The Three Rivers Library

This will be a really short post because I only had fifteen minutes to spare in the Michigan Room of the Three Rivers, Michigan library. While I couldn't accomplish much in an unfamiliar repository in so short a time I was able to find a few things in city directories.

If you have relatives who lived in Three Rivers you may be interested in searching for them in the library's collection of city directories. A member of the library staff told me she believed the library possessed a full run of city directories, but I cannot confirm that. The earliest directory I found was for 1871. A large gap followed before the next city directory in 1905. 1908-9 was the next one. From 1922 (the next one) up to the 1950s Three Rivers city directories were published about every two years. In my haste, I forgot to take note of the city directories later than this. After all, I was trying to make the most of my visit.

One nice thing about the Three Rivers city directories I examined (those in the 1930s and 1940s) was that all household members were listed. In addition, household members serving in the military during WWII were noted. I only wish I had had more time to examine the directories more closely. I took non-flash photographs of the pages relevant to me, along with the title page, of course and moved on.

On the other side of the room I also found a single St. Joseph county directory for 1880 next to a binder with an every name index compiled by volunteers. While I knew in what township I would find my family, for those with kin scattered throughout the county this index will prove valuable in expediting the search.

One last resource I took a very brief look at, because I had to leave, was an index card file with information on local individuals. The card on the one person I looked up had death information and not much more. Those with ancestors who lived in the area for a long time may find more in the many drawers in this collection.

The Michigan room with its large table for research definitely has local resources for those with Three Rivers roots. For general information about the resources available here I refer you to the Michigan Room page on the library website.

City Directories: More Than Just Names

I'm sure that we have all used city directories at some point in our genealogical research to find out where an ancestor lived, but have you ever looked beyond the list of names? You can learn a lot about the community by looking through the rest of the directory and you may just find your relatives mentioned in an unexpected place. Here are some of the things you might learn.

History: Many city directories, particularly earlier ones may describe the settling of the town in addition to features of the land and soil. The 1869 Kalamazoo directory, for example has a history of Kalamazoo as well as histories and descriptions of the various townships in the county. If you have ancestors who were early settlers in Kalamazoo county (I don't, but surely someone does) then you might find them mentioned here.

County Officials and Institutions: In addition to local government officials, you may find a list and/or brief description of libraries, churches, cemeteries, schools, societies and unions. These entries also often include the address and sometimes their officers and the days they meet. The 1906 Kalamazoo directory even lists “secret and benevolent societies.” This always amuses me because I can't help but think they are not “secret” anymore. We have all heard of the Masons and the Knights Templar, but have you heard of the Prudent Patricians of Pompeii or the Tribe of Ben Hur? If your ancestors were listed as officers you now have a new place to search for records.

Businesses: A business directory can be quite interesting as well. If nothing else it provides a basic look at the local economy. The 1869 directory includes 23 lawyers, 11 washerwomen, whip and glove manufacturers, a hoop skirt manufacturer and a soap and candle maker. In 1899 there were nearly 3 pages of carpenters, over six pages of celery growers and shippers, 3 carpet weavers and more than a dozen cigar manufacturers.

Miscellaneous: The 1869 directory also has a section entitled “Notices of Enterprising Business Men” with a brief description of each. Here is yet another place you might find something to aid your family history research. Also included in this directory was the number of children in the school district (between ages 5 and 20) for Aug. 1868: 2646. It also names teachers for 1869 by school. The 1906 Kalamazoo directory even lists parks and “places of amusement.”

I have found three Kalamazoo city directories free on the internet: 1869, 1899 and 1906. All three are available from Google books. The 1869 directory can also be downloaded from www.archive.org. Both the Kalamazoo Public Library and the WMU Archives have complete runs of Kalamazoo city directories (some of these also include a county directory). Keep in mind that directories were not published every year. The WMU Archives also has a run of directories for the “Kalamazoo suburban” area from 1966-1976.

In addition to Kalamazoo area directories, the WMU Archives also possesses extensive holdings (hard copy and microfilm) for Battle Creek, Cold Water, Benton Harbor, and Greenville. They also have many years on microfilm for Grand Rapids. Many of these are now available on Ancestry Library Edition to which both the KPL and the WMU Archives subscribe.

The Van Buren District Library also has some city directories for Allegan, Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties, most of them from the 1900s.  For a listing of these sources click here.

The Kalamazoo Public Library also has several city directories for Three Rivers (mostly from the 1940s and 1950s).  The Three Rivers Library also has a complete run of directories for that city.  To learn more read my post here.

To see which city directories are available online for other cities where your ancestors lived a good place to start is the Online Historical Directories Website.

 To see how city directories can help you answer some ancestor mysteries read my post Clues in City Directories.