January 13, 2020 Please join us in congratulating and offering our sincere appreciation for Barbara Schock's 300th+ Sandburg's Hometown post on our Carl Sandburg Historic Site Association website!! Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your extraordinary gift of these vignettes of Galesburg & 19th century American history.
The City Directories By Barbara Schock
The first city directory of Galesburg was published in 1857,
a little more than twenty years after the founding of the city. It included the
names and addresses of most of the adults residing in the city as well as the
names and locations of businesses and manufacturers. Mail was an important part of family, social and business
life in the nineteenth century. The arrival and departure of mail schedule was
also shown in the directory. Eastern through mail came at 5:00 am and western
mail at 9:00 am via the railroad. Mail from Quincy came at 11:00 am by the
Northern Cross Railroad. Peoria mail came at 8:30 in the evening. Mail from Rock
Island arrived at 8:30 pm Wednesday and Friday. Mail from Muscatine came in at
4:00 pm on Wednesday. Departure of mail for the east occurred at 9:30 am and again
at 8:00 pm. The Northern Cross Railroad going to Quincy left at 4:15 pm. Mail
destined for Peoria left at 1:00 pm every day and Rock Island at 7 pm on Monday
and Wednesday. The Galesburg directory also contained a list of the
students at Knox and Lombard colleges as well as faculty members. Over the next several decades
the Galesburg directories were produced by printers in the city. The pages of
advertisements for local businesses provided the revenue to make the effort
worthwhile. R.L. Polk became the leading national publisher of city directories
during the twentieth century. Annual updates of the city directory were necessary because
individuals move, marry, die or change occupations. Children weren’t listed in
directories until they began working or were attending school. Home ownership
was noted in many city directories. Perhaps a not so subtle indication of the
financial situation of the household. Women were also identified after they
became widows. The 1895 City Directory of Galesburg had a street index
giving the last name of the resident at each address. If several years are
checked in the directories, the sequence of a family’s moves can be traced.
Perhaps, economic times were good and the family was able to move up the social
ladder—or to a street on the north side of Cedar Creek. The first section of most city directories was given to
descriptions of the history of the town and the accomplishments of its citizens.
Local organizations could have a paragraph or two about the purpose of the
group. Local officials were often listed in the city directory as well as
churches and schools. For a newcomer in town, looking at the current city
directory could provide a great deal of useful information. A directory of business services at the back of the book
listed stables, buggy and wagon makers, broom manufacturers, restaurants, hotels
and many other services needed in days gone by. Dressmakers and milliners were
many as elaborate clothing and hats were the style for ladies. Shoemakers were
important as ready-made shoes were not so common. Cigarmakers and liquor dealers
promoted their products in full page ads. Farm machinery was another important
item advertised in city the directories. Today genealogists use city directories of 1890 as a
substitute for the federal census of 1890 as it was destroyed in a fire. They
also use several years of city directories to check moves of the family, changes
in family structure and the beginning of careers by family members. You can sit at a table near the
Genealogy Section of the Galesburg Public Library and check the city directories
since 1960. When does your name first appear? Earlier directories are kept
in the Archives Department. The Library also has directories up to the present
year.
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