In order to discover who lived in your house before you,
you must have the legal description of your property. This
should be on the permit. If it is not, go to the city's Department
of Transportation, Bureau of Inspection, Division of Maps
and Plats. At the end of the room is an annex with waist
high cabinets holding oversized books. You can look it up
yourself or ask staff for assistance. To look it up yourself,
follow the directions below.
Most taxation or buildling departments maintain
what is called a locator map, usually on open display or
available
as a pamphlet. Identify the area your home is in, note the
color indicator and number,
and
find
the
appropriate book. Each book contains detailed maps. In the
front is an index. On the page where your property is shown,
copy the numbers and letters at the top; find your lot, copy
down the number closest to it, and the letter closest to
that. Write down the lot and block numbers; the subdivision
name; and the section, township and range (look for these
at the top of the map, e.g. "NW 1/4 sec. 15-38-14).
Take good notes so you don't have to return. It's a good
idea to ask someone for help as sometimes the subdivisions
of property can be misleading.
Your next step is to go to the County Office
of the Recorder of Deeds (May be another specific office
title in your local area). You'll often find a a large room
is a series
of low cabinets filled with identically
bound
books.
Records are usually indexed, and if your lucky indexed on
computer. This is similar to the process performed during
a title search, so don't forget to check with your or previous
title search companies for the results of their efforts.
Check with the clerk for the exact details
in your records office, usually there is an index page in
the front of each tract book that will
direct
you
to the
correct
subdivision.
Then look for
the appropriate block and lot you're interested in. In a
variety of handwriting from recorders of deeds through the
decades, you'll find the names of sellers and buyers, types
of transactions, and other miscellaneous information. Some
of the transaction abbreviations used are not self-explanatory.
Ask at the front desk if you need help deciphering them. Be aware that the information found on these pages make
up the clues that you need to track down the stories of the
people who lived in your house, so don't overlook anything
that you may want to follow up on later.
If there is some transaction on your tract's page that piques
your interest, and you want to look at the complete transaction
document, ask a clerk to help you look up the book and page
for the document number. Take the document number and book
and page to the microfilm library next door where you fill
out a form to receive the appropriate microfilm. On the microfilm
you will find more details of the legal transaction which
may give you clues for further follow up.
Learning More About The Owners of Your House
Once again, your local Historical Society is the best place
for you to start this research once you know who the
previous owners were.
If you are following
in the footsteps of a prominent town citizan, try looking up his/her
name in any available form of media.
Examples:
Directories
Old phone or business directories. resources such as church or club records,
etc. Various types of directories are useful in providing information about
houses and
their
occupants.
They
were
published
by various
companies,
but
there
are two basic types: alphabetical (by name) and reverse (by address).
Census Records
Census Records are a fascinating way to learn more about the people who lived
in your house. For instance you can discover the names of everyone in the
house and their relationships to each other. Census resports came out every
10 years beginning in 1840. Due to privacy concerns, the Census Bureau delays
issuing complete records for 72 years. Consequently, the 1930 census is the
last one to have been issued. Also, 99% of the 1890 census was destroyed
in a fire. |
