Directories

Michigan's first city directory was published in 1837, the same year that Michigan became a state. It was titled Directory of the City of Detroit with Its Environs and Register of Michigan for the Year 1837. It wasn't until 1853 that city directories in Detroit were published yearly or every other year, and it was 1859 before the first city Michigan city directory was published outside Detroit. The first Upper Peninsula directory was published in 1873 and called Beard's Directory and History of Marquette County with Sketches on the Early History of Lake Superior, its Mines, Furnaces, etc.

The information in city directories varies but usually includes a list of residents, their addresses, and occupations. A man's wife may be listed or a widow's former husband. Some directories list children, deaths for the previous year, and the city to which a former resident has moved.

City directories may be found in libraries or online.

• Circa 1930 City Directories Found at the NARA <www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/census/ city_directories_1930.html#MICHIGAN>
• City Directories of the Gogebic Range of Michigan and Wisconsin 1888-1947 <mattsonworks.com/>
• City Directories of the United States of America <www.uscitydirectories.com/mi.htm>
• Macomb County: Mount Clemens City Directory Master Index <offserv.libcoop.net/mtc/mcdirectory.asp>

For more information about directories, see Chapter 5 of Michigan Genealogy.

A companion site for the book Michigan Genealogy.
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