Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-01-03

rectoiy TO a STAR reporter This year There
| VIII be 5, S24 more names than hst year. Thai
| represents = population of 800 600. According
to the experience of directory men you should
allow about 81 to every name 10 calculating the
| population. The 100000 includes, Of course
the transient population, pcrsoes who may bs
here for only one winter At least 10,000 people
come here during the sessions otCongress who
are not here at other times of The year. ON
canvass, which is just being completed vii
show, after deducting everything that the per-
manent population Of The District is from
| 10000 to 5000"
| Then. the city is growing rapl!ly?" said The
| STAR reporter.
Washington grows more RAPIDLY" said the
directory mal. than any city know of"
I'm what parts OF the city haze Won noticed
the most rapid growth
'Ot course, as everyone kHows. the north
| western part Of the city has increased areat,y in
| POPULATION. Capitol hin. from D street north
| TO ID street south. has also grow rapidly and
! the northeastern section Of the cit Is becoming
well populated. A large population has sprung
! up around the bureau OF engraving and print
! Ing. IN South Washington, and thu Smithsonian
and National Museum. These irgc instItu-
tons. where many people arc einDhyed. operate
/ just rs big factories do in othr cities and
attract people around them"
DIRECTORIES, PAST ASE PRESENT.
The Directory for 1885 vii, be isssed in few
days, the final work Of correction being now in
progress and nearly completed. 1T will be a
volume Of about 72S pages. or lie size OF the
| Directory OF 1884, which will soon be filed away
among the things that are out Of Ate. In Col.
Boyd's office are long rows of Directories whose
| gradually increasing bulk from var to year
! corresponds with the growth of sle city from
the time OF the issue Of the f1rS Directory
| "Col. Boyd" said one Of the gentlemen en-.
gagged in the Office, ''is the only mm who ever
| published directory in this city q Scoud time >
! yes" said Col. Boyd, II first published q
directory here in 1853. and have published al
the directories that have been issuet here since
that tine. The first directory published here
| appeared in 1922. Then one was published In
1927. then Others followed in 1884 1910, 1916
1850 1853 and 1855. In 1855 1 begat the publ
cation OF the city directory. puDlahed one il
1860 and in 1868. IN 1854, 1865 and 1885. whiIf
| was in the army, directories vert published
here for me by my brother Since Glen have
published one every year."
| The first directory published by CO. Boyd ir
1853. is small volume, printed in hrge type
with single column OF names on each page
In the Introductory pages is summary. stating
that there are 1856 names Of residents O.
washington In the volume, ana l, 1S residents
OF Georgetown. The directory Of 1855 con
tanned only 7.454 names of residents of Wash
ington, and POO names of residents tf George
| town.
GEORGETOWN on lis DIGNITY.
In those days Washington and Georgetown
each had separate parts of the directory to
itself 1T struck me-" observed Col. Boyd
THAT this was very bad arrangement for If :,
stranger was looking for a person here and did
not find the name in the Washington directory
he would not think of turning over to the back
! OF the book and looking into the GEORGETOWN
directory So I consolidated the two and had
fight on my hands right away. The late MI
Mctfill. editor of the Georgetown Courier, wen.
around to all my subscribers in GEORGETOWN and
got every one OF them to withdraw hissubscrils
ton. They objected, you see. to having their
city ignored in that way. ! was mad and tod
McGiil that the day would come whel George
town would no longer appear on tie map it
would be swallowed up. Some of TIL most re-
spectacle business men OF Georgetwn. who
now admit the convenience OF the Arrangement
would not for long time have anything to do
with the directory"
THE ''CoLOR" QUESTION.
Eyes, the names Of colored people 'ere put in
the directory before the war; said iol. Boyd.
''There is one" he continued, pointng cut in
the directory of 1853 name after which the
letters ''col." were printed in bracket. II, took
a great Zeal Of type to indicate theltoloI in this
way, so adopted the plan OF placing sRrs or
astersks before the names Of coltred ,eople.
Well. great many people did not like ID have
the names of eolored people IN the directory
and said | ought TO associate oily with Iegroes.
Then caught it from the Other SIDE Ole man,
well-known colored barber lere, woild not
let canvasser go into his plaes. He sid l had
no more right to indicate that man was COL
ored than to put the word Irif' after he name
of a man who came from Irelad. In course Of
time the astcrisk was cropped and there was
| no distinction made at all veen theraces.
THE old directories are CUTE valuable" con-
tinued the colonel. You void be surprised
ii rou stayed In the Office hereto see The num-
Der OF people who come in to pnsult I'D Girec-
tories when they are trying totrace person"
STREETS AND HOUSE lUMBERI.
"The present plan of NUMBERING houses in
the city was my work." said Col. Byd lin
making canvasses, we had graf dealbf trouble
with the old system OF NUMBERING worked
the Dill through both branches Of the city coun-
Gil, though there was considerable opposition to
it at the time. Merchants whohad nd consid-
cradle printing done. with theh old mmbers on
their bills and cards. thoughtthe tan was
good one, but that that was no; god time to
put it in operation. It was a Plan q mine at
that time to renumber the streets of tie city, SO
as w Will StIeet dt utp GXstUle east.
and continue them up to 45th o. 50tll street at
Rock creek, with the view uhinady Of con-
tinuing across into Georgetown, and going up
to Tooth street, or as far as Necessary. Gen.
Meigs. however. sent for me. and coFinced me
that the plan should not be carried nto effect,
as all the old records contained the umbers OF
streets as they then existed. and Considerable
CONFUSION might be caused byrenumbting them.
Taking map he showed me that be Capitol
stood. practically. In the mathematical center Of
the city. and it was very proper thatthe num-
bers should begin from the Capitol He sug-
gested that in lieu Of my plan the for quarters
of the city should be designated respectively
northwest, northeast, southwest andioutheast.
This, he showed me. would accomplih the pur-
pose | had in view. So, in makngthe direo-
tory, 1 followed his suggestion.
You cannot get any list Of the sreets and
| alleys from the District government said the
colonel. III you ask for such thin you will
be referred to the Directory. COnAnt addi-
lions are being made to the streets We are.
however. cutting down the list of aeys by de-
signaling each alley by only one naae, instead
Of two or three''
Where did the alleys get their naresi" asked
THE STAR reporter.
"AB rule the Directory men hse named
| them: When canvasser came uponal alley,
and there was no name, In order to avoid the
necessity Of putting down, for instace, such q
long description as ALLEY between CD and 18th
| and and g. he christened the ally After
that the name given would be general adopted.
sometimes an alley was named on account OF
some local characteristic Tin Cut alley ap-
pears first in the Directory of 1866 Louise
alley was named during the war on ccount OF
| It's miserable surroundings at that tine. Nail
er's alley. Clicks alley and Others wre gener-
| ally named from some man who ownd q great
deal Of PROPERTY in the neiohborhoods