[MassHistPres] records of old buildings

Wed Jun 21 14:09:41 EDT 2017

We do our first scan through the available historical maps of our town that show buildings or owners--in Amherst's case that 1770 and 1833, and then county atlas maps from 1854, 1856, 1860, and 1873.  Then, if we're wandering further forward in time, Sanborn fire maps for at least some sections of town that start in the 1890s and end in the 1950s.  For the maps to be useful, you have to refine your eye, comparing the patterns of old map layouts to modern layouts at a similar scale, and keep in mind that moving and reusing buildings and houses was a common event well into the 20th century.  You can find a lot of your county's atlas maps online at the State Library of Massachusetts or the Library of Congress.

Doing a quick map scan provides a framework for potential owners and a potential timeline for the subject building(s) that you can then use to refine your other searches.  Most communities published histories of themselves in the late 19th century or early 20th century, and a search of the index for names of potential owners/occupants that show up on the maps can be useful (though often town histories are very, um, selective and even inventive about what they include).  

But the deeds are one of the best, most verifiable sources of information.   Often, if you can get more recent deeds and trace the county registry book and page numbers and filing dates back from one deed to another--and mostly you can do this online--you can get back past the indexed deeds (which often stop in the early-mid 20th century) by searching scanned but unindexed files back well into the 19th century just using the book and page numbers.  That's if your registry has scanned its records.

If there's a gap or a logjam in the deeds, your Assessor's records (back copies of which may be in the archives at your local library) may indicate ownerships going back a ways.  Occupancy in any given year can be determined through town directories, street lists, tax poll lists, and militia rolls.  State and federal census records, copies of the latter of which are online through 1940, can be useful.  Try searching for individuals at the LDS site, familysearch.com.

In short, there are a lot of ways to track down a building or a person.

Good hunting!

Jonathan Tucker
Senior Planner
Amherst Planning Department
4 Boltwood Avenue, Town Hall
Amherst, MA  01002
(413) 259-3040
tuckerj at amherstma.gov  

-----Original Message-----
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of John Worden
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2017 4:07 PM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [MassHistPres] records of old buildings

Another  possibility is the building permit records in the inspector of buildings office,  Few towns go back as far as 1900, but it's worth a shot.
Typically these are indexed by street address.

John Worden
Arlington HDC

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Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2017 12:00 PM
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Subject: MassHistPres Digest, Vol 136, Issue 14

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Today's Topics:

   1. Q: Short Cut to History of Deed/Ownership of Property
      (Melissa Totten)
   2. Re: Q: Short Cut to History of Deed/Ownership of Property
      (Ralph Slate)
   3. Re: Q: Short Cut to History of Deed/Ownership of Property
      (Henry Cooke)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2017 20:11:09 +0000
From: Melissa Totten <mtotten at walpole-ma.gov>
Subject: [MassHistPres] Q: Short Cut to History of Deed/Ownership of
	Property
To: "masshistpres at cs.umb.edu" <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Message-ID: <2311E90C-5C66-4D23-B272-B3D9FEE86018 at walpole-ma.gov>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Dear colleagues,

I am a new member of Walpole?s HC, and I?m researching the history of a property that is before the Commission for review. I have the town assessor?s 2017 documents on the property, but no previous owners are listed. This is the first time I?ve seen that. The building is known to be ca. 1900.

Here?s a basic question:  Where do I go for documentation of the history of ownership and changes made to the property? Would the most direct route be a visit to the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds? If anyone is an old hand at this, I?d appreciate a pointer.

PS ? this building has not been inventoried for inclusion in MACRIS, but I?m checking with other local history materials at our Library and the Historical Society.

Thanks, all.
Melissa

Melissa Totten
Associate Member
Walpole Historical Commission
mtotten at walpole-ma.gov<mailto:mtotten at walpole-ma.gov>

????

When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State's Office has determined that email is a public record.

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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2017 18:02:02 -0400
From: Ralph Slate <slater at alum.rpi.edu>
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Q: Short Cut to History of Deed/Ownership
	of Property
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Message-ID: <fec9709d-8587-f8a5-5fdf-848cdba006d1 at alum.rpi.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

You can trace the deeds online here:

http://www.norfolkresearch.org/ALIS/WW400R.HTM?WSIQTP=SY00

It may not go back as far as you want, but the site does say it goes back to at least 1900.

Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA

On 6/19/2017 5:54 PM, Melissa Totten wrote:
> Dear colleagues,
>
> I am a new member of Walpole?s HC, and I?m researching the history of 
> a property that is before the Commission for review. I have the town 
> assessor?s 2017 documents on the property, but no previous owners are 
> listed. This is the first time I?ve seen that. The building is known 
> to be ca. 1900.
>
> Here?s a basic question:  Where do I go for documentation of the 
> history of ownership and changes made to the property? Would the most 
> direct route be a visit to the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds? If 
> anyone is an old hand at this, I?d appreciate a pointer.
>
> PS ? this building has not been inventoried for inclusion in MACRIS, 
> but I?m checking with other local history materials at our Library and 
> the Historical Society.
>
> Thanks, all.
> Melissa
>
>
> Melissa Totten
> Associate Member
> Walpole Historical Commission
> mtotten at walpole-ma.gov <mailto:mtotten at walpole-ma.gov>
>
> ????
>
> /When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of 
> State's Office has determined that email is a public record./
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Message: 3
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2017 09:31:38 -0400
From: Henry Cooke <hcooke4 at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Q: Short Cut to History of Deed/Ownership
	of Property
To: mtotten at walpole-ma.gov, masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Message-ID: <15cc5b39124-33e1-21c27 at webprd-a27.mail.aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Using deeds is a good way to establish the chain of ownership of the property if not the house.  Sometimes, the earlier deeds will mention a house and specific buildings, but not always, and you can't always be sure that the house mentioned is the one you are investigating, especially if it was lost to fire, or otherwise rebuilt.  If you have access to good early local maps that show house footprint, and Sanborn insurance maps, which offer more details of construction, are also helpful resources.  In determining a "century list" of houses in Randolph for our demolition bylaw, consultant Kathleen Broomer utilized our Public Works Department's water connection records, which went back to the 1880s. While no single resource is the sole authority, by using them together, you can develop a better understanding of the property and the buildings placed upon it, as well as the neighborhood context.

Henry Cooke, Chairman
Randolph Historical Commission

-----Original Message-----
From: Melissa Totten <mtotten at walpole-ma.gov>
To: masshistpres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Mon, Jun 19, 2017 5:52 pm
Subject: [MassHistPres] Q: Short Cut to History of Deed/Ownership of Property