Home
Research
Services
Research
Tutorial
Helpful
Websites
Read
My Blog
Other Directories

In addition to the "city directories" you can find directories for ethnic communities, business professions, and elite society.

Check Newberry's list of directories to see if any might be relevant to your search. Some examples include Bohemian-Americans, 1915 and Colored Society and Business, 1905.

And, of course, there were telephone books. You can find them at Newberry and at the Harold Washington Library.

How to Find Chicago City Directories

Chicago city directories begin with the 1839 Fergus' Directory of the City of Chicagoand end with the 1928/1929 Polk's Chicago City Directory with gaps for years when directories weren't printed. The directories generally include male heads of household and widows but there are sometimes entries for women who work outside the home or for students. Information for entries for individuals may include occupation, home address, and/or business address. Directories also included listings for government agencies, churches, clubs, and businesses.

Canvassing for the directories seems to have been news and articles in the Chicago Tribune suggest that the names were collected in the spring so that the directory could be printed in the summer.

Chicago city directories can be found online at a number of free and subscription websites, and they can also be accessed on microfilm and, in some cases, in paper form.

Search tips

1) Names may be misspelled and they may be spelled differently from year to year.

2) Try searching by address using the directories available on Footnote.com. It may help you locate people whose names are misspelled and it can sometimes help you learn who was living with a family.

3) A reverse directory (arranged by address) is available for 1928/1929 and it gives spouse names.

4) Widows are often listed as such, e.g., Anna (wid Thomas).

5) If you're using the directories on Footnote, select the directory you want to view and just type a surname into the search box. Select the result that puts you in the vicinity of the page you want and then use the filmstrip viewer at the bottom of the screen to quickly navigate to the page you're looking for. If the surname you're looking for doesn't produce search results, type in a common surname that begins with the same first few letters and try again using the strategy mentioned here.

Online Directories

1843-1923 Footnote.com
(subscription site; easy to search; printing is easy)

1866, 1870, 1871, 1880, 1885, 1892, 1900, 1910, 1923 at ChicagoAncestors.org
(PDF files take time to download, but access is free)

1928/29 at ChicagoHistory.org
(PDF files; this "Numerical Street and Avenue Directory" is a companion to the "regular" directory and is helpful for locating hard-to-find individuals in the 1930 census (look for neigbors); lists wives names)

1843 (PDF files at All-Ancestors.com)

1844 (PDF files at OldDirectorySearch.com)

1855-56 Chicago City Directory and Business Advertiser, Fergus (Google Books)

1856 May Supplement Chicago City Directory and Business Advertiser, Fergus (Google Books)

1855/56 (transcription at DistantCousin.com)

Directories on Microilm and Paper Formats

If you live in the Chicago area, you can access the directories at research facilities such as the Newberry Library, the Chicago History Museum, the Harold Washington Library, the Arlington Heights Library, and the Wilmette Family History Center.

If you live outside the Chicago area, you can