The most recent history of the house is a tad dull. Not only because sites like Ancestry.com and such concentrate on the further past, but because I'm choosing not to delve too deeply into people who are still alive or whose heirs are still alive.
First, let me thank them all for not modifying the house a lot. We can see the architectural history of the house pretty easily, and this is because the most egregious thing that's ever been done to it is that someone decided in the mid-60s to cover the interiors in wall board. So, who might that have been?
Most recently, I bought the house from Pat Casher, who still lives in Bellefonte. Someone during the Casher era or immediately preceding ran a travel agency from the commercial space -- the sign is still there! I only met Pat once, but he was very helpful, and told me that the house is a double house, but has also always, as far as he knows, been occupied by families. When he owned it, several relatives of his lived in the two sides.
Pat Casher bought it from Norma Barr, who was the widow of David J. Barr. I wasn't able to find any information on Norma, but David is an interesting case. He used the house's commercial space to run his physical therapy business up until his death in 1997. However, the local newspaper indicates that David was a mechanic at the Nuclide Corporation in 1964. At the same time, an attorney named J.A. Harris operated from the commercial space. Incidentally, we have a valuable historical resource in our carriage house tenant, who hasn't signed a lease since he signed one with Mrs. Barr sometime in the late 90s. He has also shared some information about how things in the house were arranged.
The Barrs bought the house From William and Alta McClure. They are absolute mysteries -- I wasn't able to find any information on their jobs or heritages.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
How To Research Your House
I am planning to blog out my new house's history in this space shortly, but I am still locating information about some residents. So I thought, while I am letting that information percolate, I would share the nuts and bolts of how one researches a historic (or any) house.
First, there are some pretty good resources out there. Use them!
But if you really want to know when your house was built, who lived in it, etc., you basically need to do the following:
1. Go to the local records room and research the deed. If you're in Athens, GA, you'll have to ignore the snooty professional parapros and law school students. But do that -- you have just as legitimate a need for those records as they do, and pulling them will give you a structure and some facts that will be very hard to get otherwise. Note: you may learn some very odd things in this process, since older deeds tend to include descriptives that would now be unusual or even illegal.
2. Search for local Sanborn maps. This will show you things like what your house's footprint looked like and what it was constructed of at various points in its life. It answers questions like "is this siding original?" or "was my craftsman house really built in 1960?"
3. City directories, which are usually in the nearest rare books library or heritage room, are AWESOME. Especially if you own a house that you suspect may have been rented at some point. City directories tend to contain information like who lives in a house, how old they are, and what they do for a living. In short, trace the individuals by any means necessary. Useful resources include census records, cemetery listings, old newspapers, city plans -- any historic records that might show your house or show how things that might affect your house (like the siting of the road it sits on) would have occurred.
4. Oh, you can also ballpark the date of construction or modification by taking a stab at the style, and there are some great resources for this, too, but this type of research can be awfully confusing depending on how much your house has been modified, how free spirited the architect was, or how avant garde the local design community was. I suggest you do it because it's fun, but two houses of similar style can be radically different in age depending on factors like the above. Or you could, like me, own a house that's basically a hodge-podgy mystery.
5. Also, you can try to date the house from its construction. Nails, in particular, are clearly characteristic of certain eras.
Here's a handy-dandy checklist!
First, there are some pretty good resources out there. Use them!
But if you really want to know when your house was built, who lived in it, etc., you basically need to do the following:
1. Go to the local records room and research the deed. If you're in Athens, GA, you'll have to ignore the snooty professional parapros and law school students. But do that -- you have just as legitimate a need for those records as they do, and pulling them will give you a structure and some facts that will be very hard to get otherwise. Note: you may learn some very odd things in this process, since older deeds tend to include descriptives that would now be unusual or even illegal.
2. Search for local Sanborn maps. This will show you things like what your house's footprint looked like and what it was constructed of at various points in its life. It answers questions like "is this siding original?" or "was my craftsman house really built in 1960?"
3. City directories, which are usually in the nearest rare books library or heritage room, are AWESOME. Especially if you own a house that you suspect may have been rented at some point. City directories tend to contain information like who lives in a house, how old they are, and what they do for a living. In short, trace the individuals by any means necessary. Useful resources include census records, cemetery listings, old newspapers, city plans -- any historic records that might show your house or show how things that might affect your house (like the siting of the road it sits on) would have occurred.
4. Oh, you can also ballpark the date of construction or modification by taking a stab at the style, and there are some great resources for this, too, but this type of research can be awfully confusing depending on how much your house has been modified, how free spirited the architect was, or how avant garde the local design community was. I suggest you do it because it's fun, but two houses of similar style can be radically different in age depending on factors like the above. Or you could, like me, own a house that's basically a hodge-podgy mystery.
5. Also, you can try to date the house from its construction. Nails, in particular, are clearly characteristic of certain eras.
Here's a handy-dandy checklist!
House History, Ground Rules
I'm about to post the house's history. However, I wanted to lay out the rules so you kind readers can follow.
1. I will go from the present as far into the past as I can go.
2. I will tag all of these posts with "house history," so I can isolate the actual history.
3. I will set out any issues in their own posts, so I can isolate those, as well.
4. I will post, each post representing a new ownership period, every 3 days or so, until I run out of owners to post about.
1. I will go from the present as far into the past as I can go.
2. I will tag all of these posts with "house history," so I can isolate the actual history.
3. I will set out any issues in their own posts, so I can isolate those, as well.
4. I will post, each post representing a new ownership period, every 3 days or so, until I run out of owners to post about.
Wish us luck!
We're having about 50 guests this weekend, a good number of whom are helping with the house. Can my father in law and a troupe of rogue comedians coexist? Only the shadow knows if the bathroom will be completed!
I'm also hosting a St. Patty's Day thing at the Red Horse Tavern in Pleasant Gap. Come down if you have a few hours Saturday afternoon!
I'm also hosting a St. Patty's Day thing at the Red Horse Tavern in Pleasant Gap. Come down if you have a few hours Saturday afternoon!
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