"To complete the record of early Catholic families in the Grand River Valley region in so far as possible, an attempt has been made to add to the City Directory lists, a list of the Catholic families in the various townships adjacent to the city. Belden's Illustrated Historical Atlas of Kent County, Michigan, has served as a source of much of this data.

The northern townships were largely unconnected with the Catholic community in Grand Rapids,  but a list of Catholic families in the other townships is given. The list would be as of the year 1875, or seventy-five years from the date of writing."