What was the name of the business or the names of the occupants of 70
Astor Stret, Boston, Massachusetts in 1923?  If there was no Astor
Street it might have been Astoria Street, Boston, MA.  This is the
address given of husband's mother in 1923.

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Request for Question Clarification by omnivorous-ga on 31 Dec 2003 08:17 PST

Marcipoo --

There is no 70 Astor Street currently but there is a 70 Astoria
Street.  (Since street names don't change frequently, in Census
research it's usually a reliable way of checking who lived there.)

The most-accessible data will be the 1920 Census.  Would you like a
researcher to look up who resided at 70 Astoria Street in the 1920
Census?

An alternate way to do this yourself is to use a fee-based database such as:
http://www.ancestry.com

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

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Clarification of Question by marcipoo-ga on 31 Dec 2003 09:24 PST

I did want the information concerning the business or the occupants of
the house at either 70 Astor Street, Boston, MA or 70 Astoria Street. 
I had previously done a search for Astor Street on Google.com.  That
is why I mentioned in my question that it could have been Astoria.  I
thought if you looked at the 1923 street index you would be able to
find out if there was an Astor Steet then.  If it is 70 Astoria Street
I would like to know who were the residence living there or if it was
a boarding house, business or a family home.   I think the Boston
Public Library has a steet index for 1923 but I walk with a cane and
would find it difficult to make that trip.  I hope that you will be
able to help me.  My husband is 80 and would very much like this
information.   Although I realize that there may not be an Astor
Street now there could have been one in 1923 and it was demolished or
changed to another name.  That was 80 years ago and Boston has changed
a lot.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 31 Dec 2003 10:11 PST

If you can let us know the full name of your husband's mother (both
maiden and married names would be best) it would assist us with our
research on your question.

Keep in mind, though, that all information posted here is public
information, so don't provide any information that you may not want
made public.

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Clarification of Question by marcipoo-ga on 31 Dec 2003 11:02 PST

I am looking for the names of the people, family, or what business,
church, organization was in residence at 70 Astor Street and/or 70
Astoria Street in the year 1923.  I am more concerned with the type of
residence in 1923.  Family, etc.  The only information I have been
able to find regarding his mother was that her name was Marilyn J.
Howard, 70 Astor Street/70 Astoria Street in Boston Mass.  I do not
know if she was single or married at the time.

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Request for Question Clarification by omnivorous-ga on 31 Dec 2003 12:14 PST

Marcipoo --

I think that it may take someone with access to a printed copy of the
Boston directory for 1923 -- the 1920 Census doesn't list anyone
residing at 70 Astoria Street.  The even-number house addresses are
62, 66 and 74 Astoria Street for ED521 in the 1920 Census.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

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Request for Question Clarification by omnivorous-ga on 02 Jan 2004 16:41 PST

Marcipoo --

Thanks to the information generated by MWalcoff-GA from the Boston
Public Library, I was able to find 70 Astor Street (I needed to know a
cross-street, which doesn't exist today).  The Census data for 1920
puts that residence in Enumeration District 199.  There's a 2-unit
building at 70 Astor Street; the neighboring houses are:
64 Astor Street (9 families)
80 Astor Street (5 families)

I can provide you detail on the two families living at 70 Astor Street
in 1920 (Jan. 9, 1920), if that would be a satisfactory answer. 
However, I did not see a Marilyn (first name) or a Howard (surname) on
the street.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

> Did the census indicate that the house was rental property? <

Marcipoo --

I'd come close to discarding the notes, thinking that you didn't think
it relevant but can even answer that question.

The residents of 70 Astor Street in January, 1920 were:

Wiliam G. and Gertrude Totsk.  They were 30 and 28 respectively; both
born in Massachusetts.  He is an electrician with a ship company.  His
parents were both born in Germany; hers both born in Maine.

The second family is the Danie family and here are their ages:
Fred A., 35.  He is a janitor at an apartment house.
Helen, 24
Donald, 7
Marian, 5

He was born in Massachusetts (mother from Nova Scotia, father from
Rhode Island); Helen in Canada (of Canadian parents).  The children
were born in MA (Donald) and Vermont (Marian).

Both families are RENTING the residence.

Should you need to look these up yourself, many libraries have access
to 1920 Census records online.  These are from microfilm roll
T626-945, ED 199, page 5.

I hope that this is helpful.  Unfortunately searching genealogy
records is sometimes so difficult because of the difficulty of making
connections between addresses or names and family.

MA adoption records may be available from the state's Department of
Social Services:
http://www.state.ma.us/dss/

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

I've put in a request with the Boston Public Library for this info.

Thank you.  Did you request both 70 Astor Street as well as 70 Astoria
Street.  Would that street directory show if it was a business,
church, boarding house or residence?  Maybe they spelled the name
wrong.  What similar names to Astor or Astoria.

Marcipoo --

If you want to see Boston streets from the 1920 Census, go here:
http://stevemorse.org/census/index.html

As you select state, then city -- it will give you a list of complete
Boston streets in the 1920 Census.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Thank you so much. There was an Astor back in 1920 but it doesn't say
St. or Rd.  Does the street directory tell what kind of building or
residence was there in 1923?  That is the address that my husband's
mother gave as her residence at the time of his birth.  Every time I
have done a Yahoo or Map Quest they keep leading me to Astoria.  It
could be she meant to write Astoria but if there was an Astor maybe
that is where she was staying at the time.  I am getting excited.

Thank you so much. There was an Astor back in 1920 but it doesn't say
St. or Rd.  Does the street directory tell what kind of building or
residence was there in 1923?  That is the address that my husband's
mother gave as her residence at the time of his birth.  Every time I
have done a Yahoo or Map Quest they keep leading me to Astoria.  It
could be she meant to write Astoria but if there was an Astor maybe
that is where she was staying at the time.  I am getting excited. 
Will you be able to check both 70 Astor and 70 Astoria?

Yes, I requested both addresses. The city directory should list each
individual household or business located in the building. Some city
directories I have seen have listed the name and occupation of every
adult living in the building.

It is only listed as Astor with no street or road listed. Astoria did
have Street after it.  I hope they do give all the residence as it
might be a home of a relative or it could be a boarding house.  Will
it tell you when the street index was done.  His mother gave birth in
July of l923.  She might have left Boston immediately afterwards or
maybe moved somewhere else.  I don't know how we could trace her from
there.

It turns out Boston didn't have a house-by-house directory in 1923,
unfortunately. But it *did* have *both* an Astor Street and an Astoria
Street. The following is a note from the librarian:

"In 1923 the Boston Directory was an alphabetical listing of the
residents, with a classified section of businesses.  The street
listings don't begin until the 1930s.  Astor Street was in the Back
Bay section of Boston (Ward 7) and ran from 233 Massachusetts Avenue
to 64 Hemenway Street.  Astoria Steet was in the Mattapan section of
Boston (Ward 21), and ran from Flint Street to beyond Elizabeth
Street.  Astor Street is more likely to have had commercial
establishments on it.
 
"Very truly yours,
Henry F. Scannell
Curator of Microtext and Newspapers
Boston Public Library"

Sorry my computer crashed and have had to put together an old computer
I had in my house and get virus protection subscription before I could
come back.  Don't know when I will get my computer back.  Lost all
information regarding the adoption of my husband.  Then I had to
figure out how to get back here to this site.

Where are we with finding out what type of building or who were the
residence at 70 Astor Street.  Since there was an Astor St. I think
that is the address we should persue.  What is the next step?  His
mother's name was Marilyn J. Howard but would the listings back in
1923 be just head of household.  She could have been a visitor from
Missouri which was given as her birthplace.

Marcipoo --

The only information that I can provide is what I plucked from the
U.S. Census, taken Jan. 9, 1920.  It lists the two families at 70
Astor Street, their ages, places of birth, and occupations.  As I'd
also mentioned, the adjoining housing had 5 units (at 80 Astor Street)
and 9 units (64 Astor Street).

If this information is valuable to you in your research, I'd be glad to post it.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Thanks for still being there for me.  I'm so glad I was able to make
contact again.  I lost a 9 days with the crash and all the information
posted.  I think that information about the residents in 1920 census
of 70 Astor and 80 Aster might be of value.  They could have been
family or friends of Marilyn J Howard.
Did the census indicate that the house was rental property?