Like many old house people, my husband and I are drawn to old houses because of their rich history. We are curious to know who built the house and why, and what kind of families lived in the house over the years. We wonder if the house is original or how it has been changed, or even the history of the area itself. When preparing our historic country for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, this was the very type of information I had to explore.
Researching the history of a home can be time consuming but fun and rewarding. All he takes is a notebook, some pencils and a pocket square Old House< /a> Detective.
Where do we begin?
When looking for home history, the best place to start is always with previous owners or distant neighbors. These people may have information about the house or recall changes in the house. Long-time neighbors are often familiar with the writer’s history. They can indicate where the old boundaries once stood, and the neighborhood improvements that are visible in the early history of the country. They may even have old family photos showing your home in the distance.
Having collected the history of these neighborhoods, the next step is visit to the office of the recorder in the City Hall.
The office of the recorder houses the events with all properties in the community. The facts are usually listed by the legal description, which reads a lot & narrow in a particular division or as sections, townships and ranges for rural residences.
Deeds usually show the progression of ownership of a house, as it passed from one owner to another. It will also show any copyright notice against the property. Look for title transfers or quitclaim deeds, mortgages and bank liens, or even construction liens. Road improvement and sidewalk liens will also show up in the records. With careful detective skills, you can clearly go back to the time of the original earth signed by presidents. United States of America. St. Odysseus signed the gifts of the land which finally became ours.
While at City Hall, he keeps records of land surveys, assessments, assessments, building permits, and inspections. . This will help determine if any work has been done on the property or if the original site was once part of a larger property. Some cities also have aerial surveys of old neighborhoods or old fire maps. We found a 1905 fire map and a 1934 aerial map of our block which was invaluable in our research. Copies of these documents can be obtained at a nominal cost. Is the house in a water or irrigation area? Look for water records properly to find the location of ancient ditches or abandoned wells.
While we are looking for maps, let’s pay special attention to the address and street names. A major house may go through several address changes, or it may pass from the lot and block description to one that reflects the section and town. In the west it was very common for the a> to be absorbed by the larger ones. Keep an eye on those name changes, you will need to research the history of the area.
Record the names, dates, sales prices, liens, addresses, and anything else that may be found in your notebook and continue in the library.
About the search library
Most towns have a public library; larger communities may also have a genealogical library or a state or regional library and archive.
All Polk libraries should have a reverse telephone directory. These directories list residential and business telephone numbers by address, instead of name. Polk’s directories go back to the mid-1890s and provide an amazing amount of information. The directory lists the head of the household, the owner’s occupation and sometimes if he also ran a business from home.
The public library will also have microfiche newspaper records that should go back to the early days of the area. These annals are generally listed by name. Take the time to go through the names of the first residents of the house. You may enter notices of social gatherings, visiting dignitaries, or other information which will bring the first account of the history of your home. From these records we discovered that our house was once the home of the first meeting house, and a public meeting house /a> several local civic clubs.
In the genealogical library, search for more records about the people who lived in the house. Censuses were kept for the longest time in some states in 1790, in the west, not much before 1870. Census album jobs, names, ages , addresses, relations of people living in one residence. If you don’t have a genealogy library, you can order a microfilm with the census information at your local library.
Search history area
Next on the list is to explore the history of the region. These types of records can be kept in a local library, county library, or regional historical library & Archives; Your librarian can direct you to where these resources can be found.
A historic area is a powerful aid in recreating the history of your neighborhood. Old ponds, irrigation ditches, early churches and businesses, truck lines, and other types of information could be very useful. Don’t just limit yourself to the name of your neighborhood, try researching the names of the previous owners of your home. Regional history books filled with photographs of early settlers and their residences; so they can even have a photo of your house!
If you have county or state archives nearby, spend a morning browsing through old photos of your neighborhood. It might not be a photo of your specific home, but it might be one of a closed or nearby commercial building. With any luck, your home may show pictures of some of them in the background. Oral History department while in the Library & Archives. This agency reports tens of thousands of insightful conversations; they can also have a conversation with someone from a previous residence or an old neighbor.
Follow the posterity
The best photos of your home are probably in a photo album. Posters of builders or early residents usually have albums filled with informal photos taken around the house and yards. These photographs and family records can provide incredible documentation of your family history. All it takes is to find one child; they in turn will usually give you the name of the relative who keeps the family scrapbook. It was from the great granddaughter of the residents that we could bring the original our floor home.
For what?
Collecting your home history is the easiest part of the project.
An old house can be a time consuming searcher. But you get an incredible insight into the history of both your house, the area, and the people who lived there. Is there a local group in Historic preservation in your town? Exchange information by offering to share your findings. They in turn may have even more useful information that can be added to your collection. If you are comfortable with tourists walking through your home, offer to place the home on a Historic Preservation Committee-sponsored walking or shooting tour.
For more information on historic preservation, visit the National Trust website at www.nationaltrust.org. The National Trust is a wonderful resource for education and advocacy, with links to organizations in your area that support historic preservation.
