City Directories Sources



The use of city directories for learning more about an ancestor’s home or business at a certain time period is excellent. However, trying to locate a city directory for the ancestral hometown can be difficult.

Do try the hometown’s public library and their history museum, great places to check. Also, the local genealogical society might have a collection of city directories.

Another source is online, known as ‘Don’s List of City Directories‘. Now not all city directories are on the site. As you examine the listing at the top the ones available are in blue, linked. This even includes some locations outside the United States.

As you look at a specific location, not all years are available also but do check any years even close to when your ancestors lived there.  

The scanned pages of each directory are done for you. Some are ‘gazetteers’ filled with history and information on the state and towns.

Bookmark this site and spend 15 minutes a day seeing that you might locate.

Photos: Saginaw, Michigan 1915 and Rocky MT Colorado 1870

Related FamilyTree.com blogs:

1917 Hotel Red Book and Directory

Directories – Time Stands Still

City Directories for NY

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