HomeMy WebLinkAboutHouse Research (2)How to Research Your House History (In part from information provided by Historic Ithaca)
Sue Thompson, Enfield Town Historian, historian0townofenfield.org January 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.town ofenfield.oro - Resources —Archived
Documents of the Town of Enfield -Archived Documents
https://Ifweb.tomokins-co.oro/WebLink/Browse.asox?id=1 &dbid =5&reoo=Enfield
Enfield 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.townofenfeld.oro - 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.tomokinscountvnv.00v/
cclerk You can also find the tax parcel number in the online search software of the Tompkins County
Department of Assessment https://www.tomDkinscountvnv.aov/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.tomokinscountvnv.00v/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.
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Directories
• Documents of History found on: www.townofenfield.orq - Resources —Archived Documents of
the Town of Enfield -Archived Documents
o 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.analvtics.aa/ - 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.tomDkinscountvnv.aovlais/maDs/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 -
httos:Hnvheritaae.oro/oraanizations/historv-center-tomokins-countv
o Tompkins County, N.Y. rural index and compass system map with localized almanac. 1937
(Tompkins County Library PDF)— Tompkins County Library - https://www.tcol.ora.
o httn://tomokins.nvaenweb.netthecht_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 Societies
Historic Ithaca — www.historicithaca.ora
The History Center— Ithaca, NY www.thehistorvcenter.net
Newfield Historical Society —www.newfieldhistoricalsocietv.ora,
Tompkins County Historian - https://tomokinscountvnv.aov/historian/county-history_
Historians of local towns
Ulysses Historical Society—Trumansburg - https://www.ulysses.ny.usthistory/
Newsoacer and book access
• Cornell University Libraries — On-line: Proquest Newspapers (Ithaca Journal) access is limiitec
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://nyshistodcnewspapers.org/
• Ulysses Philomathic Library - Trumansburg — One line database for Trumansburg Newspapers
3
Websearch — On -Line:
• Tompkins County NYGenWeb — lots of Tompkins County History:
hftps:/ttompkins.nygenweb.netrindex—classic.htm
• NYS Historic Newspapers
• Old Fulton Postcards — Newspaper database of assorted newspapers including Ithaca and
surrounding communities
o Federal Census New York State. Each years census can be located here for free just
change the years number on search of web: httos://1940census.archives. aov
• Names on the Land — Tompkins County https//tcnames.wordpress.com/
• Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park httos://tremanoarkfriends.orafindex.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 Comell Net ID.
Heritage Quest on line genealogy (both Cornell and TCL)
Family Search.org
Reading and Understanding Deeds
Prepared by Bruce Brittain, Historian, Hamlet of Forest Home
Updated February 24, 2016
SEARCHING FOR DEEDS - County Clerk's Office
• Computerized Search
Some Counties now have computerized search options. Check with your County Clerk for details.
In Tompkins County, we can search by Case Name, Case Number, Tax ID number, Name or Address to
find Deed Instrument Number or Deed Book (Liber) and Page. Can then view scanned deeds, zoom in
to read them, and/or print them, and/or e-mail them to ourselves. Be sure to Log Out when done.
<https://countyfusion3.propertyinfo.com/countyweb/login.do?countyname=Tompkins>
• Manual Search
For early deeds, and for those that have not been indexed, you will have to use Grantee (Buyer) and
Grantor (Seller) Indexes. These are generally organized by Town, with several volumes to cover the
various years. Listings within each volume are arranged alphabetically by last name as well as
chronologically by year. Hardcopies of the deeds themselves are bound in large books filed in the
Clerk's office. (in Ithaca, this is in the basement of the Tompkins County Courthouse, 320 N. Tioga St.)
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN DEEDS
• Description of Property - may or may not be included
• Date of Transaction
• Date Recorded
• Where Recorded - older deeds: Book and Page, newer deeds: Instrument Number
• Party of First Part (Seller)
Name, place of residence
• Party of Second Part (Buyer)
Name, place of residence
• Selling Price
May be mentioned in Deed. If not, can be calculated from Transfer Tax Paid:
Selling price = Tax Paid = Tax Rate
Tax Rate in Tompkins County: (Note: Rate is different in each county, check with your Clerk)
$1.10 per $1000 until 4/30/1983
$4.00 per $1000 from 5/1/1983 to 11/31/2006
$6.00 per $1000 from 12/1/2006 to present
Example: The property that my house is built on was sold to my parents in 1954 (raw land). The deed
shows $6.05 in tax stamps. Thus,
Selling price = Tax Paid _ Tax Rate
Selling price = $6.05 = (1.10/1000) = $5500
• Acreage
1 sq mile = 640 acres
1 acre = 4 roods =10 sq chains =160 sq rods = 43,560 sq ft
1 rood = 2% sq chains = 40 sq rods=10,890 sq It = Y4 acre
1 sq chain = 4356 sq ft =1/10 acre
1 sq rod =1 perch =1 pole = 2721A sq ft =1/160 acre
• Previous Transaction - may or may not be mentioned
• Metes and Bounds
Direction:
There are 60 minutes in a degree. Thus, S49a15'W means 49% degrees west of due south. See
protractor below. Errors in direction are often off by 180 degrees. Thus, N36'W is reported as S36aE.
- True North vs magnetic North. See below.
Declination has changed some during the past 200 years, but has generally been 10 to 15 degrees:
- Magnetic north is 10 -15 degrees to the west of true north (in Tompkins County)
- True north is 10 - 15 degrees to the east of magnetic north (in Tompkins County)
Directions may have been copied from a previous deed, or may be from a survey made at the time of
sale, or a confusing mix of both. Most deeds (and maps) that include directions fail to indicate whether
they are using true north or magnetic north. Some deeds include a mix of both.
Distance:
1 chain =100 links = 4 rods = 66 ft
1 rod =1 perch =1 pole =163h It
1 link= 0.66 ft z 8 inches
0.01 ftx 1/8 inch
Referential Property Boundary Descriptions:
Example: Deed 6/459: "Bounded on the north by the School House Lot and land of said Cradit; East by
Fall Creek; South by Henry Preswick s land; West by the highway running north and south"
• Other Information
References to people (owners, adjoining property owners, etc), what is on property (houses, mills, etc),
road names, community name, deed restrictions, etc
MAPPING DEEDS
• Fixed points aren't always fixed
- Trees die
- Road centerlines creep
- Stream banks and centerlines can change abruptly
- Street names and address numbers can change
• Distances measured in chains tend to be more accurate than those measured in rods
• Many counties had Atlas and Gazetteers published in mid- to late 1800s. These are generally old
enough to show Military Lots (for those towns and counties in the Military Tract), Great Lots,
Purchases, etc, but are new enough to show most current roads. This can help you locate a property.
• Aerial photos
Fencerows and hedgerows tend to be along property lines
Tax maps (available through your County Assessor's office)
History of subdivision and consolidation
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4� S ✓d°Y w
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m UTM GRID AND 1978 MAGNETIC NORTH
DECLINATION AT CENTER OF SHEET
Protractor modified for use in mapping. Declination, from the 1978 Ithaca East USGS topographic map.
RC PC? Ma MDnt/
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Description (general)
Code No.
Searched by Date /_/_
Mapped by Date_/_/_
Description (from deed)
Clerk's Office
Date of trans _/_/ [1 Wills Book [] Tompkins Co
Date recorded / / [1 Deeds Page [1
Party of First Part
[] Ithaca
of []
Party of Second Part
[ ] Ithaca
of [l
[ ] 92 [ ] Ulysses
Mil Lot [] 93 Town of [1 Ithaca County (] Tompkins
Price $ Tax $ Mortgage $ by
Acreage: Acres Rods/Perches
o---------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS TRANSACTION Code No.
i
;Date of trans /_/ (1 Wills Book _
;Date recorded _/_/ [] Deeds Page _
;Party of First Part
jParty of Second Part
Sq Yards
---------------o
i
i
Clerk's Office,
(] Tompkins Co;
[1
[1 Ithaca ;
of [1
i L ] Ithaca
of [] ;
o--------------------------------------------------------------- o
Property Description [1 Same as previous transaction
[1 Subdivides previous property
I
Code No.
BEGINNING DISTANCE DIRECTION REFERENCE POINT
DIRECTION DISTANCE ALONG ACROSS TO
[] SEE CONTINUATION SHEET