If your family member appears in a genealogy database, odds are that one type of record attached to that person is a city directory. A city directory, as stated in the famous Boston Directory, is “a list of the merchants, mechanics, traders, and others, of the town…; in order to enable strangers to find the residence of any person.” City directories predate the phone book by a few hundred years, as is the case in Boston. Most large city’s have published directories at some point in their history. No doubt with the internet, much of this information has transitioned to online. Still, many central business districts have published directories featuring the businesses and people in that area.
I have a love-hate relationship with the city directory. The two largest genealogy research websites, Ancestory.com and FamilySearch.com both have very large databases of city directories, covering hundreds of cities over 100 or more years. When I searched the online catalog on FamilySearch for ‘City Directory,’ I received 27,338 returns. When I’m conducting research on the larger genealogy websites such as Ancestry.com, city directories returns can cloud my results. Especially when published annually, a city directory is rarely going to be a groundbreaking document. Still, the city directory can be very useful to know what your ancestors are up to year to year. As the U.S. Census is only taken every ten years, city directories can fill in the gaps.
One such city directory is the 1891 directory for Youngstown, Ohio. As most of the 1890 U.S. Census was destroyed in a 1921 fire, an 1891 directory provides much needed information on this time period. Opposite an advertisement for the Youngstown Iron and Steel Company were several groups of Bixler’s. The Bixler’s are the family of my maternal great grandmother. Listed in the directory are:
- Bixler August, clerk Lakeshore Ry, res 333 Meadow
- Bixler A M, bakery and confectionary 245 W Federal, res same
- Bixler Miss Bertha, res n s Mahoning ave w of Creek
- Bixler Charles F, driver A M Bixler, res n s Mahoning ave
- Bixler Frederick, farmer, res n s Mahoning ave w of Creek
- Bixler George P, painter, res 360 W Rayen ave
- Bixler Miss Louisa R, res 333 Meadow
- Bixler Miss Minnie, clerk L Osborne & Co, res 360 W Rayen ave
- Bixler Nicholas, painter, res 360 W Rayen ave
- Bixler Phillip, butcher, res 121 Stull
- Bixler Miss Sophia, res 121 Stull
- Bixler William, wks Lloyd Booth Co, res 333 Meadow
- Bixler William G, laborer, res 333 Meadow
- Bixler William J, wks Cartwright, M & Co, res 121 Stull
Based on the addresses listed, we can assume several of those listed are related to each other in some way. I’ve added my relationship where I know it.
- Bixler August, clerk Lakeshore Ry, res 333 Meadow – My 2nd great grand uncle
- Bixler Miss Louisa R, res 333 Meadow – My 2nd great grand aunt
- Bixler William, wks Lloyd Booth Co, res 333 Meadow – My 2nd great grandfather
- Bixler William G, laborer, res 333 Meadow – My 3rd great grandfather
121 Stull Street (Lower West Side) – renamed West Avenue, mapped address is approximate.
- Bixler Phillip, butcher, res 121 Stull
- Bixler Miss Sophia, res 121 Stull
- Bixler William J, wks Cartwright, M & Co, res 121 Stull
- Bixler George P, painter, res 360 W Rayen ave
- Bixler Miss Minnie, clerk L Osborne & Co, res 360 W Rayen ave
- Bixler Nicholas, painter, res 360 W Rayen ave
245 W Federal Street or Mahoning Ave (W of Creek is presumed to be Mill Creek)
- Bixler A M, bakery and confectionary 245 W Federal, res same
- Bixler Miss Bertha, res n s Mahoning ave w of Creek
- Bixler Charles F, driver A M Bixler, res n s Mahoning ave
- Bixler Frederick, farmer, res n s Mahoning ave w of Creek
There are only one of the four family groups for which I’ve identified a relationship, but I believe I can probably work to tie all of these people together in some way. As I am fond of writing, there’s more research to do!
Source:
Youngstown City Directory, 1891-1892. Akron, Ohio. The Burch Directory Company, 128. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Accessed 28 Jun 2015.
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