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
- John L. Mitchell's Tennessee state gazetteer and business directory, 1860-61
- Tennessee blue book and official directory - 1947-1948
- Tennessee State Business Directory, Mitchell, 1860-1
- Tennessee state gazetteer and business directory, 1860-61
- Tennessee state gazetteer and business directory, 1876-77
- The Tennessee Gazetteer, 1830-39
- The Tennessee gazetteer, or topographical dictionary, 1834
- West Tennessee combination directory - 1872
- West Tennessee combination directory. Containing the histories and directories of Jackson, Brownsville and Trenton
Benton County Chattanooga
- Chattanooga city directory - 1931
- City directory of Chattanooga and suburbs, 1908
- City directory of Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1896
- Knoxville city directory - 1931
- Knoxville city directory, 1895
- Knoxville city directory, 1897
- Knoxville city directory, 1907
- Williams' Knoxville directory, city guide, and business mirror, 1859
- Williams' Knoxville directory, city guide, and business mirror, 1859
- Memphis State College Annual Edition of the Student Directory for 1954-1955
- Memphis State College Annual Edition of the Student Directory for 1954-1955
- Memphis State College Student Directory for 1947-48
- Memphis State College Student Directory for 1949-1950
- Memphis State College Student Directory for 1950-1951
- Memphis State College Student Directory for 1951-1952
- Memphis State University Directory of Students-Faculty, 1962-63
- Memphis State University Directory of Students-Faculty, 1963-64
- Memphis State University Faculty-Staff-Student Telephone Directory, 1966-67
- Memphis State University Faculty-Staff-Student Telephone Directory, 1967-1968
- Memphis State University Faculty-Staff-Students Telephone Directory, 1965-1966
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty Directory, [1964-65]
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty Directory, 1960-1961
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1968-1969
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1969-1970
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1970-1971
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1971-1972
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1972-1973
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1973-74
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1974-75
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1975-76
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1976-1977
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1977-78
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1978-79
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1979-80
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1980-81
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1981-82
- Memphis State University Student-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1982-83
- Memphis State University Students, Faculty, [and] Staff Telephone Directory, 1961-1962
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Directory, 1983-84
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Directory, 1984-85
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Directory, 1985-86
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Directory, 1986-87
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Directory, 1987-88
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1988-89
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1989-90
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1990-91
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1991-92
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1992-93
- Memphis State University Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1993-94
- R.L. Polk & Co.'s Memphis city directory - 1921
- The Student Telephone Directory for Memphis State University, 1957-1958
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory : Great Expectations, 1996-97
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory : Great Expectations, 1997-98
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1994-95
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1995-96
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1998-99
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 1999-2000
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2000-2001
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2001-2002
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2002-2003
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2003-2004
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2004-2005
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2005-2006
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2006-2007
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2007-2008
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2008-2009
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2009-2010
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2010-2011
- The University of Memphis Students-Faculty-Staff Telephone Directory, 2011-2012
- King's Nashville city directory - 1870
- Nashville and West Nashville city directory 1901, 1904
- Nashville business directory - v. 3 (1857)
- Nashville business directory , 1855-6
- Nashville business directory, 1855-56
- Nashville business directory, 1855-56
- Nashville business directory, 1860-61
- Nashville city and business directory, 1853
- Nashville city and business directory, 1855-57
- Nashville city and business directory, 1860-61
- Nashville city and business directory, for the city of Nashville, 1859
- Nashville City and Tennessee State and Business Directory, Campbell, 1853-4
- Nashville city directory - 1920-1921
- Nashville City Directory 1853/54
- Nashville City Directory 1855/56
- Nashville City Directory 1857
- Nashville City Directory 1860/61
- Nashville City Directory 1865
- Nashville City Directory 1866
- Nashville City Directory 1867
- Nashville City Directory 1868
- Nashville City Directory 1869
- Nashville City Directory 1870
- Nashville City Directory 1871
- Nashville City Directory 1880
- Nashville City Directory 1881
- Nashville City Directory, Campbell, 1855-6
- Nashville City Directory, Campbell, 1855-6
- Nashville City Directory, Campbell, 1857
- Nashville City Directory, Campbell, 1859
- Nashville City Directory, King, 1865
- Nashville City Directory, King, 1865
- Nashville City Directory, King, 1866
- Nashville City Directory, King, 1867
- Nashville City Directory, King, 1868
- Nashville City Directory, Rogers, 1880
- Nashville City Directory, Rogers, 1881
- Nashville City Directory, Williams, 1860-1
- Nashville directory - 1886
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
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