Illinois Directories: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 20:06, 16 April 2024

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Record Types

Illinois Background

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Local Research Resources

Online Resources

Illinois Online Historical Directories, listed by county

History

Directories have been published for various Illinois cities and counties since the 1830s, though they may not exist for every year. Some directories focus on the businesses or occupations of an area, while others include heads of households, landowners, and voters.

City and county directories are similar to present-day telephone books and are useful records for locating people. They were often published annually, listing heads of households, employed household members, and their occupations and addresses. They can be used with census records or as substitutes for them.

Directories are particularly helpful for research in large cities where a high percentage of the people were renters, new arrivals, or temporary residents. In fact, a directory may be the only source that lists a person if he was not registered to vote and did not own property. Most households were included because the directories were created for salesmen, merchants, and others interested in contacting residents of an area.

Directories have other clues that may require careful study to discover. For example, people in similar or related occupations were often relatives, in-laws, or friends. A year-by-year study of directories may reveal the movements of ancestors and relatives within the city and sometimes to or from other cities.

Examples of directories that may be found in an archive are: city directories, telephone directories, church directories, occupational directories, farmers directories, or rosters of society members.

Resources for Illinois Directories

Libraries and Archives

The Newberry Library, the Chicago Historical Society, also known as the Chicago History Museum and other libraries have excellent collections of city and county directories. Contact the local library in the area where you believe your ancestor lived to learn what directories are available.

Directories Online

Ancestry.com ($) has a selection of directories for cities through out the state.
Current telephone directories can be found on the Internet. Whitepages.com is one such website that is useful in locating living relatives.

Google books and archive.org often have a variety of directories. A general search of "Illinois city directories", or a specific search for a particular county or town of interest may provide interesting directories.
Fold3.com ($) has Chicago City Directories 1843-1917, 1923 (3 yrs. missing) available online.

FamilySearch Library

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

Rockford

1986, 1990 FamilySearch Library FS Library book 977.331/R1 E4pr

1908-1935 FamilySearch Library FS Library film 1843145-1843155

Chicago

1839–1928 FamilySearch Library FS Library fiche 6043786–6043808 and FS Library film 1376659 (first of 64 films)

1844–1901 Family HIstory Library FS Library films 1000739–1000754

Lurie Index of People in Chicago in 1937 As Well As All of the Voters’ Registration for Chicago. Tucson, Arizona: Reproduction, 19–?. FS Library films 933501–933538. Names and addresses of residents of Chicago in 1937.

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

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY] — DIRECTORIES

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY], [TOWN] — DIRECTORIES

Business Directories

Smith and DuMoulin : Montague T. Platt, Illinois state business directory, 1860, Chicago : J.C.W. Bailey and Co. Full book view is available at Internet Archive.

Bailey, J.C.W., Chicago Pub., Illinois state gazetteer and business directory, for the years 1864-5, Chicago, J.C.W. Bailey. Full book view is available at Internet Archive.

Saint Louis (Mo) - Commerce Directories, Montague's Illinois and Missouri state directory for 1854-5 to which is appended, a new and complete business directory of the city of St. Louis (1954), St. Louis : W.L. Montague. Full book view is available at Internet Archive.

Illinois (State) Directories. Woodbridge, Connecticut: Research Publications, 1980–84. FS Library fiche 6043985–6043989.A series of directories of businesses in Illinois and Missouri with the original directories in this collection published between 1847 and 1860.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-''[[Portal:United States of America|United States of America]] &gt; [[United States Directories|United States Directories]] &gt; Illinois Directories''
+{{IL-sidebar}}
+{{breadcrumb
+| link1=[[United States Genealogy|United States]]
+| link2=[[United States Directories|U.S. Directories]]
+| link3=[[Illinois, United States Genealogy|Illinois]]
+| link4=
+| link5=[[Illinois Directories|Directories]]
+}}
-Directories have been published for various [[Illinois]] cities and counties since the 1830s, though they may not exist for every year. Some directories focus on the businesses or occupations of an area, while others include heads of households, landowners, and voters.
+==Online Resources==
+*[https://sites.google.com/site/onlinedirectorysite/Home/usa/il Illinois Online Historical Directories], listed by county<br><br>
+==History==
+Directories have been published for various Illinois cities and counties since the 1830s, though they may not exist for every year. Some directories focus on the businesses or occupations of an area, while others include heads of households, landowners, and voters.
 City and county directories are similar to present-day telephone books and are useful records for locating people. They were often published annually, listing heads of households, employed household members, and their occupations and addresses. They can be used with census records or as substitutes for them.
@@ Line 9: / Line 21: @@
 Directories have other clues that may require careful study to discover. For example, people in similar or related occupations were often relatives, in-laws, or friends. A year-by-year study of directories may reveal the movements of ancestors and relatives within the city and sometimes to or from other cities.
-The Family History Library has various directories from throughout the state of Illinois. Many were published as county directories listing inhabitants of major towns in the county. Rural directories collected information on farmers, dairymen, and other rural residents.
+Examples of directories that may be found in an archive are: city directories, telephone directories, church directories, occupational directories, farmers directories, or rosters of society members.
+==Resources for Illinois Directories==
+===Libraries and Archives===
+*The [http://www./ Newberry Library], the [http://www.chicagohs.org/research Chicago Historical Society,] also known as the Chicago History Museum and other libraries have excellent collections of city and county directories. Contact the local library in the area where you believe your ancestor lived to learn what directories are available.
+===Directories Online===
-=== City Directories  ===
+*[http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/list.aspx?dbid=1540&cj=1&path=Illinois&o_xid=0001546952&o_lid=0001546952 Ancestry.com ($)] has a selection of directories for cities through out the state.
+*Current telephone directories can be found on the Internet. [http://www.whitepages.com/ Whitepages.com] is one such website that is useful in locating living relatives.
-The following are typical of the city directories in the Family History Library Catalog for Chicago and Cook County:
+*[http://books.google.com/ Google books] and [https://www.archive.org/index.php archive.org] often have a variety of directories. A general search of "Illinois city directories", or a specific search for a particular county or town of interest may provide interesting directories.
+*[http://www.fold3.com Fold3.com] ($) has [http://www.fold3.com/title_22/city_directories_chicago Chicago City Directories 1843-1917, 1923] (3 yrs. missing) available online.
-{| class="plain FCK__ShowTableBorders"
+===FamilySearch Library===
-|-
+The [https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/ FamilySearch Library] has city directories for various years from throughout the state of Illinois including:
-| 1839–1860 <br>
-| Family History Library fiche [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=6043786 6043786]–808
-|-
-| 1844–1901
-| Family History Library films [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=1000739 1000739]–54
-|-
-| 1861–1929
-| Family History Library films [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=1376659 1376659]–705, [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=1759633 1759633]–49
-|}
-The Lurie index gives names and addresses of residents of Chicago in 1937:
+'''Rockford'''
-''Lurie Index of People in Chicago in 1937'' As Well As All of the Voters’ Registration for Chicago. Tucson, Arizona: Reproduction, 19–?. (Family History Library films [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=933501 933501]–38).
+, 1990 FamilySearch Library FS Library book [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&query=%2Bcall_number%3A%22977.331%2FR1%20E4pr*%22 977.331/R1 E4pr]
-Directories for other cities, such as Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield, are also available.
+-1935  FamilySearch Library FS Library film [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/534424 1843145-1843155]
-=== Business Directories  ===
+'''Chicago'''
-A series of directories of businesses in Illinois and Missouri is:
+–1928 FamilySearch Library {{FSC|533804|item|disp=FS Library fiche 6043786–6043808}} and {{FSC|533804|item|disp=FS Library film 1376659 (first of 64 films)}}
-''Illinois (State) Directories''. Woodbridge, Connecticut: Research Publications, 1980–84. (Family History Library fiche [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=6043985 6043985]–989 [set of 41].) The original directories in this collection were published between 1847 and 1860 by various publishers.
+–1901 Family HIstory Library {{FSC|308691|item|disp=FS Library films 1000739–1000754}}
-=== Locating Directories  ===
+''Lurie Index of People in Chicago in 1937 As Well As All of the Voters’ Registration for Chicago''. Tucson, Arizona: Reproduction, 19–?. {{FSC|360204|item|disp=FS Library films 933501–933538}}. Names and addresses of residents of Chicago in 1937.
-The Newberry Library, the Chicago Historical Society (Clark Street at North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614), and other libraries have excellent collections of city and county directories.
+To find directories, consult the [[FamilySearch Catalog Place Search|Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog]] under:
-The Family History Library has compact discs that incorporate telephone directories for most of the United States. These directories are not available at Family History Centers, but may be used at the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Current telephone directories can also be found on the Internet and may assist in finding living relatives.
+::ILLINOIS, [COUNTY] — DIRECTORIES
+::ILLINOIS, [COUNTY], [TOWN] — DIRECTORIES
-Examples of directories that may be found in an archive are: city directories, telephone directories, church directories, occupational directories, farmers directories, or rosters of society members. To find these directories in the Family History Library Catalog, do a&nbsp;Place Search for the town, county, or state, depending on the size of the area an organization may cover. Record types to select include:
+===Business Directories===
-::ILLINOIS - DIRECTORIES
+*Smith and DuMoulin : Montague T. Platt, ''Illinois state business directory, 1860,'' Chicago : J.C.W. Bailey and Co. Full book view is available at [https://www.archive.org/details/illinoisstatebus00smit Internet Archive.]
-::ILLINOIS, [COUNTY] - DIRECTORIES
-::ILLINOIS, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - DIRECTORIES
-::ILLINOIS, [COUNTY], [TOWN] -&nbsp;SOCIETIES- DIRECTORIES
-=== Web Sites  ===
+*Bailey, J.C.W., Chicago Pub., ''Illinois state gazetteer and business directory, for the years 1864-5,'' Chicago, J.C.W. Bailey. Full book view is available at [https://www.archive.org/details/illinoisstategaz00bail Internet Archive.]
-*[http://www.newberry.org/ The Newberry Library]
+*Saint Louis (Mo) - Commerce Directories, ''Montague's Illinois and Missouri state directory for 1854-5 to which is appended, a new and complete business directory of the city of St. Louis (1954),'' St. Louis : W.L. Montague. Full book view is available at [https://www.archive.org/details/montaguesillinoi00stlo Internet Archive.]
-*[http://www.chicagohs.org/ Chicago Historical Society]
+*''Illinois (State) Directories''. Woodbridge, Connecticut: Research Publications, 1980–84. {{FSC|527340|item|disp=FS Library fiche 6043985–6043989}}.A series of directories of businesses in Illinois and Missouri with the original directories in this collection published between 1847 and 1860.
+==Websites==
+*[http://www./ The Newberry Library]
+*[http://www.chicagohs.org/ Chicago Historical Society]
 *[http://www.distantcousin.com/Directories/IL/ Distantcousin.com]
-*[http://www.uscitydirectories.com/il.htm US City Directories] This web site identifies printed, microfilmed, and online directories and their repositories.
+*[https://sites.google.com/site/onlinedirectorysite/Home/usa/il Illinois Online Historical Directories]
+{{Illinois|Illinois}} {{U.S. Directories}}
-[[Category:Illinois|Directories]] [[Category:Record_Types_of_the_United_States]]
+[[Category:Illinois, United States|Directories]]
+[[Category:United States Directories]]