Free Online Massachusetts 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 April 2024)

Massachusetts 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

Acushnet

Amesbury

Amherst

Andover

Arlington

Athol

Attleboro

Babson Park

Bellingham

Berkley

Berkshire

Berkshire County

Beverly

Bondsville

Boston

Bradford

Bristol County

Brockton

Brookline

Cambridge

Canton

Charlestown

Chelmsford

Chelsea

Chicopee

Cochituate

Cohasset

Concord

Cummington

Danvers

Dartmouth

Dighton

Downer Landing

Dunstable

Duxbury

Easthampton

Easton

Essex

Essex County

Fairhaven

Fall River

Fitchburg

Foxboro

Foxborough

Franklin

Gardner

Gloucester

Grand Isle

Greenfield

Groton

Groveland

Hampden County

Hampshire County

Haverhill

Hingham

Holbrook

Holyoke

Lakeville

Lawrence

Lawrence County

Lee

Leominster

Lincoln

Lowell

Lynn

Malden

Manchester

Mansfield

Marblehead

Marion

Marshfield

Mattapoisett

Medfield

Medway

Middleboro

Middleborough

Middlesex County

Millis

Monson

Nantasket

Nashua

Natick

New Bedford

Newburyport

Newport

Newton

North Adams

North Attleboro

North Monson

Northampton

Norwell

Palmer

Palmer Center

Peabody

Pepperell

Pittsfield

Plainville

Plymouth

Plymouth County

Randolph

Rehoboth

Rochester

Roxbury

Salem

Salisbury

Scituate

Seekonk

Sharon

Somerset

Somerville

South Belchertown

South Berkshire

South Hadley

Springfield

Stoughton

Swansea

Taunton

Thorndike

Three Rivers

Topsfield

Union County

Walpole

Waltham

Ware

Wareham

Watertown

Wayland

Wellesley

Wenham

West Brimfield

Westfield

Weston

Westport

Weymouth

Wilmington

Woburn

Worcester

Worcester County

Wrentham


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

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

One reply on “Free Online Massachusetts City Directories”

A super-helpful resource! I’ve been turning to city directories a lot lately and this will really save me some time. Thanks so much for putting it together!

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