A Change in Name

I've decided to change the name of the website to Online Historical Directories, rather than Online City, County, and Rural Directories. The reason is that "city, county, and rural" are only a part of the historical directories I'm linking to. There are farm, church, business, community, medical, voter, school, telephone, and lodge directories, as examples.

You'll still see "city, county, and rural" on many pages until I get them changed over, but I feel the term "historical" is more accurate and encompasses the variety of directories that I'm finding online.

I'm still stunned at the amount of directories I have found online, both for free and at subscription websites. What I have linked to so far on the website is really only the tip of the iceberg! We are so fortunate to be living in this digital age with access to resources becoming easier and easier.

Many public library districts are scanning and placing their directories online, because they're finding that not only is it not horribly expensive to do so, but it can be done in small, do-able chunks of time. Also, the images don't take up a ton of expensive web space, especially if they are done in .pdf format. Even smaller public library districts have been able to put their local directories online because of these advantages, and I'm finding a plethora of resources out there that I'm very eager to share with you.

I appreciate your patience in getting the resources you're specifically looking for linked on the site. If there is ever a specific location that you would like to see linked sooner than later, drop me a line and I'll be happy to work on getting "your" location up and running!

New City Directories in the NEHGS Digital Library

If you have a subscription to the New England Historical and Genealogical Society's online digital library, you'll be interested to learn they have added to their collection of online city directories. Their new directories include:

• Albany, N.Y.: 1844
• Baltimore, Md.: Matchett’s Baltimore directory, 1829
• Keene, N.H.: 1871
• Los Angeles, Calif.: early telephone directory, 1882
• New York, N.Y.: Longworth’s city directory, 1840.

I'll be adding links to these on the appropriate pages on my website soon.

Happy Hunting!

IN, KS, KY, ME, MI, NE, NH, NY, OH, OK, PA, VT, VA, WA New Pages and Updates

Here are the latest new pages and updates. Most are from Family Tree Connection. I have added all the city and telephone directories from that site, but there are many church, school, and other types of directories to be added at another time. Here's hoping you find some ancestors!

New Pages:

Whiteside County, Illinois - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Reno County, Kansas - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Clark County, Kentucky - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Garrard County, Kentucky - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Franklin County, Maine - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Kennebec County, Maine - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Somerset County, Maine - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Manistee County, Michigan - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Mason County, Michigan - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Grafton County, New Hampshire - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Allen County, Ohio - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Trumbull County, Ohio - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Wyandot County, Ohio - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Ellis County, Oklahoma - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Cambria County, Pennsylvania - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Indiana County, Pennsylvania - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Somerset County, Pennsylvania - with one link from Family Tree Connection

Botetourt County, Virginia - with one link from Family Tree Connection


Updates:

Illinois - now with 24 out of 102 counties linked

LaSalle County, Illinois - one new link from Family Tree Connection

Montgomery County, Indiana - one new link from Family Tree Connection and eight new links from Ancestry

Kansas - now with five out of 105 counties linked

Kentucky - now with ten out of 120 counties linked

Madison County, Kentucky - one new link from Family Tree Connection

Maine - now with seven out of 16 counties linked

Michigan - now with 21 out of 83 counties linked

Lenawee County, Michigan - one new link from Hathi Trust Digital Library

Douglas County, Nebraska - one new link from Family Tree Connection

New Hampshire - now with six out of ten counties linked

Belknap County, New Hampshire - two new links from Family Tree Connection

Sullivan County, New Hampshire - one new link from Family Tree Connection

New York - now with 25 out of 62 counties plus New York City linked

Otsego County, New York - one new link from Family Tree Connection

Ohio - now with 26 out of 88 counties linked

Oklahoma - now with three out of 88 counties linked

Pennsylvania - now with 22 out of 70 counties linked

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania - one new link from Family Tree Connection

Windsor County, Vermont - one new link from Family Tree Connection

Virginia - now with four out of 134 counties and independent cities linked

King County, Washington - one new link from Hathi Trust Digital Library

AL, GA, IA, KY, MA, MO, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, ON, PA New Pages and Updates

I've been taking a break from adding California directories from Ancestry, and instead have been adding directories from Family Tree Connections. These are nice because most of them feature small communities, rather than the large cities one sees at other directory databases and websites.

New Pages:

Polk County, Georgia - with two links from Family Tree Connections

Humboldt County, Iowa - with two links from Family Tree Connections

Union County, Iowa - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Madison County, Kentucky - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Franklin County, Massachusetts - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Callaway County, Missouri - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Morris County, New Jersey - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Washington County, New York - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Surry County, North Carolina - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Crawford County, Ohio - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Medina County, Ohio - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Peel County, Ontario - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Simcoe County, Ontario - with one link from Family Tree Connections

York County, Pennsylvania - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Clark County, Wisconsin - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Barron County, Wisconsin - with one link from Family Tree Connections

Updates:

Georgia - now with six out of 83 counties and city-counties linked

Iowa - now with seven out of 99 counties linked

Kentucky - now with eight out of 120 counties linked

Calhoun County, Alabama - one new link from Family Tree Connections

Massachusetts - now with ten out of 14 counties linked

Missouri - now with five out of 114 counties plus St. Louis linked

Hillsborough County, New Hampshire - two new links from Family Tree Connections

Merrimack County, New Hampshire - two new links from Family Tree Connections

New Jersey - now with 11 out of 21 counties linked

New York - now with 24 out of 62 counties plus New York City linked

New York City, New York - one new link from Family Tree Connections

North Carolina - now with five out of 100 counties linked

Ohio - now with 23 out of 88 counties linked

Ontario - now with 20 out of 50 census districts linked

Pennsylvania - now with 19 out of 67 counties linked

Lebanon County, Pennsylvania - one new link from Family Tree Connections

Wisconsin - now with 11 out of 72 counties linked

CA, DE, NJ, and VA New Pages and Updates

Way back when, I promised to dig out the links to city directories at some now-obsolete free city directory websites archived at the Wayback Machine. Please be patient with these links, as the pages load slowly, and some do not load at all. There were some directories I could not access at all, which is a shame. Many of these sites had great resources at one time.

I have also added more California directories links from Ancestry, and still have many more to add from that site. And there is a link from Family Tree Connection, a smaller subscription-based genealogy website (sometimes better known by its parent company, Genealogy Today).

New Pages:

Butte County, California - with six links from Ancestry

Updates:

California - now with 18 counties linked

Calaveras County, California - two new links from Ancestry

Merced County, California - two new links from Ancestry

San Joaquin County, California - 37 new links from Ancestry; directories span 1856 to 1972!

San Mateo County, California - 18 new links from Ancestry

Stanislaus County, California - two new links from Ancestry

Tuolumne County, California - two new links from Ancestry

New Castle County, Delaware - one new link from Delaware City Directory via the Wayback Machine

Essex County, New Jersey - one new link from Family Tree Connection

Norfolk, Virginia - one new link from Virginia City Directory via the Wayback Machine

CA New Pages and Updates

California, here we come! I've been busy adding links to California directories found at Ancestry and elsewhere. There are many, many more to be added, not just from these resources, but from around the Internet. If you don't see the county of your choice listed, or the group of years listed that you need, be assured that they will likely be added in the near future!

New Pages:

Kern County, California - with 13 links from Ancestry

Madera County, California - with six links from Ancestry

Merced County, California - with 18 links from Ancestry

Santa Barbara County, California - with 50 links from Ancestry, spanning the years 1886 to 1976


Updates:

California - one new link each from the Golden Nugget Library and the San Francisco Genealogy website; now with 17 counties linked

Calaveras County, California - three new links from the Golden Nugget Library and one from the San Francisco Genealogy website

Los Angeles County, California - five new links from Ancestry

San Bernardino County, California - 24 new links from Ancestry

San Joaquin County, California - six new links from the Golden Nugget Library and one from the San Francisco Genealogy website

Stanislaus County, California - three new links from the Golden Nugget Library and one from the San Francisco Genealogy website

Tuolumne County, California - three new links from the Golden Nugget Library and one from the San Francisco Genealogy website

AB, AL, AR, CO, CT, IL, ME, MI, PA New Pages and Updates

Although I haven't posted anything lately on this blog, I have been busy adding links to the site! Whenever I had five or 10 minutes to spare, I'd add a few more links. Now that I have my main computer repaired after four months, I'm hoping to be able to work more on this project. Here the new pages and updates I've added in the last two and a half weeks:

New Pages:

Camrose County, Alberta - with 13 links from Peel's Prairie Provinces and two links from CanadaGenWeb

Carroll County, Arkansas - with one link from Ancestry

Craighead County, Arkansas - with four links from Ancestry and one from BYU Digital Books

Garland County, Arkansas - with eight links from Ancestry and one from BYU Digital Books

Sebastian County, Arkansas - with four links from Ancestry and one from BYU Digital Books

Union County, Arkansas - with five links from Ancestry and one from BYU Digital Books

Washington County, Arkansas - with four links from Ancestry and one from BYU Digital Books

McDonough County, Illinois - with one link from BYU Digital Books


Updates:

Mobile County, Alabama - two new links from BYU Digital Books

Alberta - added link to Camrose County; now with six counties/regions/cities linked, plus 13 links to province-wide directories

Arkansas - with one new links from BYU Digital Books and now with nine counties linked

Hempstead County, Arkansas - two new links; one from BYU Digital Books, and the other from Ancestry

Jefferson County, Alabama - two new links from BYU Digital Books

Montgomery County, Alabama - one new link from BYU Digital Books

Pulaski County, Arkansas - 18 new links from Ancestry and one from BYU Digital Books

Weld County, Colorado - one new link from BYU Digital Books

New Haven, Connecticut - five new links from WorldVitalRecords

Illinois - now with 23 counties linked, plus three links from EveNDon

Knox County, Maine - one new link from Ancestry and two from BYU Digital Books

Kent County, Michigan - one new link from BYU Digital Books

Lebanon County, Pennsylvania - one new link from BYU Digital Books

Harris County, Texas - two new links from BYU Digital Books