Ohio Directories

Online Resources

 * Ohio City Directories, by county
 * Ohio and Florida, City Directories, 1902-1960($) index
 * Ohio City Directories, 1819-1850
 * Ohio Name Index Project, Ohio Female Name Index to 1850
 * Ohio Name Index
 * Ohio Online Historical Directories - listed by county
 * Church Directories (Ancestry) ($)
 * Cleveland, Ohio Congregational Churches Directory, 1895 (Ancestry) ($)
 * Cincinnati City Directories 1861-1923 (4 yrs. missing) (Fold3) ($)
 * Cleveland City Directories 1861, 1864-1923 (5 yrs. missing) (Fold3) ($)
 * Toledo City Directories 1864-1923 (3 yrs. missing) (Fold3) ($)
 * U.S. City Directories at MyHeritage ($). Various directories.
 * Ancestry.com ($) has Ohio directories available online in its U.S. City Directories collection.

History
City and county directories can be used with census records and as a substitute for census records and other genealogical sources. They can be used for locating a person, particularly in large cities, and for studying a person’s migration pattern. They may give clues to when a person died or moved from the area. City and rural directories are alphabetically arranged by surname and are often published annually.

The publication of directories began in the early nineteenth century and continues to the present time. Directories list heads of households and employed household members, occupations, and addresses. Wives' names are given in some directories, and sometimes their date of death may be given. Local information such as names and locations of churches, schools, business firms, and street guides may also be included in the directories.

Libraries and Archives
The FamilySearch Library has a large collection of directories for about 30 cities in Ohio. Local libraries and the Ohio Historical Society also have collections of directories.


 * Johnson, P. R., Classified business and professional directory of prominent towns and cities of Ohio and eastern Indiana (Tucson, Arizona:W.C. Cox Co., 1974)
 * Huguenot Society of Ohio-Directory 1953
 * Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors of Ohio (Columbus, Ohio), Directory of licensed embalmers, licensed funeral directors and funeral firms of the state of Ohio (Columbus, Ohio: Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, 1960) ;

The FamilySearch Library
The FamilySearch Library has city directories for various years from throughout the state of Ohio including:

Cleveland

1837-1860 FS Library microfilm 6043814-6043824

1940, 1958, 1965, 1970-71, 1977 FS Library book 977.131 E4c

Cincinnati

1917, 1936-37, 1965, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1979-80 FS Library book 977.178 E4w

Toledo

1913, 1916, 1917, 1923, 1926, 1940 FS Library book 977.113 E4t

To find directories, consult the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:


 * OHIO, [COUNTY] — DIRECTORIES
 * OHIO, [COUNTY], [TOWN] — DIRECTORIES

Websites

 * Distantcousins
 * Genealogy.org lists several different types of directories.
 * Morgan lists of directories.
 * Ohio
 * Old Directory Search
 * US City Directories This web site identifies printed, microfilmed, and online directories and their repositories.
 * NARA National Archives
 * Rootsweb has a great article about how to use city directories and newspapers.