Free Online Ohio City Directories

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 October 2024)
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City and business directories are available online from all over the U.S.. They are 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 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.

Ohio 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

Adamsville

Akron

Allen County

Alliance

Amanda

Ashland

Ashland County

Auglaize County

Baltimore

Bangorville

Barberton

Bellaire

Bellevue

Bellville

Belmont County

Blue Rock

Bluffton

    Bridgeport

    Bromley

    Bucyrus

    Butler

    Butler County

    Canal Winchester

    Canton

    Carroll

        Centerburg

        Chardon

        Chillicothe

        Cincinnati

        Circleville

        Clark County

        Clermont County

        Cleveland

        Clinton County

        Collinwood

        Columbiana County

        Columbus

        Conneaut

        Covington

        Crawford County

        Crestline

        Cuyahoga County

        Cuyahoga Falls

        Darke County

        Dayton

        Delaware

        East Liverpool

        Eaton

        Elyria

        Euclid

        Fayette County

        Fort Thomas

        Franklin County

        Fredericktown

        Fremont

        Fulton

        Fulton County

        Galion

        Gambier

        Granville

        Greene County

        Groveport

        Hamilton

        Hamilton County

        Hancock County

        Hocking County

        Hopkinsville

        Huron County

        Jackson County

          Jefferson County

          Kent

          Kenton

          Knox County

          Lake County

          Lancaster

          Latonia

          Licking County

          Lockland

          Logan

          Logan County

          Lorain County

          Lucas

          Ludlow

          Madison

          Mansfield

          Marion County

          Martin’s Ferry

          Marysville

          Massillon

          Medina County

          Mercer County

          Miami County

          MIddleport

          Middletown

          Milldale

          Minerva

          Montgomery County

          Montpelier

          Mount Vernon

          Mt. Vernon

          Muncie

          Muskingum County

          Newark

          Newport

          Norwalk

          Norwood

          Oberlin

          Painesville

          Pandora

          Pickaway County

          Pickerington

          Piqua

          Pleasantville

          Pomeroy

          Portage County

          Portsmouth

          Preble County

          Reading

          Reynoldsburg

          Richland County

          Ross County

          Rushville

          Salem

          Sandusky

          Scioto County

          Sebring

          Seneca County

          Shelby

          Sidney

          Springfield

          Stark County

          Steubenville

          Sugar Grove

          Thurston

          Tiffin

          Toledo

          Uhrichsville

          Union County

          Van Wert

          Van Wert and Delphos

          Van Wert County

          Warren County

          Washington Court House

          Wheeling

          Williams County

          Wilmington

          Wood County

          Wooster

          Wyandot County

          Youngstown

          Zanesville


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

          Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

          3 replies on “Free Online Ohio City Directories”

          Hello,
          I just wanted to let you know that the directories with the dates in brackets listed under “Hamilton County” are actually “City of Hamilton” (Butler County) directories. They originated from Lane Public Library, our repository, and were digitized by PLCH.
          Thanks,
          Brad

          Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I’m confused with this. It is labelled as “Hamilton County” in the title created by the Cincinnati Library, and even some of the actual directories state “Hamilton County” Could you help me understand the mislabeling and proper labeling?

          I think that what Brad was referring to is the fact that in your list you have combined the listings from Hamilton County with the ones from the City of Hamilton. The division point should be between the following two entries:

          Williams’ Hamilton County Directory for 1911-12
          Williams’ Hamilton Directory [1858-1859]

          The ones listed as Williams’ Hamilton Directory (from this dividing point to the end of the list) should be referenced as Hamilton (the city) which is in Butler County.

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