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Building a timeline with

City directories


While the census can be a wonderful resource in establishing a list of all residents in a household, it has the drawback of offering this information only once every ten years. Many changes can occur within a family in a decade's time. This is where city directories come in.

If your family lived mostly in rural areas, relatives will be fairly easy to find in unindexed census enumerations, but it is a bit of a trade-off since these families cannot be located in city directories. While urban areas in the census are much more difficult to scour through to find relatives, success can usually be achieved with a little effort, plus there is the added benefit of being able to search the yearly city directories and establish a more complete timeline.

City directories typically list the head of the household plus all employed individuals residing there. They offer quick indexing since all information is alphabetized, much like a hardcover phone book. Some include a street cross-reference which allows you to view a list of names of all household heads living on a given street.

List of available city directories:
New Jersey [NJ] (years not completely continuous)
Asbury Park 1885-1982
Atlantic City 1899, 1954, 1965-82
Bayonne 1879-1923, 1938-51
Berkeley Heights 1965-80
Beverly 1926, 1929, 1945, 1956
Bloomfield 1965-71
Bridgeton 1964-86
Burlington 1926, 29, 1945, 1956
Caldwell 1953-69
Camden 1837-1978
Cedar Grove 1953-69
Chatham 1965-69
Clifton 1954-74
Delanco 1926, 1929, 1945, 1956
East Orange 1916, 1970
Edgewater Park 1926, 29, 45, 56
Edison 1968
Elizabeth 1897-1969
Essex Fells 1953-69
Fairfield 1953-69
Fanwood 1966-68
Freehold 1962-82
Glen Ridge 1953-71
Hackensack 1947-48
Haddonfield 1961
Haledon 1952-71
Hammonton 1950-51
Hawthorne 1952-71
Irvington 1946-67
Jersey City 1861-1901
Kearney 1966-71
Little Falls 1952-71
Livingston 1956-68
Long Branch 1965, 1970
Madison 1965-69
Millburn 1962-81
Millville 1957-87
Montclair 1889-1971
Monmouth Co 1898-99
Morristown 1965-82
New Brunswick 1962-81
New Providence 1965-80
Newark 1861-1935, 1951-65
Newton 1965-86
North Haledon 1952-71
North Plainfield 1901, 16, 1967-73
Ocean City 1928, 37, 48, 64-81
Orange 1916, 1970
Palmyra 1926, 1929, 1945, 1956
Passaic 1924,1954
Paterson 1861-1935, 1952-71
Perth Amboy 1964-67
Plainfield 1870-1977
Pleasantville 1966, 1968
Prospect Park 1952-71
Princeton 1913-87
Rahway 1964-80
Red Bank 1904, 1964-81
Ridgewood 1966-70
Riverside 1926, 29, 45, 56
Riverton 1926, 29, 45, 56
Roseland 1956-68
Scotch Plains 1966-68
Somerville 1964-84
South Orange 1916, 1970
Springfield 1946-81
Summit 1962-81
Trenton 1845-1971
Toms River 1966, 1969
Totowa 1952-71
Union 1946-73
Verona 1953-69
Vineland 1924-25, 1959-87
Wayne 1965-69
West Orange 1916, 1956-78
West Paterson 1952-71
Westfield 1962-82
Wildwood 1960-67


Alabama [AL]
Mobile 1861-81
Arkansas [AR]
Little Rock 1861-81
California [CA]
Los Angeles 1861-81
Oakland 1861-81
Sacramento 1861-81
San Francisco 1861-81
Colorado [CO]
Denver 1861-81
Connecticut [CT]
Hartford 1861-81
New Haven 1861-81
DC
Washington 1861-81
Delaware [DE]
Wilmington 1861-81
Georgia [GA]
Atlanta 1861-81
Savannah 1861-81
Illinois [IL]
Chicago 1861-81
Joliet 1861-81
Indiana [IN]
Evansville 1861-81
Indianapolis 1861-81
Iowa [IA]
Davenport 1861-81
Des Moines 1861-81
Kansas [KS]
Topeka 1861-81
Kentucky [KY]
Lexington 1861-81
Louisville 1861-81
Louisiana [LA]
New Orleans 1861-81
Maryland [MD]
Baltimore 1861-81
Massachusetts [MA]
Boston 1861-81
Lowell 1861-81
Worcester 1861-81
Michigan [MI]
Detroit 1861-81
Grand Rapids 1861-81
Minnesota [MN]
Minneapolis 1861-81
St Paul 1861-81
Missouri [MO]
Kansas City 1861-81
St Louis 1861-81
Montana [MT]
Montana terr 1861-81
Nebraska [NE]
Omaha 1861-81
Nevada [NV]
Nevada terr 1861-81
New Hampshire [NH]
Manchester 1861-81
New York [NY]
Albany 1861-81
Brooklyn 1861-81
Buffalo 1861-81
New York 1861-81
Rochester 1861-81
Syracuse 1861-81
Troy 1861-81
Utica 1861-81
Ohio [OH]
Cincinnati 1861-81
Cleveland 1861-81
Dayton 1861-81
Toledo 1861-81
Oregon [OR]
Portland 1861-81
Pennsylvania [PA]
Easton 1958-69
Erie 1861-81
Harrisburg 1861-81
Philadelphia 1861-81
Pittsburgh 1861-81
Reading 1861-81
Scranton 1861-81
Rhode Island [RI]
Providence 1861-81
South Carolina [SC]
Charleston 1861-81
Tennessee [TN]
Chattanooga 1861-81
Memphis 1861-81
Nashville 1861-81
Texas [TX]
Dallas 1861-81
Ft Worth 1861-81
Galveston 1861-81
Utah [UT]
Salt Lake City 1861-81
Virginia [VA]
Norfolk 1861-81
Richmond 1861-81
Vermont [VT]
Burlington 1861-81
Washington [WA]
Seattle 1861-81
Wisconsin [WI]
Milwaukee 1861-81

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