City and business directories are available online from all over the U.S. and Canada 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 - Canada 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. Please make sure that you are signed in to FamilySearch, in order to take full advantage of the collections that are available.
(Updated July, 2020; recently added links are in BOLD)
Links to these free collections are presented initially with countrywide and provincewide collections, followed in alphabetical order by city or county. Please note that many of the counties no longer exist, but are now districts or regional municipalities. Generally, the publishing company is included in the reference to the collection, along with the collection title, and the date(s) of the directory:
Countrywide
- Business Directory of Canada West Directory 1851
- Canada classified Directory 1865-66
- Canada Directory 1851
- Canada Directory 1857-58
- Canada Gazetteer and Business Directory 1864-1865
- Canadian Dominion Directory for Directory 1871
- Canadian Professional and Business Directory, Mackay, 1851
- Dominion Business Directory 1890 -- From Internet Archive
- Halifax, Amherst, Charlottetown, Dartmouth, Chatham, Fredericton, Kentville, Moncton, New Glasgow, Sydney, N. Sydney, Pictou, Quebec, St. John, St. Stephen, Summerside, Yarmouth, Woodstock, Truro, Windsor Directory 1900
- Mitchell & Co.'s Canada Classified Directory for 1865-66
- Supplement to the Directory 1851 Canada Directory 1853
- The Canadian Legal Directory 1878
Provincewide
- Belcher's farmer's almanack for the province of Nova Scotia, 1897
- Belcher's Nova Scotia Directory 1897
- Directories for Halifax, Amherst, Charlottetown, Dartmouth, Chatham, Fredericton, Kentville, Moncton, New Glasgow, Sydney, N. Sydney, Pictou, Quebec, St. John, St. Stephen, Summerside, Yarmouth, Woodstock, Truro, Windsor 1900
- Hutchinson's Nova Scotia Directory, for 1864/65
- Hutchinson's Nova Scotia Directory, for 1866/67
- Lovell's Nova Scotia Directory 1871
- Lovell's Province of Nova Scotia Directory for 1871
- McAlpine’s Nova Scotia Directory 1907-1908
- McAlpine's Nova Scotia Directory, 1868-69
- McAlpine's Nova Scotia Directory, 1890-97
- Nova Scotia Directory 1850
- The Provincial Wesleyan almanack for the year of our Lord 1860
- The Provincial Wesleyan almanack for the year of our Lord 1861
- The Provincial Wesleyan almanack for the year of Our Lord 1862
Amherst Annapolis Halifax
- Halifax Directory 1863
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1869-70
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1871-72
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1872-73
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1873-74
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1874-75
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1875-76
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1876-77
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1877-78
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1878-79
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1879-80
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1880-81
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1881-82
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1882-83
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1883-84
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1884-85
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1886-87
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1887-88
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1888-89
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1889-90
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1890-91
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1891-92
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1892-93
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1893-94
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1894-95
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1895-96
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1896-97
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1897-98
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1898-99
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1899-1900
- McAlpine's Halifax City Directory for 1900-01
- McAlpine's Halifax city directory, 1877
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1869-1870
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1871-1872
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1872
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1873
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1874-1875
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1875-1876
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1876-1877
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1877-1878
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1878-1879
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1879-1880
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1880-1881
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1881-1882
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1882-1883
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1883-1884
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1884-1885
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1886-1887
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1887-1888
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1888-1889
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1889-1890
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1890-1891
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1891-1892
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1892-1893
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1893-1894
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1894-1895
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1895-1896
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1896-1897
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1897-1898
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1898-1899
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1899-1900
- McAlpine's Halifax Directory 1900-1901
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
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