Regarding changes from original content:

Italics indicate information added to the original.

The most significant changes are business names and formatting of addresses for consistency to make sorting and searching the data easier.

For example (business names):

C H Herr, Chas Heer, C H Heer Dry Goods and Heer D G are all listed as C H H D G CO.

Frisco, St Louis & S F, SL & SF RR are all listed as St L & S F RR.

All variations of  Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis are listed as K C, F S & M RR.

For example (residential addresses).

2 n of St Louis on e s of Dollison  and Dollison ave e s, 2d n of St Louis are both listed in this transcription as Dollison 2 n St Louis, es.

Center cor of n Campbell ave and Cor of Campbell and Center are both listed as Campbell cor Center.  If the exact corner is provided (ne, nw, se, or sw) it is provided after the intersection is named.

Sorting or searching by address allows us to easily find out with whom an individual boarded.  In some instances, the boarder is a son-in-law or mother-in-law who might not have been located in the directory otherwise because of a different surname or a misspelled name.  Once you've located an individual in the list, you can search by the exact address to find the names of others who may have been residing or boarding at the same address.  Of course, many times a boarder was just a boarder – a way for a household to supplement income.

It's also possible to determine for whom many of the domestics, coachmen and gardeners worked.  “Room and board” was the employment benefit package of the day.  We have a fuller understanding of the lives of both the residents and their household staff.  “Colored” household staff are more frequently found residing or boarding at locations other than the homes in which they were employed than their white counterparts.

For example:  The household of Francis X Heer, manager of C H H D G Co, was located at 737 Boonville and included:  Mary W Heer; Miss Cecelia Heer; Mary E Crowers; widow of William; Robert Andres, manager of the dress goods department at Heer's; Ellen Markell, domestic; and William Schmidt, gardener.  Mary E “Crowers” should be Mary E Crowdus, widow of William B Crowdus and daughter of Charles H Heer.

“Ellen Markell” is probably Ella Markel who is listed on the Polk County 1880 census as the 11 year-old daughter of Michael J Markel and Alvadora (or Alvacindo) nee Emlet Markel.  Also listed on that 1880 census is 12 year-old Emma Markel.  The 1891 Springfield Directory lists Emma Markel as a domestic in the home of Chas H Heer, Jr.  It is very likely that many of the young domestics were members of families in the surrounding counties.

The general format in the original directory occasionally included “domestic at” or “laborer at” and then the notation “bds same”.  For many of the domestics, coachmen, and other laborers only one address is listed and is not designated as the work or home address.  If not designated, I have listed the address under residential address and have omitted any entry in the column for “R=resides” or “Bds=boards”.  If the only address listed is designated as the place of employment, it is listed under business address and then listed in italics under residence as the “probable” place of residence.

We know the data was collected by “canvassers”, but we don't know exactly what process was used.  We do know the data was collected over a period of months – enough time to allow for many duplicate entries due to change in residence or employment. For example:

Disbonne, Jule A; draftsman; St L & S F RR; resides 530 e Walnut

DeBonne, Jules; draughtsman; -- ; boards 483 e Walnut

Also listed at 530 e Walnut are: Henry T Hornsby, Emma Presnell, Fred Wagner and Herbert J Baker.

Also listed at 483 e Walnut are: Geo C Clark, Henry Hornsby, Thomas T Keet, Thomas W Keet, Thos H Keet, Hellen Rogers and Wm O Smith.

Henry Hornsby at 483 is listed as a bookkeeper. Henry T Hornsby at 530 is listed as secretary-treasurer of Springfield Car & Foundry Co.  When Jules A Desbonne, secretary-treasurer of Central Foundry in Jasper County, Missouri died December 13, 1932, H T Hornsby was listed as informant on the death certificate.  Both men are of maternal French descent.  Mr Desbonne changed both residence and employer during the collection of data for the 1891 Springfield Directory, and his example illustrates that residence and employment associations are important clues when tracking ancestors.

Examples of obvious duplicate entries are:

Bancroft, BB; carpenter in shops; K C, F S & M RR; bds Lyon 2 n Locust, ws

Bancroft, Verna; wks machine shops; K C, F S & M RR; bds Lyon 2 n Locust, ws

Bancroft, Sidney C; caller; St L & S F RR; bds Lyon 2 n Locust, ws

Marcroft, BB; carpenter; K C, F S & M RR; bds Lyon 2 n Locust, ws

Marcroft, Verna; bolt cutter; K C, F S & M RR; bds Lyon 2 n Locust, ws

Marcroft, Percy; wks St L & S F RR; bds 1113 Thoman

Marcroft, W I; wks St L & S F RR; resides Lyon 2 n Locust, ws

Cardwell, Saml; laborer; bds 733 w Mill

Cordwell, Samuel; wks K C, F S & M RR; bds 733 w Mill

The Bancroft/Marcroft household on Lyon is one of the rare instances in which employees of both railroads can be found residing together.  Employees of these companies overwhelming segregated themselves, which is how we can occasionally determine for which road an individual worked.  For example, Geo Shelton, pattern maker, bds 643 w Mill, has no employer listed – but all individuals listed at 643 w Mill, except Mrs Lou Gilleland, the proprietor of the boarding house, worked for K C, F S & M RR – and George probably did as well.

Happy hunting!

Judy Reustle, Nov 2008