How to Research a Family Business: Business Directories

Specialized business directories are a key resource for any researcher interested in business history, and are especially handy for researchers who know the type of business their ancestor (or other owner) operated, but not its name. There are two main types of business directories: those which aim to provide a comprehensive listing of all businesses within a particular geographic location, and those which are meant to list all businesses within a particular industry, regardless of location.

Geographic Business Directories

Although most familiar to researchers as the "yellow pages," directories listing local businesses arranged by category, rather than alphabetically by surname or business name, began appearing well before they were printed on the eponymous yellow paper. 

The self-proclaimed first U.S. business directory was The New Trade Directory for Philadelphia, Anno 1800 (available on-site through the database America's Historical Imprints), published in 1799 by William Jones, who modestly described it as "A Work upon a plan which never before appeared in the United States, being a SPECIES of Directory, but different from the usual sort" (Gazette of the United States, AND Philadelphia Daily Advertiser, January 18, 1800)(emphasis in original). The similar New Trade Directory for New‐York, anno 1800 (available on-site through the database America's Historical Imprints) appeared in New York City at the same time.

These were the first American directories to list businesses by category or type of trade, The benefits of this then-novel system of arrangement are delightfully cataloged in the following advertisement:

If a HOUSE-KEEPER wants quickly to find a Baker, a Cake-Baker, Seamstress, White-washer, Washer, China Mender, School-master or Mistress, Classier, Paper-Hanger, Painter, Cedar-Cooper, LockSmith, Blacksmith, Bricklayer, Plasterer or Joiner, He can . . . turn to the Index and be referred to the TRADE in question. In like manner can the LADIES find out the residence and names of all the Mantua-makers, Bonnet-makers, Stay-makers, Dyers and Nurses, &  c, or a STRANGER the most convenient Boarding House, Hair Dresser, Hatter, Taylor, Trunk-maker, & c -- Nor is the utility of the work confined to these alone; for any Tradesman may trace at once the names and residences of the Masters and Journeymen in his own line.

(Gazette of the United States, AND Philadelphia Daily Advertiser, January 18, 1800)(emphasis in original).

 Industry business directories

In addition to city-specific business directories, many trades published industry-specific directories (for example, brewing, building, watch and clock making, electrical trades, etc.) that were regional, national or even international in scope.

Publication dates vary by trade, but most commonly trade-specific directories began appearing in the late19th/early 20th century. Some examples from NYPL's collections include:

• Pocket directory of shoe manufacturers
• The American Clothier; a directory of men’s and boy’s clothing industry
• Bonfort’s wine and spirit trade directory
• The American hatter trade directory.
• The Philadelphia bulletin's food & grocery trade directory of the Philadelphia area.

NYPL Digital Collections Image ID 5133824 

FINDING AND USING GEOGRAPHIC BUSINESS DIRECTORIES

Bear in mind that both occupations and their descriptions have changed over time. For example, The New Trade Directory for New‐York, anno 1800  includes businesses categories we would still expect to find today (e.g., Attorneys-at-Law, Bakers, Distillers), familiar businesses listed under unfamiliar names  (e.g., Breeches Makers, Sick Nurses ,and Victualling Shops), and other businesses that don’t exist at all anymore (e.g., Brass Founders, Callico-Printers, Oakum Pickers). 

Free online sources:

As with the City Directories, many early business directories have been digitized and are freely available through HathiTrust, Internet Archive, and/or Google Books. These sites all support key-word searching, so researchers can search for an identified business name within the text of the directory.
A few New York City business directories are also available through NYPL's Digital Collections.

Available at NYPL:

Subscription databases:

• The Ancestry Library Edition database "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995" (available at all NYPL locations) includes business directories for some cities (including New York) in some years. To check for a particular business directory, use the "Browse" function. You can also search the entire database by name and location, and see if the results include any business directories.

Ancestry Library Edition, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (accessed August 28, 2018).

• Some of the directories included in Fold3 (available at NYPL Research Libraries) are business directories. Directories in Fold3 are listed by city and year; currently the only way to determine whether a particular directory is residential (listed by name) or business (listed by trade) is to click on the year and view the title page

Microfilm:

NYPL holds yellow pages for New York City and some surrounding areas dating back to 1929.

Print copies:
NYPL also holds many early NYC business directories, including the following publications (note that dates refer to years of publication and NYPL holdings may not include all years):

• John Doggett -- published variously as:
  • The New-York City and Co-Partnership Directory [1843-1844]
  • Doggett’s New –York Business Directory [1846-1847]
  • Doggett’s New -York Co-Partnerhsip Directory [1846-1847]
• John Fowler Trow -- published variously as
  • Trow’s business directory of the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx [1848/49-1909];
  • Wilson’s Co-Partnership and Corporation Directory of new York City, subsequently titled The Trow City Directory company’s [formerly Wilson’s] Co-Partnership and Corporation Directory of New York City [1852-1912]
• W. Phillips & Co.
  • Phillips Classified Directory of Greater New York and area [1879-1953]

To find additional New York City business directories held by NYPL, including those covering boroughs other than Manhattan, try browsing our online catalog under the following subject headings:

• New York (N.Y.) – Commerce
• New York (N.Y.) -- Commerce -- Directories.
• Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) -- Commerce -- Directories.
• Queens (New York, N.Y.) – Commerce -- Directories
• Staten Island (New York, N.Y.) – Commerce -- Directories

NYPL also holds cross-reference directories published by Cole for New York City and some surrounding counties. To locate these in our online catalog, try a keyword search for "Cole's directory."

In addition, NYPL holds historic business and city directories for some other cities. To locate these in our online catalog, try a subject search for:

• Business -- Directories
• [name of state] -- Directories (e.g. Virginia -- Directories)
• [name of city] – Directories (e.g. Philadelphia – Directories)

FINDING AND USING TRADE-SPECIFIC BUSINESS DIRECTORIES

Locating a relevant trade directory is more hit-or-miss, but it is worth trying a keyword search (using the name of the trade and the word “directory”) of both the various digital libraries (HathiTrust, Internet Archive, and Google Books) and NYPL's online catalog to see what might be available.