Free Online New York 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)

New York 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

Albany

Albany County

Allegany County

Antrim

Auburn

Baldwinsville

Batavia

Binghamton

Brockport Village

Bronx

Brooklyn

Broome County

Buffalo

Canandaigua

Canastota

Cattaraugus County

Cayuga County

Chautauqua County

Chemung County

Chenango County

Clinton

Clyde

Cohoes

Columbia County

Corning

Cortland

Cortland County

Durhamville

East Rochester Village

Elmira

Erie County

Fairport

Fayetteville

Fishkill

Flushing

Fulton

Fulton County

Genesee County

Geneva

Glens Falls

Granville

Green Island

Herkimer County

Hillsdale

Homer

Ithaca

Jamestown

Jefferson County

Kenwood

Kings County

Lansingburg

Lewis County

Liverpool

Livingston County

Long Island

Lowville

Lyons

Lysander

Madison County

Malone

Manhattan/Bronx

Manlius

Marathon

McGraw

Monroe County

Montgomery County

Nassau County

New York City

Newark

Niagara County

Norwich

Ogdenburg

Ogdensburg

Oneida

Oneida Castle

Oneida County

Oneonta

Onondaga County

Ontario County

Orleans County

Oswego

Oswego County

Oswego Falls

Otsego County

Owego

Oxford

Palmyra

Patchogue Village

Penn Yan

Phoenix

Pittsford

Plattsburgh

Poughkeepsie

Pulaski

Putnam County

Queens

Queens County

Rensselaer County

Richland

Rochester

Rome

Saratoga County

Saratoga Springs

Savannah

Schenectady

Schenectady and Scotia

Schenectady County

Schoharie County

Schuyler County

Schuyler County

Scotia

Seneca County

Seneca Falls

Sherburne

Sherman

Sherrill

Skaneateles

St Lawrence County

Staten Island

Steuben County

Suffolk County

Sullivan County

Syracuse

Syracuse and Utica

Tioga County

Tompkins County

Trenton

Troy

Ulster County

Utica

Washington County

Waterloo

Watertown

Watervliet

Wayne County

West Point

Westchester County

Williamsburg

Williamsburgh

Wyoming County

Yates

Yates County


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

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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