The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is December 2024)
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City and business directories are available online from all over the U.S. and are another important source 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. For years, Miriam 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, there are city and business directories, but there are 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:
- 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)
And here are various places where you can find other city directories online:
Note: Some 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 make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.
Nebraska 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
- Guide, Gazetteer and Directory of Nebraska Railroads, 1872
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1879–1883
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1884–1885
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1886–1889
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1890–1891
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1893
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1894–1903
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1907
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1909
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1911
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1913
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1915
- Nebraska Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1917
- Wolfe’s Mercantile Guide, Gazetteer, and Business Directory of Cities, Towns, Villages, stations, and Government forts, located upon the lines of the following Named Railroads, Union Pacific, Omaha & Northwestern, Sioux City & Pacific, Omaha & Republican Valley, Colorado Central, Utah Northern, Utah Central, Utah Western, Utah Southern, Bingham Can[y]on & Camp Floyd, Wahsat[c]h & Jordan Valley, and American Fork Railroad and Towns in the Blackhills, 1872
Blair
Boone County
Burt County
Butler County
Campbell
Chadron
Cheyenne County
Cuming County
Fillmore County
Hamilton County
Holdrege
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1909
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1942
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1952
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1954
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1957
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1959
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1961
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1963
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1964
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1966
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1968
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1970
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1972
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1974
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1975
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1977
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1978
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1980
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1982
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1983
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1985
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1987
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1988
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1989
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1990
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1991
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1992
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1994
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1996
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1997
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 1998
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 2000
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 2001
- City Directories – Holdrege, Nebraska – 2003
- Holdrege, Nebraska City Directory – 1957
- Holdrege, Nebraska City Directory – 1959
- Holdrege, Nebraska City Directory – 1964
Jefferson County
- Jefferson County, Nebraska Rural Resident Directory – 1971
- Jefferson County, Nebraska Rural Resident Directory – 1974
- Jefferson County, Nebraska Rural Resident Directory – 1976
Lancaster County
- Lancaster County Rural Directory, Montgomery & Fowler, 1925
- Lancaster County, Atlas and Directory, 1921
Lincoln
- 1869, Alumni Directory, Graduates, 1869-1923, v3
- 1873, Alumni Directory, Graduates, 1869-1923, v1
- 1912, Bulletin of The University of Nebraska Alumni Directory Graduates 1869-1921
- Lincoln City Directory, 1918
- Lincoln, 1918, Lincoln City Directory 1918
- University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Alumni Directory, Class of 1908
- University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Alumni Directory, Graduates, 1869-1923
- University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Alumni Directory, Graduates, 1869-1923
- University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Alumni Directory: Graduates, 1869-1912
- University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Alumni Directory: Graduates, 1869-1912
- University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Alumni Directory, Graduates, 1869-1923
Norfolk
Omaha
- 1874, Omaha City and South Omaha City Directory 1874-1883
- 1884, Omaha City and South Omaha City Directory 1884-1888
- 1889, Omaha City and South Omaha City Directory 1889-1891
- 1892, Omaha City and South Omaha City Directory 1892-1894
- 1895, Omaha City Directory 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898
- 1898, McAvoy’s Omaha City Directory for 1898
- Omaha City and South Omaha City Directory, 1874-1894
- Omaha City Directory, 1895-1900
- Omaha Directory 1866
- Omaha Telephone Pages, 1940
- Omaha, 1866, 1866 Omaha City Directory
Pawnee County
Phelps County
- Phelps County (Nebraska) Directories – 1909
- Phelps County Directory, 1, 1927
- Phelps County Directory, 1, 1934
- Phelps County Directory, 2, 1934
- Phelps County Farm & Ranch Directory, 1, 1968
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Home Directory, 1, 1989
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Home Directory, 1, 1991A
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Home Directory, 1, 1992
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Home Directory, 1, 1993
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Home Plat & Directory, 1, 1996
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Home Plat & Directory, 1, 1998
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Home Plat & Directory, 1, 1999
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Home Plat & Directory, 1, 2004
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Ranch Directory, 1, 1967
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm & Ranch Directory, 1, 1970
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm and Ranch Directory, 1, 1965
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm Directory, 1, 1945
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm Directory, 1, 1947
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm Directory, 1, 1950
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm Directory, 1, 1952
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm Directory, 1, 1961
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm Directory, 1, 1964
- Phelps County Nebraska Farm Directory, 1, 1966
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Directory, 1, 1984
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Directory, 1, 1985A
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Directory, 1, 1986
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Directory, 2, 1988-B
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Directory, 2, 1991B
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Resident Directory, 1, 1978
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Resident Directory, 1, 1979
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Resident Directory, 1, 1980
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Resident Directory, 1, 1981
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Resident Directory, 1, 1982
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Resident Directory, 1, 1983
- Phelps County Nebraska Rural Resident Directory, 2, 1983
- Phelps County Rural Nebraska Directory, 2, 1985B
- Phelps County, Nebraska Farm & Home Directory, 1, 1969
- Phelps County, Nebraska Farm & Home Directory, 1, 1988
- Phelps County, Nebraska Farm & Home Directory, 1, 1990
- Phelps County, Nebraska Farm & Home Plat & Directory, 1, 1995
- Phelps County, Nebraska Farm & Home Plat & Directory, 1, 1997
- Phelps County, Nebraska Farm Directory, 1, 1946
- Phelps County, Nebraska Rural Resident Directory, 1, 1977
- Phelps County, Nebraska, Farm Directory, 1, 1959
- Phelps Nebraska County Directory, 1, 1971
- Phelps Nebraska County Directory, 1, 1972
- Phelps Nebraska County Directory, 1, 1973
- Phelps Nebraska County Directory, 1, 1975
- Phelps Nebraska County Directory, 1, 1976
Platte County
Polk County
Saline County
Sidney
Thayer County
Washington County
York County
- York City and County Directories, Wolfe, 1891-2
- York City Directory, Ward, 1887
- York County Business and Farmers’ Directories, Wolfe, 1890
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!