolk, Goshen Directory, 1973
- Torrington, Winsted, Litchfield, Norfolk, Goshen Directory, 1976
- Torrington, Winsted, Litchfield, Norfolk, Goshen Directory, 1979
- Waterbury City Directory, 1868-69
- Waterbury City Directory, 1869
- Waterbury City Directory, 1871
- Waterbury City Directory, 1872
- Waterbury City Directory, 1874
- Waterbury City Directory, 1875-76
- Waterbury City Directory, 1876
- Waterbury City Directory, 1877
- Waterbury City Directory, 1881
- Waterbury, Naugatuck, and Watertown directory, 1961
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
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