One of the suggestions in my book on researching house history is that you tell everyone you meet at the research repositories what you are doing. You never know what information they will be able to share with you. They might know of other materials available at their library, or perhaps a different institution that you might not be aware exists. The importance of this step was just brought home to me today. I had stopped at the St. Louis County Library to go over the resources located there which I have included in my book. The librarian had just reviewed a new web site, still in development, which will contain maps currently not available to the public. These “new” maps are of interest to me for the house research I am currently doing since the house was built between the time that the 1878 Pitzman map and the 1907 plat map cover. More importantly, this new web site would be a valuable addition to my book. This illustrates the importance of telling everyone you know what you are researching. You never know where it may lead you!
