1901-1902 Houghton County Polk Directory Calumet and Laurium

1901-1902 Houghton County Directory

More and more I have heard from researchers who cannot locate their Polish families in the Calumet area in the 1900 U.S. Census. Indeed, I am missing a few. So I decided to extract the Polish names from the 1901-1902 Houghton County Directory for Calumet and Laurium. This would be a supplement to the census information and might help some people locate their missing ancestors.

Here are a few comments on this extraction.
(1) I copied the names exactly as they appeared in the directory. For the most part the spelling was quite accurate, but some are clearly incorrect.

(2) Some people are listed twice. A careful reading will show that one entry was for the place of employment and the second was for the home. For example, my great grandfather Nicholas Kaptur was listed as a miner residing at “17 Oak Tam loc” and also as Nicholas (sic) Kuptar as a miner at Tamarack Mining Company.

(3) Check carefully for other people living at the same address. Some of these people were living with friends, neighbors or other family members. I found Peter Pavlovic, a drill boy, boarding at 17 Oak with my Kaptur family. I have no idea who he was, but from the 1900 census I found that he was 27 years old, had just immigrated in 1900, and was living at a different location for the census. He probably needed a place to live for a time. Another surprise came when I saw Slavka Severinski as a domestic at “17 Oak Tam loc.” The family story is that my great grandmother Marcyanna Kaptur was frequently ill. They already had five children at the time, so if she was ill, she needed the help.

(4) I slightly altered the addresses of some of the people who lived in Laurium. For example, Ignatz Flens was listed as a miner “res n s Fulton 1 e of Ahmeek,” which tells where the house was located. I recorded his address as “res Fulton and Ahmeek.” Those who want the exact location can check the directory.

(5) Some of the names (Calumet, Laurium, Hecla) were also street names. The directory clarified that by using “Calumet Mich.” in the listings.

(6) I believe that I located one of my missing persons. My Peter Wojkiewicz does not appear in the 1900 census, but he is apparently the Peter Zwitkovich who was also living in Tamarack and worked as a trammer. Happy hunting.

Joseph Martin
Romeoville, Illinois