Have you ever wondered about the genealogy of the home you live in? Or the home(s) where your ancestors lived? Our genealogists can help with house histories!
Going Beyond Names & Dates: Tracing House Histories
When people think about genealogy, they most often think about learning the names of their ancestors, as well as dates and places of birth, marriage, and death. However, during the course of your research you will often find additional details including occupation, military service and even addresses of homes your ancestral families lived in. Tracing the history of a home – whether it is the one you currently live in or one your ancestors did – can be a fun experience! This research can go both ways. You can trace a home back in time to determine who lived there before you (or your ancestors), or you can trace your ancestors’ home forward in time to find out who has lived there since they left. Discovering house histories can add unique and interesting details to your family history.
How to Trace the Genealogy of a House
There are a variety of ways you can trace the genealogy of a house. First – ask the neighbors. Depending on how long they’ve lived there, they may be able to give you information about who has lived in the home you’re researching, and a general history of the neighborhood as well. You can also look at tax records, land deeds, census records, etc. Most of these records are available to the public, and many places even have them online. You can use search engines to help you find out where the information is kept. For example, typing “tax records for [insert location here]” into Google will often direct you to results that include city or county websites, many of which you can navigate through to view these records online. Depending on where you are looking, these records may give you one or more of the following: photos of the residence, a history of value changes, a history of owners, a list of building permits from when extensions or improvements were made, plot maps for the property, floor plans for the home, or other details.
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
If you are interested in learning more about your home, or the home(s) of your ancestors, our experts would love to help! We are skilled at finding records that provide the address of your ancestors and then utilizing resources to learn more about the history of that home, and compiling the discoveries in an in-depth report. We can also provide you with a beautiful custom timeline to display–perfect for historical family homes or bed and breakfasts.
