First, thanks to Al and Doreen who responded to my question about the Y. I just read that on the corner of 9th st. 'H.L. Stout built his fine mansion about 1850. It is now (1909 part of the YMCA Institute, a gift from Mr Stout to the society some year in the nineties.' Probably most of you are familiar with Josiah Conzett's 'book' entitled, 'recollections of People and Events of Dubuque Iowa 1846-1890,' but I just discovered it on the Internet. Periodically I go to www.google.com and type in a relative's name. I'm getting desperately short of names, so I typed in the family name of Willging who married my first cousin, knowing that his family had been early settlers in Dubuque. And, I got this bonanza. (just type in Conzett and it's right there - the document is stored in geocities, but this is fastest for me to find.) Even if your relatives aren't listed in it (which may be a blessing since Mr Conzett tended to paint everyone very black or very white), you can 'flesh out' all those dry census' and city directories and start to 'see' Dubuque in those days. I was surprised at how sparsely built it was even by 1890. Perhaps, I better understand why (in my eyes, illustrious) ancestor Hugh Treanor (merchant and alderman) was not mentioned since his store was probably located in 'Dublin' Grocery store listed assist St and Main, or 1st and Harrison. Residences were 160 or 190 Julian and later 189 St Mary's (near the Cathedral). The Cathedral must have been on the edge of respectability. No mention of Kelly's Bluff, behind the Cathedral either. I had hoped some of my Vogel relatives, who cabinet makers and shoe/boot makers, would have been listed. Or Nicholas Hansen with his successful store that allowed him to have that beautiful pillared, brick mansion on Grandview Avenue. Well, I guess I just continue to hold out hoping I find someone infamous in my tree one of these days. Enjoy! Ellen