by Kim Wolterman | Articles
One of the first things I recommend to house researchers is to look around their home and yard, noting distinctive features and obvious alterations and changes. You can look for evidence of previous buildings, roadways, paths, fences and other items. Looking at the...
by Kim Wolterman | Articles
My last article addressed federal population schedules as a resource for identifying people who lived in the house you are researching. As a follow-up, I’d like to talk about the special census schedules as they contain a wealth of information about the listed...
by Kim Wolterman | Articles
Since this is a census year, it seems apropos to talk about how census records can aid you in researching the history of a home. The federal government has been collecting census data every ten years since 1790. Throughout the decades, various pieces of information...
by Kim Wolterman | Articles
We are putting the 1860’s farm house research on hold in light of a new development with St. Louis County. The county is pursuing historic designation for the house, so they are looking into the records (such as they are) on the house. That being the case, I am once...
by Kim Wolterman | Articles
As I posted earlier, I am helping a friend research his ancestral home, a farm house rumored to have been constructed during the Civil War. For him, the issue is not determining who owned the house through the years as it was occupied by family members until 1995....
by Kim Wolterman | Articles
If you have a break in your chain of title, it could be because ownership of the property transferred by inheritance rather than by sale. You may find an answer by looking at wills. A will is a legal document declaring how a person wishes his or her property to be...
