Researching a House's History?
I know its possible to check the records of everyone who lived in a house…I want to do mine – how do I do this? Thanks for your help….
I know its possible to check the records of everyone who lived in a house…I want to do mine – how do I do this? Thanks for your help….
I lived in Brooklyn most of my life, but am now out in Cleveland. I’m working on a book and was wondering whether someone could answer some quick specific questions about materials at the Brooklyn Register in the Municipal Building.
1. How are the bound indexes organized and for what years are they available?
2. How are the microfilms organized? Is there one libre per reel, a month, a year etc.?
3. How far back do the bound libre books go before you have to look at them on micofilm?
I did try calling the Register, but didn’t get anywhere talking to them. I appreciate any help anyone can offer. Thank you.
I searched for the 1846 Old Brooklyn Farm Lands map and think my house on 17th St between 5th and 6th Ave could be part of one of 3 farm strips, which all start at the Gowanus and reach up to 10th Ave. Peter Wyckoff, The Heirs of Rachel Berry or John Dimon are all candidates. My house was created sometime between 1873 (patent date on a unique door knob used throughout the house) and 1888, when the entire block appears filled in with houses on the 1888 Sanford Fire Insurance Maps (located in the map room at Brooklyn Borough Hall 3rd floor). Prior to 1895, records of deeds are by block only. I can follow the deed trail from 1694 to 1841, when the trail begins to split. With about 80 lots in the block, reading individual handwritten deeds at the Brooklyn Municipal Building microfilm collection is tedious and nearly impossible, since locations refer to maps not available and directional measurements in feet from 5th or 6th Ave. OY, my aching head! So I have to ask, has anyone been able to find their house details on the remnant of my street left by the curve in the Prospect Expressway across from Prospect Hall?
slopefarm…you look like your house is within the Richard Berry farm, that ran from the Gowanus Canal all the way up and over the slope to the border of Flatbush at Parkside Ave. It is next to and north of the much narrower John Dimon property, followed by the Heirs of Rachel Berry, Peter Wyckoff, John Wyckoff, Henry Story properties which end at the 20th Street edge of Greenwood Cemetery. If your farm was between 12th and 15th streets, then the rest of these parallel properties cover 16th, Prospect Ave.(formerly Middle St.), 17th, 18th and 19th Streets. Hope this helps others place their properties.
Fun, isn’t it?
Park,
We are north of the highway by about 3 blocks. Not quite Greenwood, but close. A large scale frame with a front porch. Semi-attached. I know the Berry farm ran b/w 12th & 15th from either the water or Gowanus Road (3rd Ave) all the way up the slope, but one source (either the Eagle or the Bergen geneology) places the farmhouse about a half a block to a block north of our block (and not sure how far east or west, but definitely not at the foot of the hill).
NortHeights- thanks so much- Figure the house wasn’t built before the 1860s, but that will at least help prove it-
Sloepfarm- Do are remember from your other comments- are you also in the greenwood area?
If so- it seems like there is a much bigger history to this area than is commonly grasped, and many of the houses around here are as old, or older than many of the brownstones- and if that’s the case, the area starts to seem more easy to protect from the kinds of developments that are marching through.
There was a theory that our house, too, was the original on the plot- it’s the only house that detached on both sides, and it has a different kind of footprint than the others. I think, however, that we are actually just one of the first built during one or two developers march to populate the block with workingclass woodframe homes.
PP,
It does not appear the address changed in our case. Mainly, I just followed the title history back to the subdivision in the late 1840s. It gets pretty messy at that point. I agree with you about putting the clues together — it is like solving a mystery. I kind of like the notion that there may have been some serious flipping and speculation going on in our lot’s early days because we bought from a fairly unscrupulous flipper ourselves. Here’s hoping we have improved the property’s karma.
Holy grail is figuring out when the house was built. People ask us all the time how old the house is, and there is a theory going around (that I have tentatively debunked) that we actually live in the old farmhouse. We’ve also been told that a replica of the house exists in miniature in the Brooklyn Museum, but whenever I go, that little section is closed. Again, I will believe it when I see it. So far, I have it down to between 1849-79, with the likelihood that it predates 1870.
Park Place:
If your house was around in 1855, the easiest way to find out the pre-1870 address is to look at the 1855 Perris map that’s online at the NYPL.org Digital Collection (as Chuck mentioned).
Brenda, my most interesting story comes from the Bergen geneology. Apparently Richard Berry’s father, who owned the farm in the late 1700s-early 1800s was killed when he was gored by a bull. Poor soul. Also, some punk who lived in the house in 1904 robbed a grocery store with four friends. His name is not one that appears on the deed from that time. That’s about all I got, but I haven’t tried the NYT archives.
Slopefarm- yes good point- the registers will definitley show if someone lived there. Like I said- it’s just a clue.
In our case, we found out that a carpenter took up residence not long after we think it was build- and that the same family owned it for quite a while after the original purchase of the broken up lot- (and that all the house from the original lot break up are constructed in the same way, with the same frame, footprint, ceiling medallions, etc…
It’s not an exact science, and no one place seesm to have any definitive record- but when we found the papers in the wall, that helped narrow the margin of error quite a bit into the mid-to-late 1800s.
By the way- where did you find the mapping to convert your current address to the pre-1870s address?