My paternal grandmother’s maiden name is Dempsey. She grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I recently began using a technique to mine hints from Ancestry.com by dataset (read more here). I applied this same technique to the city directory database at Ancestry.com. One of the hints was for Charles F Dempsey. He is my grandmother’s father and my great-grandfather.
I was not surprised to find the family living at 1415 Brookline Boulevard. This is an address I have found time and again for the family.
Dempsey, Charles F (Amelia J) entry, Polk’s Pittsburgh City Directory 1937. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers, 1937. Page 343. Accessed 9 June 2015 at www.ancestry.com: Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database online]. What I love is the entire family is listed in the directory. James and Mary Dempsey arrived in the United States from Scotland in 1883 or 1884. They had five children: Catherine, Charles, Edward, James Leo, and John (alpha order). You can easily see each child listed in the city directory. The entire family, except for James Leo and his wife Clara, lived just a few houses away from each other. James and Clara were living only 5 blocks away on the same street as Clara’s parents.
1403 Brookline Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA1415 Brookline Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA
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2 Replies to “Dempsey Family In A City Directory”
I love city directories! Fold3 has many Pittsburgh City Directories up to 1923 if you’re looking for earlier directories. (I have a blog post coming up using city directories to show my great-grandfather’s moves.)
Your Grandmother Amelia Gamble Dempsey was my great aunt. She was the sister of Mary Alice Gamble Arnold. My mother was Dorothy Arnold. I have a lot of information about the Gamble/Leahy family in my ancestry file.
![Dempsey, Charles F (Amelia J) entry, Polk's Pittsburgh City Directory 1937. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers, 1937. Page 343. Accessed 9 June 2015 at www.ancestry.com: Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database online].](http://upinthetree.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Dempsey-family-city-directory-1937.jpg)
I love city directories! Fold3 has many Pittsburgh City Directories up to 1923 if you’re looking for earlier directories. (I have a blog post coming up using city directories to show my great-grandfather’s moves.)
Dear Sierra:
Your Grandmother Amelia Gamble Dempsey was my great aunt. She was the sister of Mary Alice Gamble Arnold. My mother was Dorothy Arnold. I have a lot of information about the Gamble/Leahy family in my ancestry file.