Free Online Kansas City Directories

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, and newspapers.
  • Whether a woman is a widow (including the name of her husband).
  • List of marriages and deaths of the previous year.
  • Death date.
  • etc.

Here are a few good primers on the benefits of searching historical city and other directories:​

And here are various places where you can find other city directories online: 

Note: Some of the links listed 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. To take full advantage, please make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

(Updated March 2024)

Kansas City Directories

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

Abilene

Allen County

Anderson County

Atchison County

Barber County

Barton County

Benton

Bourbon County

Brown County

Butler County

Chase County

Chautauqua County

Cherokee County

Cheyenne County

Clark County

Cloud County

Coffey County

Coffeyville

Comanche County

Council Grove

Cowley County

Crawford County

Decatur County

Dickinson County

Dodge City

Doniphan County

Edwards County

El Dorado

El Dorado County

Elk County

Ellis County

Ellsworth County

Finney County

Ford County

Fort Scott

Franklin County

Geary County

Gove County

Graham County

Great Bend

Greenwood County

Harper County

Harvey County

Hays

Hodgeman County

Hoisington

Hope

Jackson County

Jefferson County

Jewell County

Johnson County

Kingman County

Kiowa County

Labette County

Lane County

Lawrence

Leavenworth

Leavenworth County

Leon

Lincoln County

Linn County

Lyon County

Lyon County

Marion County

Marshall County

McPherson County

Meade County

Miami County

Mitchell County

Morris County

Nemaha County

Neodesha

Neosho County

Ness County

Newton

Norton County

Osage County

Osborne County

Ottawa County

Pawnee County

Phillips County

Pottawatomie County

Pratt County

Rawlins County

Reno County

Republic County

Rice County

Rooks County

Rush County

Russell County

Saline County

Scott County

Sedgwick County

Shawnee County

Smith County

Topeka

Towanda

Wabaunsee County

Washington County

Wichita

Woodson County


For all Free Kansas Collection Links in 24 Genealogy Categories, go to the By Location Page, click on Kansas, and then click on the category of interest.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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