Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana Directory, 1891-1892

During the 1890s, Butte, Montana was a copper mining boom town. Thousands of men and women moved there to seek their fortunes, among them Marcus Daly and W.A. Clark, who were remembered as the "Copper Kings." This directory attempted to list the name of every adult male living or doing business in the city in 1891-92, along with the occupation, business location, and residence of each. Also listed are numerous women and names of deceased husbands.

Butte City Directory, 1891-92 Abbreviations:

agt = Agent
appr = Apprentice
asst = Assistant
av = Avenue
bds = Boards
bet = Between
bartndr = Bartender
bkpr = Bookkeeper
bldg = Building
blk = Block
blksmith = Blacksmith
carp = Carpenter
cashr = Cashier
clk = Clerk
clnr = Cleaner
col'd = Colored
conf = Confectioner
com'n = Commission
comnr = Commissioner
comp = Compositor
cond d c = Conductor dining car
cor = Corner
dep = Deputy
dept = Department
E or e = East
eng = Engine or Engineer
e s = East side
expman = Expressman
exp messr = Express messenger
frt = Freight
gen = General
insptr = Inspector
ins agt = Insurance agent
lab = Laborer
messr = Messenger
mkr = Maker
mnfg = Manufacturing
mnfr = Manufacturer
mngr = Manager
mach = Machinist
nr = Near
N or n = North
n e = Northeast
n s = North side
n w = Northwest
opp = Opposite
opr = Operator
pk = Park
pkr = Packer
pl = Place
PO = Post Office
pres = President
prin = Principal
propr = Proprietor
pub = Publisher
real est = Real Estate
res = Residence
rd = Road
repr = Repairer
Rev = Reverend
RMS = Railway mail service
S or s = South
s e = Southeast
s s = South side
s w = Southwest
sec = Secretary
stenogr = Stenographer
supt = Superintendent
tchr = Teacher
Ter = Terrace
trans = Transfer
treas = Treasurer
trav agt = Traveling Agent
w s = Westside
whol = Wholesale
wid = Widow
W or w = West
wks = Works
yd = Yard
1st = First
2d = Second
3d = Third
4th = Fourth
5th = Fifth
6th = Sixth

City directories are primarily useful for locating people in a particular place and time. They can tell you generally where an ancestor lived and give an exact location for census years. They are also useful for linkage with sources other than censuses.

There are usually several parts to a city directory. The section of most interest to the genealogist, of course, is the alphabetical listing of names, for it is there that you may find your ancestor.

Whenever you use a directory, however, it is important to refer to the page showing abbreviations used in the alphabetical section of the directory, usually following the name in each entry. Some abbreviations are quite common, such as h for home or r, indicating residence. There may even be a subtle distinction between r for residents who are related to the homeowner and b for boarders who are not related.

Some city directories list adult children who lived with their parents but were working or going to school. Look for persons of the same surname residing at the same address. If analyzed and interpreted properly, these annual directories can tell you (by implication) which children belong to which household, when they married and started families of their own, and when they established themselves in business. In cases where specific occupation is given, you can search records pertinent to that occupation.

Once an ancestor has been found in a city directory, there are several ways the information can be used to gain access to, or link with, such sources as censuses, death and probate records, church records, naturalization records, and land records.

Taken from Chapter 11: Research in Directories, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Gordon Lewis Remington; edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Incorporated, 1997).