California Directories

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United States

U.S. Directories

California

Directories

Online Resources

• California City Directories ($)
• San Francisco, California Directories, 1889-91 ($)
• California City Directories at DistantCousin.com
• California City Directories
  
  

History

Directories of heads of households were published for major cities of California.

Resources for Directories

Libraries and Archives

• California State Libraries City Directory Database

• The Los Angeles Public Library has the following with a few small gaps in the years available.  The 1872 directory is a combination city-county one.

1872-1942	Los Angeles Public Library microfilm
1873-1942	Los Angeles Public Library books
1929,1936,1938, 1939,1942	Los Angeles Public Library digital images www.lapl.org/resources/en/

Directories Online

• CSGA Research Guide - Directories  Includes links to articles on using directories in your research as well as links to California directory bibliographies and online databases.

• Cailfornia Online Historical Directories.

• Fold3.com ($) has Los Angeles Directories 1873, 1875, 1878-1924 (5 yrs. missing) and San Francisco Directories 1861-1923 (4 yrs. missing) available online. This database is sometimes free at libraries.

• Ancestry.com ($) has California directories available online in its U.S. City Directories collection.

The Family History Library

See specific counties for listings of directories for that county.  The Family History Library, for example, has:

Los Angeles

1873-1935	Family History Library films 1376980
1910, 1942, etc.	Family History Library book 979.493 E4LL

San Francisco

1850-1861	Family History Library fiche 6044468-83
1861/62-1934	Family History Library films 1377422
1910, 1936, etc.	Family History Library films 1321020,
1935, 1945-46, 1961,1962	Family History Library films 1321020

Websites

• Los Angeles Public Library
• Ancestry.com($)
• Distant Cousin
• US City Directories This web site identifies printed, microfilmed, and online directories and their repositories.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.