|
Historic Sources
|
|
Historic Homes
|
There are many historic sources that can help you discover where your ancestors lived. These sources may include: property records (deeds), census records, city directories, tax records, estate records (wills), gazettes, county histories, local newspapers, correspondence and of course vital records. If you are doing genealogy research you should check all of the above menitioned sources. Sometimes you can find some wonderful tidbit of information that can really help you in your genealogy research goals.
Is your ancestor's old house for sale? Find out now by searching current real estate listings. Perhaps, you already bought your old family home and restored it to it's original glory. We would love to hear all about it.
If you bought an old house and want to restore it you should first determine the age of the house. Here are some ideas and historical architectural clues to look for.
Did your ancestor's family home become a historical landmark? You never
know, so it's worth checking the properties listed by the Historical Societies. You may be able to take an ancestral home tour.
It would be great if you could visit your ancestor's home to take some pictures and conduct some research. Don't forget to interview the
neighbors. Include the photographs of the house to your
house history research package.
Is your historic old house haunted? Would you like to know who is sharing your home? Don't be afraid. Find out
more.
It is also import to map your ancestral home. Antique maps are great genealogical
tools. A map can show so many things, including: address and lot boundaries, building materials, the height of the
building and the number of stories, how many doors and windows there were, and the use of the building (store, church, home, factory,
etc), you can even learn how wide the streets were back then.
What can you find out about your ancestral home?
The Answer: A Whole Lot
Knowing about it's structure, how many rooms, and furnishings can reveal a great deal about how your ancestors lived. Estate inventories of a deceased person's possessions, described in detail, sometimes can make it possible to draw plans of old houses. You may find an old picture of the house or a deed describing how the family farm was passed down through the generations. So, what did you find? Let us know and we will put your story on our Ancestral Homes web site.