New Orleans City Directories

CITY DIRECTORIES
   OF
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

A summary of city directories of New Orleans
and their availability online and elsewhere.

Detail from the 1895
Soards' New Orleans City Directory


City directories are an important source of information for genealogists, historians, and others interested in the people and businesses of New Orleans. While once these directories could only be accessed in libraries, many are now available online or on microfilm/fiche through any Family History Center.
To suggest additions or corrections, please contact norm_hellmers (at) yahoo.com.




Lists of New Orleans city directories
     
Note: There were no city directories published in New Orleans during the Civil War years, so there are no directories for the years 1862-1865. The information for the directories was generally gathered in the fall of the year preceding the publication date, thus the data for the 1861 directory were gathered in late 1860, etc.


The Louisiana Division of the New Orleans Public Library gives an excellent overview of available directories:
     http://nutrias.org/~nopl/info/louinfo/citydir.htm


Historian and author Carolyn Morrow Long provides a list of directories used in her research:
     https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/th/read/LAORLEAN/2011-05/1304855469


An abbreviated list prepared by Norm Hellmers in 2004:
      https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/th/read/laorlean/2004-03/1078982412




City directories available free online


USGenWeb Project for Orleans Parish
Complete (or nearly so) transcriptions of city directories (most cross-indexed by address) prepared by NOVA include directories for 1805, 1811, 1822, 1832, 1842, 1851, and 1861.
Partial transcriptions for certain surnames are available for many other years. See:
     http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/orleans/directry.htm
Useful lists transcribed from city directories and census records can be found here:
     http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/orleans/directry2.htm





Library of Congress, Internet Archive, eBook and Texts Archive
     View or download in various formats.
1846 Michel & Co. New Orleans Annual and Commercial Register.
      http://archive.org/details/neworleansannual00mich
1861 Gardner's New Orleans directory
     http://archive.org/details/gardnersneworlea00gard
The directories are searchable and individual pages can be saved.
Many other city directories are available at this website.





Google Books
The 1866 Gardner’s City Directory of New Orleans is available on Google Books. See:
     http://goo.gl/TeJHV
For easier viewing, the complete directory can be downloaded as a PDF file. In the upper right, click on "PDF" and follow the directions.




City directories available for a fee online


Fold3.com (formerly Footnote) has an excellent collection of New Orleans city directories beginning with 1861. A listing of the years available can be found here:
     http://www.fold3.com/browse.php#231|hVjlLmX8R
A free search is possible, resulting in the names found and a "Quick Look." Simply enter a name in the search box and click on "GO." Remember that wildcards can be used.
Fold3.com has annual and monthly rates and offers a 7-day free trial.





Ancestry.com has a number of New Orleans city directories online, beginning with 1880. (Many of the Ancestry scans are of poor quality.) A list of these directories and how they can be accessed can be found here:
     https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/th/read/laorlean/2009-07/1248711844
A free search is possible, resulting in the names found and a small view of the directory. Go here:
     http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1540
Enter a name and in the "Lived in" box enter "New Orleans" and let it autofill to "New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA." Click on "SEARCH" to see the results. Remember that wildcards can be used.
Ancestry.com has annual, three-month, and monthly rates and offers a 14-day free trial.




City directories at Family History Centers


FamilySearch.org has a listing of a large number of city directories (from 1805 to 1935) that are available to be viewed on microfilm or microfiche at any Family History Center. A complete list of the available directories can be found here.
Information on ordering microfilm from a Family History Center can be found here:
https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Ordering_Microfilm_or_Microfiche_from_a_Family_History_Center




Additional useful information on New Orleans city directories


Abbreviations used in the city directories are usually available on the first page of the name listings, such as this page in 1866.
A transcribed list of abbreviations can be found here:
http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/orleans/history/directory/abbrevia.txt



























Copyright © 2011 Norman D. Hellmers.  All Rights Reserved.