1907 Yiddish Directory Database

In 1907 local publisher Louis Knoppow compiled a Yiddish-language directory of Detroit’s Jewish community. Nearly 3,000 entries, it lists those employed outside the home. Housewives, children, and those unwilling or unable to pay to be included are absent.

For the first time, we have translated Knoppow's work, turning the directory into a searchable database and pairing it with sections of the 1921-22 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company maps. Modern house numbers have been added, reflecting Detroit’s city-wide renumbering in 1921.

TIPS
* Use Anglicized spellings for best results (e.g. Applebaum, not Apelboym). Original spellings appear in the “Notes” field
* Try several search terms for an occupation. A butcher might be listed under butcher, meats, trayber, and/or slaughterer
* Shorter search terms generate more results. “Bottl” will include bottle, bottles, bottling, bottler)


To browse, scroll below the search bar. To search, use one or more fields. “View Image" reveals an address's location on a Sanborn map section. Click the map section to open a new tab and zoom. Pink boxes on the map are brick buildings, yellow boxes are wooden-frame buildings.

Street
Original
House Number
Post-1921
House Number
First Name
Last Name
Occupation
Notes

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