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(This page's most recent update is February 2026)
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City and business directories are available online from all over the U.S. and Canada and are what I consider another important (and underutilized) set of information that can assist you in advancing your family history and genealogy research.
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.
Here is a list of 33 pieces of information that you can find in city directories.
- Full names, including middle names
- Spouse name
- Occupation
- Employer
- Widows and adult children at home
- Phone numbers
- Whether a woman is a widow (including name of husband)
- List of marriages and deaths from previous year
- Abbreviations used in the directory
- Maps
- Street Locators and street name changes
- City history
- Bus routes
- Statistics
- Advertisements
- Businesses
- Index to advertisers
- Government Offices
- Government Officials
- Churches
- Cemeteries
- Schools
- Colleges and Universities
- Funeral homes
- Cemeteries
- Post Offices
- Courts
- Hospitals
- Firehouses
- Police locations
- Military installations
- Associations, clubs, lodges, and societies
- Newspapers
Access over 35,000 Free Online city directories from the U.S. and Canada at Directories
If you’d like this information in a clean, printable, and well-organized reference format, this topic is also included in the Quicksheet Vault. The Vault is designed for researchers who prefer working tools they can save, print, and reuse—whether that means building a personal binder of key resources or keeping reliable references close at hand. You can learn more about the Quicksheet Vault HERE