Oberlin City Directory Database
The Oberlin City Directories are a wonderful source of information about Oberlin residents, where they lived, what their jobs were, and what businesses were in Oberlin. Some years, the directories have this information arranged by address; other years, it is arranged by names. This database is searchable by address, name, year, occupation, business name, and business type. You can use it to see where people lived over the years, or to find out who has lived in a particular house.
Search the City Directory Database
We are still in the process of entering data into this database. The following list shows which directories are in the database, what information those directories include, and how the information is arranged in the directory:
- 1873-1874: This directory is arranged by residents', primarily head-of-household's, last name, and lists occupations when applicable.
- 1877: This directory is arranged by residents' names, and lists occupations when applicable. Household units are not clearly grouped; relations between individuals frequently are not clearly indicated.
- 1883:This directory is arranged by residents' names, and lists occupations when applicable.
- 1886-1887:This directory is arranged by residents', primarily head-of-household's, last name, and lists occupations when applicable.
- 1888 (partially entered): This directory is not exhaustive; it tends to list only the "upper crust" of Oberlin society. Those names that do appear are grouped by household and include a list of all residents.
- 1890: This directory is arranged by residents' names, and lists heads of household and their occupations.
- 1891: This directory is arranged by residents' names, and lists all the residents of each home.
- 1894 (January): This directory, arranged by name, includes head of households and their occupations.
- 1894: This directory was printed when the addresses in Oberlin were all changed. It is arranged by address, and lists the new and old addresses. Only heads of household are listed.
- 1896: This directory is arranged by address and lists heads of household.
- 1897: This directory is arranged by name, and lists all residents and the head of household's occupation.
- 1899-1900 (partially entered): This directory is arranged by both name and address. The address section gives a listing by household, with occupations of residents. The section arranged by name is organized by head of household, and lists other residents and the occupations of all residents.
- 1902: This directory lists heads of household, and is arranged by address.
- 1908: This exhaustive directory is arranged by name. It lists all household residents (it is the only City Directory that includes residents under 10 years old), their occupations, and their work places. When widows are listed, the directory says who their deceased husbands are.
- 1916 (partially entered):Another very thorough directory listing all household members and occupations.
Search Tips
If you are having trouble finding information, the following search tips might be helpful:
- Address format: All of the addresses in the City Directory Database are in the following format: 73 South Professor. The direction (North, East, etc.) is always spelled out completely, and the address does not include Street or Road at the end. This is the address format that most of the City Directories use, so this is the format we have used consistently throughout the database.
- Enter only people's last names: Often, the directories abbreviate people's first names, or only include their initials. If you can't find someone by searching for their entire name, try just entering in the last name.
- Address changes: In 1894, the addresses in Oberlin changed. The 1894 City Directory includes a list of the new and old addresses. Some of the street names in Oberlin have changed over the years. Therefore, there are three address fields in the City Directory Database: the Pre-1894 address, the address after 1894, and finally, the current address. In most cases, the current address and the address after 1894 are the same, but in the case of street name changes and a few other exceptions, the current address is different.
- Occupations and work-places are also often abbreviated. If you want to find all of the people who worked for Oberlin College, you may need to try entering "O C" or "O. C." to find all of them.
- Choose the search type "contains" instead of "begins with" from the drop-down menu.