Boyd's Elmira and Corning Directory, published 1872 is now on the
Internet at
www.rootsweb.com/~srgp/director/1872p001.htm
Only the first page of Corning was done because the site if for PA's
Bradford & Tioga Counties and NY's Chemung Co., so most Steuben Co.
stuff is left off. And there's a gap between McDonnell and Norton
(which has already been brought to Joyce's attention). But you may find
it of interest.
I didn't find anyone in our tree present , altho some names match.
"John Smith" being present in both lists doesn't mean much. Others,
like Edward Thomas, tanner, or John F. Roe, might possible be matches,
but I don't have enough evidence at this time to make that claim.
The Joseph and Mary Harper Campbell descendants who settled in Elmira
had not yet arrived. Others in our tree, such as Tubbses, had lived in
Newtown and Southport before 1810, but had moved on to the Cowanesque
Valley long before 1872.
But many of you may find people that are of interest to you. I saw
Burgett and Goodrich entries that probably connect to me somehow. The
Congdons present almost certainly are cousins of our Congdon relatives.
And some of the folks listed probably are ancestors of people who later
married into our family.
I was especially interested in the very specific entries for
occupation. Some give a flavor of the times. Here are a few: auger
finisher; axe maker; boot fitter; boot-crimper; carriage blacksmith;
cartman; coachman; cupola tender; domestic; guilder; heater; hostler;
lime burner; lumber measurer; maltster; marble-polisher; peddler;
puddler; roller; segarmaker; slater; steam dryer; tinner; trackwalker;
turner; washerwoman; widow; and wine weaver. Bonus points to anyone who
knows what all those are without having to look any up. I was surprised
at how many different occupations were listed that involved carriages.
And some have different meanings from what some younger readers might
think of first, e.g. car inspector, conductor, and cradle builder.