Persons listed in the 1905 and 1952 Directories  for Ballymoney who lived outside the town

Normally, commercial Street Directories, particularly the earlier ones, only give details of traders, shopkeepers, professional people etc. who live in the towns. Those dating from the 1820s to the 1870s/1880s do refer to gentry and clergy living in the district surrounding a town but ordinary folk, such as farmers, are not listed.

From the 1890s onwards the directories for Ballymoney began to list other residents in the surrounding district, particularly farmers. Not every farmer was listed, only the most substantial ones. This practice continued with later directories and I have created two tables, one based on the 1905 Belfast and Ulster Directory and one based on the 1952 Belfast and Northern Ireland Directory. The tables not only include names of the residents listed for each year but also their occupation and the townland they lived in.

In fact there are four tables - two for each year - one sorted by surname and townland and the other by townland and surname.

Note that the 1905 directory has 118 entries for the rural area and the 1952 has 311. Given that the population of the countryside declined between these two dates, the increase was probably due more to the fact that a considerable number of farmers were not included in the 1905 directory. In fact, I know from local knowledge, farmers who were not included even in the 1952 directory. So, remember these lists of farmers are by no means complete.

1905 Directory sorted by Surname and Townland	>>>
1905 Directory sorted by Townland and Surname	>>>

1952 Directory sorted by Surname and Townland	>>>
1952 Directory sorted by Townland and Surname	>>>