Get the 411

Maybe our distant ancestors didn’t have telephones, but in the 1800's (and in some cases the 1700's) cities did have directories with a person's address and possibly their occupation. I found among my father’s things a postcard from 1907 my then single grandmother had sent to my grandfather from the place her family frequented in the summer (She called him Dear Boy… awwww). He had moved to Montreal from Kingston and I looked his name up in the City Directories, trying to find approximately how long he had lived there….  but he wasn’t listed???  Many of the directories, besides having an alphabetic index, also had a street index.  This comes in handy when you know from another document or census that your ancestor lived at a certain address, but they are not in the directory.  They may not be listed if the dwelling belonged to someone else.  So if you go to the street index and find the address, you will see who owns the house. Your ancestor may be staying with family or friends, or even boarding with a stranger.  In my case I discovered my grandfather was living at the home of Mrs Dixon, widow.

The directories also include listings of businesses, churches, schools, social organizations, municipal services, etc. and their directors.  You can use the directory to perhaps get a closer date when your ancestor immigrated.  Keep in mind a person may have moved and his listing not been changed yet.

 Do you know the address where your ancestors lived? Did they move often? Do you know if they owned, rented or boarded?  Answers to these questions add another dimension to your ancestors. I have listed below links to some city directories. If the one you need is not listed, try googling “[town] city directories”. If you get too many recent results, you can throw “historical” in the mix. Also use keywords "list of persons".

 
Relevant Links:

QuebecCity – almanacs/directories at BANQ

McLaughlin's Quebec directory (incl plan of city) 1857

Annuaires Marcotte de Québec et leurs prédécesseurs, 1822-1920 

Les Almanachs de Quebec 1780-1841

Lovell Directories of Montreal 1842-1999 

Toronto City Directories

Ottawa City Directories

Kingston City Directories

McAlpine's Maritime Provinces Directory for 1870-71 

British Columbia Directories

The Henderson's Directories of the Prairies

US City Directories

Scotland City  Directories

Directories of England and Wales 

Irish Directories

PRONI - Irish City Directories

Williamson's directory for the city of Edinburgh, Canongate, Leith, and suburbs.

Online Historical Directories

List of Wright's Directories - world

Mitchell & Co.'s Canada classified directory for 1865-66

Newfoundland Almanac and PO Directory – several years

The Victoria Post Office Directory (AU) 1866

The Victoria Post Office Directory (AU) - 1869

Huntingdon County Business and Farmers Directory 1889 (Quebec, Canada)

The Municipal year book and public utilities directory of the UK – 1911

The Liverpool Directory, for the Year 1766

Fall River Directories – Mass

Pacific coast directory, for 1880-81 : containing names, business and address of merchants, manufacturers and professional men; county, city, state, territorial and federal officers, and notaries public, of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, and British Columbia : together with a sketch of the different cities and towns ... : complete classified and alphabetical lists, convenient for reference : invaluable for all business men.

Boyle's fashionable court and country guide, and town visiting directory: London 1903

Robson's London directory, street key, classification of trades, and Royal Court guide and peerage – 1842

Saugus (Mass) List of Persons Under 21 - various years

Directory & Gazetteer County Palatine of Lancaster - Liverpool & Manchester 1824