Quirks of Old City Directories

My husband's great-grandparents, Thomas Haskell Wood (1809-1890) and Mary Amanda Demarest Wood (1831-1897) settled in Toledo, Ohio early in the 1860s. I have had fun tracking these ancestors through city directories, great sources of family-history clues between Census years.

Along the way, I've noticed a few quirks of these early directories. (For more about the history of city directories, see this excellent post from the NY Public Library.)

Previously, I wrote about not relying on the cover date of a city directory. Today I'm looking at two more quirks: how alphabetical order was a bit elastic, and how different publishers included different details.

Not strictly alphabetical

Directories were being revised up until the moment of printing. As a result, names didn't always appear in strict alphabetical order. In the 1868 directory for Toledo, Ohio, the publisher acknowledged wanting to include as many entries as possible, even if the final arrangement was less than perfect.

As you can see in the excerpt at top, the entry for "Wood, Thos. H., carpenter" appears after the entry for "Wood, William, carpenter." 

Also, Mrs. K.L. Wood appears after "Woodard, Samuel E" and before "Woodbury, Geo." 

In other words, it pays to look at entries before and after where the ancestor would be expected to appear.

Also look at the very last-minute name/address additions in any directory, which are on a separate page, usually near the front of the alpha listings.

Clues beyond name, occupation, residence

In the 1868 Toledo directory, I was surprised and pleased to see the notation "fmly 10" at the end of the entry for Thomas H. Wood. The abbreviations page confirms that this refers to "family." A real find, the first time I've ever seen a notation like this. 

Of course, I wouldn't necessarily assume the directory's family count was accurate. Still...it could be a clue.

I compared my husband's family tree to the directory's notation of 10 people in the Thomas H. Wood family that year. Counting the 2 parents and 8 living children, my tally agreed with the directory. If my tally had not agreed, I would follow up by looking for a child I might have missed or some other change in the household. 

Fast-forward to the Toledo directory for 1890. It listed the exact death date of Thomas H. Wood, confirming what was already on the family tree. The directory got it right!

One more quirk: The 1864 Toledo directory has a listing for "Wood _______, carp, h East Toledo." A blank wasn't really that unusual. Every page in that directory had an entry missing a given name. Looking at multiple years in the same decade helped me feel confident that, based on the occupation and home location, this entry is indeed that of my hubby's ancestor.