Chile Directories

These records may include the name of the emigrant, age, occupation, destination, and often the emigrant’s place of origin or birthplace. These sources can be very valuable in helping you determine where your ancestor came from before arriving in Chile.

In addition to their usefulness in determining where  your ancestor lived before leaving Directories (guías) are alphabetical lists of names and addresses. These often list all the adult residents or tradesmen of a city or area. Telephone books (guía de teléfonos) are a type of directory.

The most helpful directories for genealogical research are city directories of local residents and businesses. These are generally published annually and may include an individual’s name, address, occupation, his or her spouse’s name, and other helpful facts. An individual’s address can be very helpful when searching in a large city with several parishes or if there is an unindexed census. Directories sometimes have city maps and may include addresses of churches, cemeteries, civil registration offices, and other locations of value to the genealogist.

The Family History Library has very few telephone directories and only some Catholic Church directories for Chile (see the “Church Directories” section of this outline). Examples of directories for Santiago and Valparaíso include:


 * Guía de teléfonos, Santiago y demás pueblos de la provincia de Santiago (Telephone Book, Santiago and Other Towns in the Province of Santiago). Santiago, Chile: Cía. de Teléfonos de Chile, 1948–. (FHL film 1162494 item 8 [Sep 1948], 1608860 item 1 [July 1978].)
 * Guía de teléfonos de las provincias de Valparaíso y Aconcagua: Mayo 1947 (Telephone Book of the Provinces of Valparaíso and Aconcagua: May 1947). Santiago, Chile: Cía. de Teléfonos de Chile, 1947. (FHL film 1162494 item 12.)

Directories are listed in the “Locality” section of the Family History Library Catalog under:

CHILE, [PROVINCE] - DIRECTORIES

CHILE, [PROVINCE], [CITY] - DIRECTORIES

Directories for Chile can be found on the Internet at: http://www.teldir.com/eng/csam/cl