Detroit City Directories at Ancestry.com

In the last few months, I've discovered the "U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta)" database at Ancestry.com. I have found several of my family members in the Michigan directories, particularly the Detroit city directories. My only problem has been that I can never seem to remember which directories for which years contain what information. Not all of the directories are available in full; several years are only partially available. I don't rely on the search feature at Ancestry.com because I don't fully trust OCR technology to perfectly pick up every single name in the directory for every single year. Therefore, I usually end up browsing each year for my ancestors' information, and then I find that I've wasted my time because a particular year may only have surnames A-P available in the alphabetical directory.

How to solve this problem? Well, I've decided to compile what information is available for the years after 1923. All Detroit city directories from 1861 to 1923 are available in full at Fold3.com. The 1925 directory is the earliest directory available after 1923 at Ancestry.com. Instead of putting it in a spreadsheet only on my computer, I decided to share it with my readers. However, keep in mind that Ancestry.com is still adding to this database, so some information may change.

1925: Surnames A-Z
1927: Surnames A-Z
1928: Surnames A-Moseley, Harry
1930: Surnames Niestuchowski, Jos-Z
1931: Surnames A-Z
1932: Surnames A-Peterson, Chas R
1934: Surnames A-Nevin, Thos D
1935: Surnames A-Moore, Wade M
1936: No Surnames
1937: Surnames A-Haag, Michl J
1938: No Surnames
1939: A-Habbell, Anthony
1940: No Surnames
1941: Surnames A-Haar, Anna
1953: No Surnames
1954-1955: This is actually a suburb directory for East Detroit, Roseville, etc.
1957: Surnames Pursch, Alex-Z
1958: No Surnames

1860 FANS of Jeremiah Pemberton

Lately I've been hearing about the importance of FANS of our ancestors. Just what are FANS? Well, this is a coin termed by Elizabeth Shown Mills that stands for "Friends, Associates, Neighbors." I'm taking a class through the National Institute of Genealogical Studies about U.S. land records. It mentioned that people often migrated in groups, which is why we should always investigate neighbors of our ancestors. I do not know the exact origins of my fourth great-grandfather, Jeremiah Pemberton. This is what I do know about him:

• He was born abt 1812 in New York (source: census records/death record)
• He married Susanna JERMYN on 19 Nov 1836 at St. James (Anglican) Cathedral in Toronto, York, Ontario. (source: church records and published marriage records)
• He was a resident of Vaughan Township, York, Ontario, at the time of his marriage.
• His oldest child, Lydia, was baptized 16 Nov 1837 at Trinity Anglican Church in Thornhill, York, Ontario. (source: church records)
• His second child, John, was born in either Blenheim Township or Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, on 3 Apr 1839. (source: military service records and obituary)
• His third child, Stephen, was born in Dundas, Wentworth, Ontario, about 1843. (source: military pension records)
• He was living in Brownstown, Wayne, Michigan, for the 1860 census.
• All but his youngest child (b. abt 1856) were listed as born in Canada between 1839 and 1854 on the 1860 census
• He appears to have moved to Michigan around 1855. (source: children's later census records and calculated birth dates of two youngest children)
• He was living in Clay Township, St. Clair, Michigan, for the 1870 and 1880 census.
• He died in Clay Township on 7 Jul 1881.

To determine who Jeremiah's neighbors were, I'll begin with his 1860 census record. The ten families living on either side of him were as follows:

Household No.	Surname	First Name	Age	Sex	Occupation	Birthplace
937	Barns	Syntha	68	F	Farmer	Conn.
	Barns	Esther	40	F	Teacher	N. York
	Barns	Harriet	32	F	Teacher	N. York
	Barns	William	24	M	Farmer	N. York
938	Sanford	Abram	34	M		Canada
	Sanford	Martha	29	F		Ireland
	Sanford	William	11	M		Mich.
	Sanford	John	8	M		Mich.
	Sanford	Elizabeth	5	F		Mich.
	Sanford	Martha	2	F		Mich.
	Sanford	William	28	M	Laborer	Canada
939	Carson	John G	38	M	Farmer	N. York
	Carson	Julia	27	F		Mich.
	Carson	Virginia	7	F		Mich.
	Carson	Willson	6	M		Mich.
	Carson	Charlotte	3	F		Mich.
	Carson	Elizabeth	1	F		Mich.
940	Carson	George	47	M	Farmer	N. York
	Carson	Jane	42	F		N. York
	Carson	William	25	M	Carpenter	N. York
	Carson	Edward	20	M	Blacksmith	N. York
	Carson	Adalaide	18	F	Servant	N. York
	Carson	Emma	15	F		Mich.
	Carson	Sarah	13	F		Mich.
	Carson	Ella	8	F		Mich.
	Carson	Horace	5	M		Mich.
	Carson	Lola	1	F		Mich.
935	Wood	Abner	61	M	Farmer	N. York
	Wood	Mary Ann	50	F
942	Flint	Richard	33	M	Fisherman	N. York
	Flint	Hellen	25	F		N. York
	Flint	Adalaide	1	F		Mich.
	Warfield	Nancy	16	F	Servant	Mich.
943	Smith	Elisa	62	F	Farmer	N. Hampshire
	Smith	David	21	M	Farmer	Mich.
	Lebigot	Barney	22	M		Mich.
944	Bentley	Daniel	27	M	Cooper	N. York
	Bentley	May	23	F		Mich.
	Bentley	Eliza	5	F		Mich.
	Bentley	George	2	M		Mich.
	Bentley	Rebecca	0	F		Mich.
945	Long	Charles	30	M	Farmer	Mich.
	Long	Elizabeth	24	F		Ohio
	Long	Ellen	8	F		Mich.
	Long	Taylor	6	M		Mich.
	Long	Clara	5	F		Mich.
	Long	Thomas	3	M		Mich.
	Long	Arthur	1	M		Mich.
	Long	Cornelia	23	F	Servant	Mich.
946	McSparin	John	40	M	Farmer	N. York
	McSparin	Catharine	30	F		Mich.
	McSparin	Alexander	12	M		Mich.
	McSparin	Phebe	11	F		Mich.
	McSparin	Joseph	0	M		Mich.
947	Pemberton	Jeremiah	48	M	Blacksmith	N. York
	Pemberton	Susan	40	F		England
	Pemberton	John	21	M		Canada
	Pemberton	Stephen	17	M		Canada
	Pemberton	Eliza	15	F		Canada
	Pemberton	Agnes	14	F		Canada
	Pemberton	Samuel	12	M		Canada
	Pemberton	William	10	M		Canada
	Pemberton	Maria	8	F		Canada
	Pemberton	Almira	6	F		Canada
	Pemberton	Charles	4	M		Mich.
948	McDonald	George	28	M	Farmer	Scotland
	McDonald	Jane	56	F		Scotland
	McDonald	Isabella	24	F	Servant	Scotland
	McDonald	Henry	26	M	Laborer	Scotland
	McDonald	Robert	21	M	Laborer	Scotland
949	Knapp	Benjamin F	57	M	Farmer	N. York
	Knapp	Lucinda	39	F		N. York
	Knapp	Goodman	10	M		Mich.
	Knapp	George	4	M		Mich.
	Johnson	Rhoda	10	F		Mich.
	Laurens	John	59	M	Laborer	Germany
950	Lensey	John	54	M	Farmer	Scotland
	Lensey	James	22	M	Laborer	Mich.
	Lensey	John	19	M		Mich.
	Lensey	Margaret	17	F	Servant	Mich.
951	Long	Thomas	59	M	Farmer	Canada
	Long	Rebecca	58	F		N. York
	Long	Henry	26	M	Cooper	Mich.
	Long	Cordellia	24	F	Servant	Mich.
	Long	Sidney	21	M	Laborer	Mich.
952	Brighton	George	71	M	Farmer	Scotland
	Brighton	Jane	49	F		Scotland
	Brighton	Robert	23	M	Laborer	Scotland
	Brighton	George	21	M	Laborer	Scotland
	Brighton	Phillis	17	F	Servant	Scotland
	Brighton	Marian	14	F		Scotland
	Brighton	William	10	M		Scotland
	Brighton	John	5	M		Mich.
953	Collard	John	34	M	Farmer	Ohio
	Collard	Martha	28	F		Mich.
	Collard	Alice	11	F		Mich.
	Collard	Emma	9	F		Mich.
	Collard	George	6	M		Mich.
	Collard	Ada	3	F		Mich.
	Collard	Blanche	1	F		Mich.
954	Goldner	Henry	33	M	Farmer	Germany
	Goldner	Lana	25	F		Germany
	Goldner	Charles	1	M		Mich.
955	Stoddard	Elijah W.	59	M	Farmer	N. York
	Stoddard	Emma	60	F		N. York
	Stoddard	Alpheus	14	M		Mich.
	Vreeland	Jacob E	32	M	Farmer	Mich.
	Vreeland	Michael	21	M		Mich.
956	Milliman	David	43	M	Farmer	N. York
	Milliman	Philis	38	F		Ohio
	Milliman	Charles	17	M	Laborer	Mich.
	Milliman	Harriet	15	F		Mich.
	Milliman	Salina	13	F		Mich.
	Milliman	Edmond	2	M		Mich.
957	Lobdell	Hiram	31	M	Physician	N. York
	Lobdell	Elizabeth	22	F		N. York
	Lobdell	John H.	0	M		N. York

Looks like I have a lot of digging to do! At first glance, I don't see too many people from Canada. I see quite a few from New York. I also notice there is a little discrepancy in the household numbers. It skips 941 and goes back to 935, then goes back to 940. Not sure if this was an error on the enumerator's part, or if he enumerated out of order. I will need to browse the rest of the enumeration to be sure. I think it may just be an error because there is another family enumerated as #935 in the correct spot (between 934 and 936). Since there are so many records online for Michigan, finding info for most of these people shouldn't be too hard. Happy Hunting!