Genealogy & Local History in Buffalo, NY
Online City
Directories - In case it isn't obvious, the little elves at BuffaloResearch.com do not own any city directories. Instead, we watch for when other people and institutions digitize them. Then we collect the links here for your convenience.
- We
include all kinds of directories: social, business, fraternal, and
charity
- Found an online Buffalo city directory not listed here? Please let us know.
indicates
a fee-based site
- Our other page on city directories shows you what directories are still offline, when directories were first published for the various towns and villages of Erie County, and who owns them in hard copy.
Buffalo
Directories | Year & Link |
Provider
& Other Notes |
| 1828 |
A
text file with names and addresses. This is Buffalo's first
city
directory. The next one came out in 1832. |
| 1828 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1832 |
DistantCousin.com |
| 1832 |
Google
Books |
| 1832 |
Archive.org |
| 1832 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1836 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1837 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1838 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1839 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1840 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1841 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1842 | Archive.org |
| 1842 |
Hathi
Trust |
| 1842 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1844 |
Google Books |
| 1844 | Archive.org |
| 1844 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1847-48 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1848 |
Google
Books |
| 1848 | Archive.org |
| 1848-49 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1849-50 |
Hathi
Project |
| 1849-50 | Archive.org |
| 1849-50 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1850-51 |
Hathi
Trust |
| 1850-51 | Archive.org |
| 1850-51 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1851-52 |
Google Books |
| 1852 |
Hathi
Trust |
| 1852 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1853 |
Google
Books |
| 1853 |
Hathi
Trust |
| 1853 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1854 |
Google
Books |
| 1854 |
Hathi
Trust |
| 1854 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1855 |
Google Books |
| 1855 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1855 |
Google Books, business directory only. |
| 1855 | Archive.org, business directory only. |
| 1856 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1857 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1858 | Google Books |
| 1858 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1859 |
Google Books |
| 1859 | Archive.org |
| 1859 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1860 |
Google Books |
| 1860 | Archive.org |
| 1860 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1861 |
Google
Books |
| 1861 | Archive.org |
| 1861 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1862 |
Google Books |
| 1862 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1863 |
Google Books |
| 1863 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1864 |
Google Books |
| 1864 | Archive.org |
| 1864 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1865 |
Google
Books |
| 1865 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1866 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1867 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1868 |
NewYorkHeritage.org |
| 1869 |
DistantCousin.com |
| 1870 | Hathi Trust |
| 1871
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1872
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1873 | Hathi Trust |
| 1873 | Google Books |
| 1874 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1875 | Google Books |
| 1876
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1877
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1878
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1879
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1880 | Google Books |
| 1881
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1882
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1883 |
Buffalo
Address Book & Family Directory
at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to
middle & upper class families |
| 1884 | Google Books |
| 1884 |
Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1885
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1886
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1887 |
Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1887 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1888-89 |
Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1890 |
Incomplete.
East
Side names have been culled by volunteers and listed here |
| 1890 | Searchable at Ancestry.com. You get last name and first name but not address or occupation unless you have a membership. |
| 1890-91 |
Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1892-93 |
Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1893 | Google Books |
| 1894 |
Knights
of Pythias Directory After the street directory, there are names & addresses of members |
| 1894-95 |
Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1896-97 | Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1898-99 | Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1900
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1901 | Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1902
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1903
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1904
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1904-05 | Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
1905  |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1906 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1907 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1908 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1909 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1909-10 | Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1910 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1911-12 | Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1911 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1912 |
Fold3, membership required |
| 1915
|
Bell Telephone
Directory
for Buffalo at HistoricMapWorks |
| 1915 | Buffalo Address Book & Family Directory at NewYorkHeritage.org, limited to middle & upper class families |
| 1916
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1917
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1918
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1918 | Social Register, Summer edition. See pp. 590-600 for names & summer homes of wealthy Buffalonians |
| 1919
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1919 | Social Register, Summer edition. See pp. 618-626 for names & summer homes of wealthy Buffalonians |
| 1920 | Blue Book of Buffalo Commerce, the directory of the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce |
| 1920
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1920 | Social Register, Summer edition. See pp. 674-682 for names & summer homes of wealthy Buffalonians |
| 1921
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1922
|
Fold3, membership required |
| 1923
|
Fold3, membership required |
| Find more Buffalo
directories in library collections. |
i Erie
County & Western New
York Directories | Year & Link | Notes |
| 1868 | Lockport city directory. You get snippets which might show last name, first name and sometimes address or occupation. For full text, you must have a Ancestry.com membership. |
| 1869 | Gazetteer & Business Directory of Niagara County |
| 1871 | Classified Business Directory, Erie County from Asher & Adams atlas at NYPL.org |
| 1875 | Gazetteer and Business Directory of Allegany County |
| 1875-1916 | Jamestown & Olean NY city directories |
| 1878 | Lockport city directory. You get snippets which might show last name, first name and sometimes address or occupation. For full text, you must have a Ancestry.com membership. |
| 1880 | Western New York Gazetteer & Business Directory. Very slow-loading PDF. |
| 1884 | R.L. Polk's Marine Directory of the Great Lakes. Limited to businesses, services, and individuals connected with shipping & lake commerce in Buffalo, Tonawanda, Dunkirk, etc. |
| 1891 | R.L. Polk's Marine Directory of the Great Lakes. Limited to businesses, services, and individuals connected with shipping & lake commerce in Buffalo, Tonawanda, Dunkirk, etc. |
| 1902-03 | Johnson's Business and Professional Directory of Buffalo, Rochester, Erie, Niagara Falls, Lockport, Tonawanda, Batavia, Hamburg, Dunkirk, WIlliamsville, Geneva, Lyons, Canandaigua, and Lancaster, N.Y. [etc.]. Very slow-loading PDF. |
| 1917 |
Farm Journal Illustrated
Rural Directory of Erie County.
Partially transcribed online by a volunteer. |
| 1921 | Social Service Directory of Erie County. Features charities, hospitals, orphanages, etc. |
| 1924 |
Erie County Directory
online
in "limited preview" at Google Books, meaning that only some pages are
shown. |
| 1940 |
Erie County Rural Survey |
| Find more Erie
County directories in library collections. |
Updated 23 April
2013