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Home My WebLink Abouthouse history researchHow to Research Your House History (In part from information provided by Historic Ithaca) Sue Thompson, Enfield Town Historian, historian@townofenfield.orgJanuary 2023. Begin with what you know: and have: writing down and collecting documents, including house pictures. Read about history of Enfield and Tompkins County (see list of books below). Pictures, don’t forget to look in the background of old pictures for houses! Enfield Documents of History found on: www.townofenfield.org- Resources – Archived Documents of the Town of Enfield - Archived Documents https://lfweb.tompkins-co.org/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=1&dbid=5&repo=EnfieldEnfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls, The Town of. Enfield, NY. Enfield Historical Society and Sue Thompson 2002. Updates of chapters can be found laserfiche site above or on www.townofenfield.org - Under Departments – Enfield Historian Recommendation: House Histories A guide to tracing the genealogy of your home. Sally Light Attached: Reading and Understanding Deeds and Property Transaction Record Form Prepared by Bruce Brittain, Historian, Hamlet of Forest Home Updated February 24, 2016 Begin with the abstract of title If you are lucky, it’s complete and you can assemble a condensed chain of title. If it’s not complete, you can track down the public records yourself at the county clerk’s office. For Tompkins County, the courthouse is on the corner of Court and Tioga Streets in Ithaca. https://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/cclerkYou can also find the tax parcel number in the online search software of the Tompkins County Department of Assessment: https://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/assessment/online( Click on “ImageMate Basic” on the assessment site.) Work backward through the Deeds Deeds, deed indices, survey maps may be accessed through the Tompkins County Clerks web site: Online Records Search and Laserfiche Public Portal: https://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/cclerk. Each property usually gives information about the previous sale, for example “being the same property conveyed to John Q. Homeowner on 12 August 1921 and recorded on page 123 of book (or liber) 456…” Search back through the deeds, try using the Grantor/Grantee indices. Read deeds closely for clues. Although deeds seem to contain a great deal of legal jargon and excess verbiage, you can gather interesting and important facts from reading deeds closely. For example, when a property is sold by the heirs of a deceased owner, the deed may give the date of death. Family relationships are often noted in such deeds. If you’re lucky, the deed will mention something extra or unusual about the property. For example, recent research on an early nineteenth century barn yielded a deed that listed farm equipment included in the sale – valuable clues to what types of farm activities took place at that time. In addition, sometimes an owner sells a portion of his/her property but retains a parcel for him/herself or heirs. Only through careful reading of the deed will you be able to use these details to assemble an accurate history. Write all information down and save copies of the deeds – make a time line. Directories Documents of History found on: www.townofenfield.org- Resources – Archived Documents of the Town of Enfield - Archived Documents See additional listing of documents on Laserfiche, above. Ithaca City Directories, which go back to the late 1800s, available at the Tompkins County Public Library (including almost all online, which is very convenient), the History Center, and Historic Ithaca. These directories are extremely useful because they not only give the names of the persons (including renters) living at a particular address, but also often their occupations. American Agriculturalist Farm Directory of Yates, Schuyler, Tompkins and Seneca Counties. New York. 1914. Maps AcreValue - https://www.analytics.ag/ - AcreValue is the new way for farmers, land professionals, and landowners to research agricultural land. With the most comprehensive set of farmland data in one easy-to-use site, AcreValue provides the fastest way to research land and find current valuations. Tompkins County Maps: https://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/gis/maps/historic "Compass system" maps and rural indexes of New York State counties published by Rural Directories, Inc. 1920 – Tompkins County History Center – History Force project - https://nyheritage.org/organizations/history-center-tompkins-county Tompkins County, N.Y. rural index and compass system map with localized almanac.1937 (Tompkins County Library PDF)– Tompkins County Library - https://www.tcpl.org http://tompkins.nygenweb.net/hecht_index.htm 1853 Map of Tompkins County – Town of Enfield. Philadelphia. Horace & Charles T. Smith 1866 Map of Tompkins County – Town of Enfield. New York Tompkins County Stone & Stewart. Historical SocietiesHistoric Ithaca – www.historicithaca.orgThe History Center – Ithaca, NY www.thehistorycenter.netNewfield Historical Society – www.newfieldhistoricalsociety.orgTompkins County Historian - https://tompkinscountyny.gov/historian/county-historyHistorians of local townsUlysses Historical Society – Trumansburg - https://www.ulysses.ny.us/history/ Newspaper and book access Cornell University Libraries – On-line: Proquest Newspapers (Ithaca Journal) access is limiited to either visiting the library or having a Cornell Net ID. Tompkins County Library (TCL) – Finger Lakes Library System Ithaca Journal on microfilm On-Line: NYS Historic Newspapers (or just type in the name on the web) https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/ Ulysses Philomathic Library - Trumansburg – One line database for Trumansburg Newspapers Websearch – On-Line: Tompkins County NYGenWeb – lots of Tompkins County History: https://tompkins.nygenweb.net/index_classic.htm NYS Historic Newspapers Old Fulton Postcards – Newspaper database of assorted newspapers including Ithaca and surrounding communities Federal Census New York State. Each years census can be located here for free just change the years number on search of web: https://1940census.archives.gov Names on the Land – Tompkins County https://tcnames.wordpress.com/ Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park https://tremanparkfriends.org/index.html HistoryForge combines historic maps and photos with census records of the people who lived in Ithaca, NY, creating a unique way to visualize the history of this community in the early 1900s. https://www.historyforge.net/ Books Regarding Enfield History: Dieckmann, Jane Marsh. A Short History of Tompkins County. Ithaca: The History Center of Tompkins County. 1986. Dieckmann, Jane Marsh. The Towns of Tompkins County: From Podunk to the Magnetic Springs Dewitt Historical Society of Tompkins County. 1998. History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins, and Schuyler Counties [Four County History] New York. By H. B. Pierce and D. Hamilton Hurd. Philadelphia: Everts & Ensign, 1879. Rpt. Ovid, N.Y.: W. E. Morrison, 1976. Lee, Hardy Campbell. A History of Railroads in Tompkins County. Ithaca: The History Center of Tompkins County, 1977. Place Names of Tompkins County. Edited by Carol Kammen. Office of the Tompkins County Historian. Ithaca, NY. 2004. Selkreg, John H., Ed. Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York. Syracuse: D. Mason, 1894. Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls, The Town of. Enfield, NY. Enfield Historical Society and Sue Thompson 2002. Genealogy Ancestry – Cornell University Libraries - access is limited to either visiting the library or having a Cornell Net ID.Heritage Quest on line genealogy (both Cornell and TCL)Family Search.org