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British Columbia directories on the Internet

Directories can be a great source of genealogical information, complementing census returns, and providing coverage in non-census years. Originally available in print form, they were later copied onto microfiche and microfilm. I have been keeping track of city directories in Western Canada for more than a decade, and have produced three editions of a book listing the ones available on microform.

With more and more of these directories being made available on the Internet, I created this list to help guide researchers to the directories they need. The first version of this list had about 20 directories; now the total in Western Canada has passed 250.

Let's hope there will be many more. This list will be expanded as more directories are posted on web sites.

Unless otherwise indicated, these sites have scanned images of the directory pages.

First Victoria Directory 1860 -- from Vancouver Public Library

First Victoria Directory 1860 -- from Library and Archives Canada

San Francisco Dept Directory 1860 -- from Vancouver Public Library

British Columbia Guide and Directory 1863 -- from Vancouver Public Library

B.C. and Victoria 1863 -- from ourroots.ca

Pacific Coast Business Directory 1867 Part 1 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Pacific Coast Business Directory 1867 Part 2 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Pacific Coast Business Directory 1867Part 3 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Database of Pacific Coast 1867 -- from ancestry.ca

First Victoria Directory 2nd Issue 1868 -- from Vancouver Public Library

First Victoria Directory 3rd Issue 1869 -- from Vancouver Public Library

First Victoria Directory 4th Issue 1871 -- from Vancouver Public Library

First Victoria Directory 5th Issue 1874 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Cubery's Visitor's Guide to Victoria 1875 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Pacific Coast Shippers' Index 1877 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Guide to the Province of B.C. 1877-1878 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Pacific Coast Directory 1880-1881 -- from Vancouver Public Library

British Columbia Directory 1882-1883 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Disturnell's Business Directory of the West Coast 1882-1883 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Transcript of Nanaimo directory 1882 -- from vihistory.ca

Transcript of Victoria directory 1882 -- from vihistory.ca

McKenney's Pacific Coast Directory 1883-1884 -- from Vancouver Public Library

McKenny's Pacific Coast 1883-84 -- from ourroots.ca

British Columbia Directory 1884-1885 -- from Vancouver Public Library

British Columbia Directory 1887 -- from Vancouver Public Library

City of Vancouver - Terminus of the CPR 1887 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Puget Sound Directory 1887 -- from Vancouver Public Library

The New West 1888 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Vancouver City Directory Williams' 1888 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Vancouver city directory 1888 -- from ourroots.ca

Henderson's B.C. Gazetteer and Directory 1889 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' B.C. Directory 1889 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Vernon -- transcripts of six directories 1889-1924 -- from the Vernon and District Family History Society

First History of Rossland 1890 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Henderson's B.C. Gazetteer and Directory 1890 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Henderson's City of Vancouver Directory 1890 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Henderson's City of Victoria Directory 1890 -- from Vancouver Public Library

New Westminster and Burrard Inlet Telephone 1890 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' Vancouver and New Westminster Cities Directory 1890 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' Victoria and Nanaimo Cities Directory 1890 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Henderson's Vancouver and Victoria 1890 -- from ourroots.ca

Williams' Victoria and Nanaimo 1890 -- from ourroots.ca

Williams' Vancouver and New Westminster 1890 -- from ourroots.ca

Henderson's B.C. Gazetteer and Directory 1891 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' British Columbia Directory 1891 Part 1 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' British Columbia Directory 1891 Part 2 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' Illustrated Official B.C. Directory 1892 Part 1 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' Illustrated Official B.C. Directory 1892 Part 2 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' British Columbia 1892 -- from ourroots.ca

Transcript of Nanaimo directory 1892 -- from vihistory.ca

Transcript of Victoria directory 1892 -- from vihistory.ca

Lynch's Ready Guide 1892-93 Part 1 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Lynch's Ready Guide 1892-93 Part 2 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Lynch's Ready Guide 1892-93 Part 3 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Lynch's Ready Guide 1892-93 Part 4 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Lynch's Ready Guide 1892-93 Part 5 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Lynch's Ready Guide 1892-93 Part 6 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Lynch's Ready Guide 1892-93 Part 7 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Lynch's Ready Guide 1892-93 Part 8 -- from Vancouver Public Library

BC Mercantile Agency Reference Book 1893 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' Official B.C. Directory 1893 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Mercantile Guide to the Cities of the USA and Northwest 1894 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' Official B.C. Directory 1894 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' Official B.C. Directory 1895 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Merchants Agency Red Book 1896 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Vancouver City Directory 1896 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Vancouver city directory 1896 -- from ourroots.ca

Henderson's B.C. Gazetteer and Directory 1897 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Revelstoke Directory 1897 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Rossland B.C. Business Directory 1897 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' Official B.C. Directory 1897-1898 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Henderson's B.C. Gazetteer and Directory 1898 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Revelstoke City Directory 1898 -- from Vancouver Public Library

The Queen City of Vancouver Wonderful West 1898 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Pettipiece's Directory and Map of Revelstoke 1899 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Williams' Official B.C. Directory 1899 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Henderson's B.C. Gazetteer and Directory 1899-1900 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Vancouver City Directory 1899-1900 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Official Telephone Directory for Nelson Trail Rossland Grand Forks Greenwood 1900 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Henderson's B.C. Gazetteer and Directory 1900-1901 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Henderson's B.C. Gazetteer and Directory 1901 -- from Vancouver Public Library

Transcript of Victoria directory 1902 -- from vihistory.ca

Henderson's Victoria 1920 -- from Ancestry.com

Henderson's Victoria 1949 -- from "The Recents"

The sources:

Vancouver Public Library has the largest collection of British Columbia directories online.

Peel's Prairie Provinces is the grand-daddy of resources for the Prairies. Records that have been available on microfiche for years are now being digitized placed online. The Peel site has more information about the directories available.

Ourroots.ca has a superb collection of local histories. Better yet, they are all searchable, so finding your family will be easy as can be.

Library and Archives Canada is putting directories online, although the emphasis so far is on Ontario and the Maritimes.

Vihistory.ca is the premiere resource for research on Vancouver Island, including census and directory extracts.

Vernon and District Family History Society is a very active organization in the North Okanagan Valley. Check their cemetery work as well!

The Recents is a private site loaded with good information. It's well worth a look.

A guide to what is available the old-fashioned way:

Western Canadian Directories on Microfiche and Microfilm
Third edition, published April 2003. By Dave Obee. Expanded and updated -- twice the size of the second edition. This guide lists local directories that have been reproduced in microform, and lets researchers know what to look for. It includes entries for directories covering Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon between 1860 and 1995. Directories are an invaluable resource for the years between censuses, as well as for the later years, where census records are not available, and this guide will help you find them. C$9.95

This book is available on Interlink's Canada page

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