Free Online Rhode Island 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:​

• 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: 

• Where to Find 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 to the right of the name (in the Format column), then the collection’s 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.

Rhode Island 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

• 1889 The Providence Directory and Rhode Island Business Directory
• 1899 The Providence House Directory and Family Address Book
• 1919 Providence Directory and Rhode Island State Business Directory
• Rhode Island Business Directory, Adams, 1856
• Rhode Island German Directory 1900-1901. Deutsches adressbuch fuer Rhode Island, 1900-1901
• The Rhode Island Business Directory 1887
• The Rhode Island Register for the Year – V. 2 (1856)
• The Rhode Island Register, 1853
• The Rhode Island Register, 1853
• The Rhode Island Register, 1856
• The Bristol Warren and Barrington Rhode Island Directory 1917-1918

New England

•  Annual Directory of New England Colleges & Universities, 2003.
•  Annual Directory of New England Colleges and Universities 2005
•  Annual Directory of New England Colleges and Universities 2006
•  Annual Directory of New England Colleges and Universities 2007
•  Annual Directory of New England Colleges and Universities 2008
•  Annual Directory of New England Colleges and Universities 2009
•  Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families 1620-1700
•  Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families 1620-1700
•  Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families, 1620-1700
•  New England Almanac (1829-1832)
•  New England Business Directory, Sampson & Murdock, 1916 (Part 1)
•  New England Business Directory, Sampson & Murdock, 1918 (Part 1)
•  New England Eind Industry Directory, 1984
•  New England Merchantile Union Business Directory for, 1849
•  New-England Mercantile Union Business Directory: six Parts in one , 1849
•  News from New-England, 1676
•  Sanitarium Directory of the New England and Middle States, 1905
•  The Annual New England Official Directory and General Handbook 1878-79
•  The Annual New England Official Directory and General hand-book, 1878
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1875 
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1875 pt 1
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1875 pt 2
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1902
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1902 pt 3
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1902 pt 4
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1912
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1912 pt 2
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1916
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1916 pt 1
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1918
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1918 pt 1
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1918 pt 1
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1918 pt 2
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1918 pt 2
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1918 pt 3
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1918 pt 3
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1922
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1922 pt 2
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer 1922 pt 4
•  The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer for 1920
•  The New England Primer Printed in America Prior to 1830

Bristol

• The Bristol Warren and Barrington Rhode Island, Directory 1917-18

Central Falls

• Directories, The Pawtucket and Central Falls, Rhode Island, Directory, Containing a Directory of the Citizens, Street Directory, City Record and Business Directory, 1910
• The Pawtucket and Central Falls, Rhode Island, 1924 Directory

East Greenwich

• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory 1936
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory 1938
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory, also Town of East Greenwick 1948-1949
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory, also Town of East Greenwick 1952-1953
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory, Including East Greenwick 1940-1941
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory, Including East Greenwick 1942-1943
• Dunham’s East Greenwich, North Kingstown and Warwick Rhode Island Directory 1925
• Dunham’s East Greenwich, North Kingstown and Warwick Rhode Island Directory 1928
• The East Greenwich, North Kingstown and Warwick Rhode Island Directory 1922
• The Warwick, East Greenwich and North Kingstown Directory, Rhode Island 1920-1921

East Providence

• The East Providence Directory – 1931-1932

Jamestown

• 1918-1919 Jamestown and North Shoreham (Block Island) Directory

Johnston

• Johnston [Rhode Island] Directory 1892
• Johnston [Rhode Island] Directory 1892-[1893-94]
• Johnston [Rhode Island] Directory 1893-94

LIttle Compton

• 1910, Resident and Business Directory Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, and Little Compton Rhode Island
• 1921-1922, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, and Little Compton Rhode Island Directory

Middletown

• 1910, Resident and Business Directory Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, and Little Compton Rhode Island
• 1921-1922, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, and Little Compton Rhode Island Directory

Newport

• 1856, The Newport Directory
• 1858, The Newport Directory
• 1863, The Newport Directory
• 1871, The Newport City Directory by Boyd’s
• 1881, The Newport Directory
• 1884, The Newport Directory
• 1887, Newport Household Directory
• 1893, The Newport Directory
• 1898, The Newport Directory
• 1900, The Newport Directory
• 1904, The Newport Directory
• 1910, The Newport Directory
• 1917, The Newport Directory
• 1921, The Newport Directory Part 1
• 1921, The Newport Directory Part 2
• Newport Household Directory, 1887
• The Newport Directory 1900

North Shoreham

• 1918-1919 Jamestown and North Shoreham (Block Island) Directory

Pawtucket

• A List of Persons, Corporations, Companies and Estates, Pawtucket, R.I. – 1904
• A List of Persons, Corporations, Companies and Estates, Pawtucket, R.I. – 1905
• A List of Persons, Corporations, Companies and Estates, Pawtucket, R.I. – 1946
• The Pawtucket and Central Falls, Rhode Island, 1924 Directory – 1924
• The Pawtucket and Central Falls, Rhode Island, Directory – 1930
• The Pawtucket and Central Falls, Rhode Island, Directory, 1910

Portsmouth

• 1910, Resident and Business Directory Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, and Little Compton Rhode Island
• 1921-1922, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, and Little Compton Rhode Island Directory

Providence

• 1832, Colored Persons Directory of Providence, Rhode Island (in Hardscrabble and Snowball)
• 1844, The Providence Almanac and Business Directory
• 1850-1853, Brown’s Providence Directory
• 1856, The Providence Almanac and Business Directory
• 1857, The Providence Almanac and Business Directory 1857
• 1885, Providence Rhode Island Directory
• 1905, The Providence House Directory and Family Address Book
• 1935, Providence City Directory
• 1952, Polk’s Providence (Providence County, R.I.) City Directory
• 1976, Providence (Providence County, R.I.) City Directory
• 1993, Providence Rhode Island City Directory
• 1996, Providence Rhode Island Cross-Reference Directory
• Brown University, Directory of Officers and Students, 1928-1929
• Colored Persons Directory H. H. Brown 1832
• Colored Persons Directory Providence 1844 H. H. Brown
• Colored Persons Directory Providence H. H. Brown 1838
• Colored Persons Directory Providence H. H. Brown 1841
• Directory of Officers and Students, 1928-1929
• Owners and Occupants of the lots, Houses and shops in the Town of Providence, Rhode Island in 1798
• Providence City and Rhode Island Business Directories, Sampson, Murdock, & Co., 1889
• Providence City Directory, Brown & Danforth, 1824
• Providence City Directory, Unknown, 1836-7
• Providence House Directory and Family Address Book, Sampson, Murdock, & Co., 1899
• Providence Rhode Island City Directory, 1990
• The Providence Almanac and Business Directory 1844-45
• The Providence Almanac and Business Directory 1844-45
• The Providence Almanac and Business Directory 1846-47
• The Providence Almanac and Business Directory 1846-47
• The Providence Almanac and Business Directory 1848-49
• The Providence Almanac and Business Directory 1848-49
• The Providence Almanac and Business Directory 1857
• The Providence Almanac and Business Directory 1881
• The Providence Almanac and Business Directory, 1880
• The Providence Directory 1889
• The Providence Directory 1889
• The Providence Directory 1892
• The Providence Directory 1892
• The Providence Directory 1912
• The Providence Directory 1912
• The Providence Directory 1913
• The Providence Directory 1913
• The Providence Directory 1914
• The Providence Directory 1914
• The Providence Directory 1919
• The Providence Directory 1919
• The Providence Directory 1920
• The Providence Directory 1920
• The Providence Directory and Rhode Island Business Directory 1919
• The Providence Directory and Rhode Island State Business Directory 1930
• The Providence Directory and Rhode Island State Business Directory 1932
• The Providence Directory and Rhode Island State Business Directory 1934

Tiverton

• Resident and Business Directory of Tiverton, Little Compton, Portsmouth, Middletown, and Little Compton Rhode Island 1921-22
• Resident and Business Directory of Tiverton, Little Compton, Portsmouth, Middletown, Rhode Island 1910
• Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown (Rhode Island) City Directories – 1910
• Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown (Rhode Island) City Directories – 1921-1922

Warren

• The Bristol Warren and Barrington Rhode Island Directory 1917-1918

Warwick

• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory 1936
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory 1938
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory, also Town of East Greenwick 1948-1949
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory, also Town of East Greenwick 1952-1953
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory, Including East Greenwick 1940-1941
• Armstrong’s Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island Directory, Including East Greenwick 1942-1943
• Dunham’s East Greenwich, North Kingstown and Warwick Rhode Island Directory 1925
• Dunham’s East Greenwich, North Kingstown and Warwick Rhode Island Directory 1928
• Polk’s Warwick (Bristol County, R.I) City Directory Vol. 1959
• The East Greenwich, North Kingstown and Warwick Rhode Island Directory 1922
• The Warwick Directory, Rhode Island 1914-15
• The Warwick, East Greenwich and North Kingstown Directory, Rhode Island 1920-1921

Woonsocket

• The Woonsocket Rhode Island Directory – 1930
• The Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Directory 1910