Rutland directory, Rutland, Vermont, 1876.
Directories list names and addresses of people and businesses in a defined geographic area. The American Antiquarian Society has nearly 7,000 directories published before 1877. The collection, one of the largest of its kind, includes most of the earliest directories printed in North America.
Beyond the expected names of citizens and businesses, directories contain additional information regarding local institutions, governance, and events. A map, or plan of the town, and advertisements were often included.
Access
City directories published before 1840 are fully cataloged in the general library catalog.
For the period after 1840, access is available through the Society's annotated copy of the Dorothea N. Spear's Bibliography of American Directories Through 1860 (Worcester, Mass., 1961). A checklist of all pre-1876 directories, arranged alphabetically, by the name of the town or city, is available in the reading room.
Directories published in the United States through 1880 are available on mircofiche in the Society's microform reading room.
The Society's city directories were digitized by Ancestry. The contents are available through its interface.
Resources
Dorothea N. Spear. Bibliography of American Directories Through 1860. Worcester, Mass.: American Antiquarian Society, 1961. Reprint. Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 1978.