Saturday Spotlight- Circa 1910 American Foursquare in Pottstown

This week's Saturday Spotlight house is a brick American Foursquare in the borough of Pottstown, PA.

The American Foursquare style is very common in more densely populated areas and is pretty easy to spot and identify. This particular house measures approximately 1,800 square feet. This type of house is also referred to as the "Prairie Box" or "Classic Box" because it, well, looks like a box. It was one of the dominant styles of house architecture during its peak in popularity from 1900 to 1920. As seen in this example, they are nearly always two stories, and two-ranked, with a hipped or pyramidal roof. There is usually a center dormer, as seen here-- this house has a dormer on all four sides of the roof. It is a symmetrical form, yet the symmetry is broken with an offset entrance.

The first floor is often raised up a bit from ground level in the Foursquare, creating opportunity for basement windows as well as a stepped entrance. In this example, the dimensional stone of the building's foundation is presented as its finished exterior material up to that raised first floor elevation, with the brick masonry above constituting the primary aesthetic. It is pretty rare to see an American Foursquare without a front porch, and here we see a porch roof supported by simple, classically inspired columns. The rear side of the house continues the basic box form and center dormer at the roof. There is a one-story ell, which, if I had to guess, was built later, since it appears to be sort of "squeezed-in" to the left of the first floor rear door. A second porch covers this rear entrance and creates a balcony off of the second floor. You can see from this photo that two of the original windows have been bricked-in.

Origins

While County information lists an estimated construction date of 1900, there are no entries in 1900 or 1910 census enumeration schedules for this address, while the immediate neighbors are listed. An 1897 map does corroborate that there was no house here at that time. I think that it is likely that the house was built between 1910 and 1919. The earliest known owners were John J. O'Connor, an English-born detective, and his PA-born wife Sarah O'Connor. They occupied the home, along with their adopted daughter Esther, as early as March of 1919, when John passed away after contracting a form of cancer. Sarah and Esther continued on at the brick house, and as Sarah did not have an occupation of her own at this time, the presence of two boarders at the house in 1920 may have been out of financial necessity. The boarders were 38-year-old Lawrence Walch, a civil engineer at a blast furnace, and 34-year-old James Maney, a mechanic at a tire factory. It is unclear at this time what happened to Sarah and Esther O'Connor after 1920. Sarah perhaps re-married and moved on with a new surname, while Esther may have found her own husband, making both less-easily found in later census records.

By 1930, Robert W. Evans had bought and moved into the Foursquare home along with his wife, Elizabeth. At that time they had a 1-year-old son, Robert Jr. Robert W. Evans Sr. was born in nearby Limerick and had a farming background, but after marrying Elizabeth, they moved to Pottstown, where Robert established a real estate brokerage and insurance agency in 1910. Robert W. Evans Real Estate and Insurance became a very successful family business, as Robert Jr. eventually joined as an adult in 1950 and later took over the business. The Evans family lived at this particular house at least from 1930-1940, but had clearly moved onto a different residence in the eastern part of Pottstown by the time of Robert Sr's death in 1955.

Vintage sign advertising one of Robert Evans' rentals; photo found on an Ebay listing

1970s to Present

In 1975, the home came under the stewardship of the Fagley family. Firstly, from 1975 to 1977 the house was owned by Pearle V. Fagley, who at the time was in her 70's. Although Ms. Fagley did not pass on until 1984, in 1977 ownership of the house transferred to her grandson, who owned the house until 2007. Unfortunately, in early 2015, the house appears to have fallen into a bit of disrepair and was foreclosed on. Fannie Mae became the new owner and based on the amount of consideration in the public record, may have offered the previous owner some considerations as part of its Cash for Keys program, or as a Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosure, to speed up proceedings. It was listed for sale through Fannie Mae's HomePath program, and less than two months later, a business owner from a neighboring town purchased the house, perhaps with the intent of either flipping it for re-sale or renting it out to tenants. Based on some of the interior photos from the HomePath listing, most of the interior charm and character which likely existed throughout its earlier decades is either covered over or gone completely, likely in the 1970's and/or 1980's. However, I see some stained glass as well as the remainder of some staircase detail at the interior front entry! Here's to hoping this house has a bright (and hopefully restored) future.

Photo courtesy of HomePath. Some historical details DO remain! Great windows!

Photo courtesy of HomePath. Paneling, linoleum, formica, dropped ceilings = charm?

Photo courtesy of HomePath. Bay at the side of the first floor. The wall on the right covers over a former window,

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The Importance of Contacting Your House's "Descendants"

In some of my other posts here, I have championed the importance of learning the personal histories of those who have lived in your home in the past. Doing so will bring life to the facts which you are compiling about your house's history. This exploration, of course, extends beyond the legal owners of your property-- to their children and their parents who may have also lived in the house. The "FAN Club" Principle, as explained by well-known genealogist and historical researcher Elizabeth Shown Mills, describes how the seeking out of documents for your subject person's Friends, Associates, and Neighbors can lead you past sticky "brick wall" type problems to take it a step further.

All of this is to say that you must go beyond those property owners whom you find in your title chaining. In most cases, especially if your house has some age to it, those past owners are no longer with us. However, those past owners have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and in-laws who just may have spent significant time in your home or even lived there. If you can locate these living "descendants" of your house's ownership history, you just may find yourself on the track to gaining first-hand knowledge about the way your house was several decades ago. I can almost guarantee that you will NOT find much of this information in any other way. This is also the single most likely way in which you might find older photographs of your house.

Note: This is a photo of my grandmother Virginia Gillooly when she was a toddler in the early 1930's, held by her great-aunt Emilie Louden, who raised her. In the background you can see not only their home at the time, but the neighboring house in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. The present-day owners of these homes might be interested in them! 

Locating Living "House Descendants"

Excusing the continuation of the pun, you should "fan" out starting with one of your house's previous owners. You might find it easy enough to build a small family tree or pedigree chart for them on Ancestry.com or on another genealogical website or software. Instead of going backwards in time, you will be looking to move forwards in time towards present-day.

The most useful documents for heading in this direction might just be census records and obituaries. Census records (currently available up to 1940) will help you build the makeup of the household in question. For my home's longtime owners, John and Catherine Cantlin, I know from both the 1930 and 1940 census schedules that they had three children: Jean (aka Claire, born c. 1927), John Jr. (born c. 1929), and Robert (born c. 1934), all of whom lived in this home during their childhood.

1930 Census schedule enumerating John and Katherine (Catherine) Cantlin in Philadelphia, with daughter Clarie (Claire) and son John.

1940 Census schedule enumerating John and Catherine Cantlin on Central Avenue in Ardsley, with daughter Jean C (Claire), son John, and youngest son Robert.

Using some simple logic and pretending I know nothing else, head of household John Cantlin would be 114 years old if living today, while Catherine would be 108-- not very likely that they would still be with us, and in fact they are not. Extending to the children, they would potentially range from ages 81 to 88 if living today, which is much more realistic. All three children could be sought out to see if they might still be with us. Search more recent public records and Google to find out. As crazy (and perhaps unsettling to some) as it may seem, nearly every person living today in this internet-age has unwittingly or not created some form of online footprint. You may be able to find out relatively easily if they are living or deceased. I will spare you further suspense in this example and inform you that all three of the Cantlin children have passed away previously.

Although you may not find living descendants in this first portion of the search, remember that you must expand out further beyond the immediate family. Your first searches may lead you to recent obituaries online, or you may need to seek older obituaries out in other repositories. See my previous article on obituaries for the types of information you will find within them. The most important portion of the obituary for locating living persons is where the decedent's survivors are listed. In this case, I located an obituary for John Cantlin's grandson who passed away within the past decade, and in it were listed two living daughters-in-law as well as four now-adult living grandchildren of John and Catherine Cantlin. (Note: I wish not to reproduce this obituary here, bearing in mind privacy concerns for the living persons listed in it). After locating the obituary, I now had as many as six living persons I could consider contacting to see if they were willing to share any memories of not only the house, but of John and Catherine themselves.

Making Contact

Once you've got some names, you might again turn to Google to seek out their current mailing address and/or telephone number. You might also consult current telephone directories. Further, in this digital age, Facebook might yield a current profile for living descendants. In my case with the Cantlins and the six living family members, I initially was able to find Facebook profiles for several of the grandchildren still living in the area, and did reach out to one of them several months ago, with no response as of yet. I may delicately try again to reach out, or may try to contact one of the other grandchildren.

The most successful result, however, was with one of the daughters-in-law, who by chance has lived within my same neighborhood for decades. I found contact information including the telephone number and address in a phone directory, and started off by writing a simple letter and including some current photographs of the interior and exterior of the house. I did not receive a response, so after a couple of months I made a simple phone call. On the receiving end was the daughter-in-law, who was delightful to talk to, who HAD received my letter (but had not responded only because she assumed she had no useful information for me), and who proceeded to have a very nice conversation with me about what I've found to date and about what she recalled.

I'll remind you to approach living persons respectfully, of course. After all, they are not at all expecting it. I find that most people are receptive to reconnecting with the past and to sharing with you, but it's worth reminding that some may not. The ideal scenario, of course, is that the descendants you contact are as excited to share what they know as you are to hear it. In these cases you will likely need to do little to spur the floodgates to open. If they are less enthusiastic or responsive, I find it worth giving folks some space if they are not immediately forthcoming with a ton of information. Make it clear that you are willing to bear the cost of reproducing any documents or photographs they are willing to share. Whether you initially make contact via telephone, snail mail, or email, send them a gentle reminder letter/email, perhaps with a single new question. Asking 20 different questions all at once may be too overwhelming. If you write, include a self-address stamped envelope for them to write you back (this may have been helpful for me to include on my first letter)-- make it as simple as possible for those you are corresponding with to write you back. Be patient, and you will likely be rewarded. You MAY even be rewarded with some old photographs of your home!

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Saturday Spotlight- Circa 1928 French Eclectic in Wyndmoor

This week's Saturday Spotlight is a stately Depression-era French Eclectic style house in Wyndmoor, PA:

On a scallop-shaped lot tucked onto a quiet, curving side street, this home measures about 3,400 square feet. It is a formal, yet relatively simple example of the French Eclectic style which gained some popularity in the years between World War I and II. Like the many Colonial Revival variants, this is an interpretive style. However, rather than being based on earlier American colonial types, this style is an amalgamation of characteristics found in more recent French manors. As posited in A Field Guide to American Houses, Americans serving in France during WWI may have become familiar with the features, later adapting them into their homes built thereafter. This is not to say that the person who built this house served in WWI, but rather that this is what contributed to the popularity of the style.

The roof is steeply pitched and hipped, as is seen in nearly all examples of this type. The symmetrical arrangement of casement window fenestration on the stucco facade is common, and in this case, with lush landscaping folding away to a sloping lawn, produces a grand presentation of the house as one rounds the bend on the street. Symmetry is reinforced with a larger scale center entrance, embellished with stone decorative surround detailing, and a Juliet balcony with arched French doors over the front door. The windows are casements on the primary two stories, with three arched roof dormers containing double-hing windows projecting from the tall hipped roof. The one story wing on the left side is also hipped, and appears to have been incorporated into the house since its inception.

Origins (The brief version)

The French-inspired house dates to the later 1920's and sits on the former land of Philadelphia lithographer Walter Hahn Jarden. Jarden's family had owned this land as part of a larger tract off of Mermaid Lane for decades, and several former structures from the Jarden estate remain to this day. Jarden subdivided this portion of his land earlier in the 1920's, creating 18 individual home-size lots. For a much more extensive history of Walter Jarden and this Wyndmoor land, see my article from last Saturday here.

1930s to Present

The earliest occupants found at this address are the family of Lewis C. Dick, an investment banker. He lived there in the 1930s and 1940s with his wife, Florine, their only son, Lewis, three younger daughters (Alice, Florine, and Mary Jane), and a maid. It is quite possible that the Dick family were the original owners of the house, but that is unproven at this time. A bit curiously, the house's value is reported at $30,000 in 1930, but only $12,000 in 1940. Lewis Dick passed away in 1957, with his residence listed as the corner of Jarden Rd & Pine St, our subject house.

The 1960s and 1970s are a bit foggy, but a Tyson family may have lived here at one point. Although there do not appear to be any additions put onto this house over the years (there is a rear attached garage which shows up on a 1938 map), according to the county public records, a remodel was performed in 1990, during the ownership of Charles & Mary Sweet. This couple owned the home from 1984 up to 1999. Since 1999, the current owners have maintained ownership for the last 16 years through today.

Photo of the home, likely from the 1990's. Courtesy of Montgomery County.

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Attention All Recorders of Deeds-- Be Like Berks County!

Early on, I outlined how you can access online databases at some your local county government offices to help kick-start your house research, before heading there in person. Although I cautioned against assuming that all of your research questions can be answered online, there is one county nearby that has made incredible headway in the online frontier.

Welcome to the County of Berks

Although I do not live in Berks County, PA, a large percentage of my ancestry is rooted there, and the city of Reading, the county seat, is only about 70-80 minutes from my house. My grandmother grew up there. Thus, I've become familiar with searching records there, and I have to say that this county is doing alot of great things in terms of making records accessible to their constituency, researchers alike, and the public at large. The county's Register of Wills has some great searchable indexes for birth, marriage, and death records. Although that office's actual records are not available online (yet), they make it very easy for one to do alot of prep time ahead of visiting their office in person, by giving you all of that index information- the dates, volumes, and page numbers right there online. That makes it incredibly easy to get right to finding the actual records you need once you are there in person (or just as easy to request them by mail). The Register of Wills even gives a bit of his own personal genealogy on his bio page!

Deeds Online Galore!

But let's get back to houses, shall we? Berks County takes it to the next level over at the Recorder of Deeds office. The current Recorder, Fred Sheeler, has been leading his staff since 2008 in an incredible effort of records digitization. According to their website, essentially the entire collection of deeds recorded in the county since its founding in 1752 has been digitally scanned and is available for residents and researchers to access online. Although not all of the images are indexed by name and searchable as of yet, it appears to me that a great number are. The Recorder's office states that their goal is to have all of their documents back to 1752 indexed by name and searchable, making it even easier for researchers to find what they are looking for.
(Update: Fred Sheeler provided this clarification to me regarding online searchability: "All the documents are searchable just not by the modern name search capability.  All older documents that we have not fully indexed are still searchable by our online electronic version of our index books.  When you are on the search site just choose Index Books as the search criteria,  you enter the party’s last name and the first initial of their given name and all the index books will display.  You can choose from the deed grantor and grantee indexes or the miscellaneous or mortgage indexes.  They are actually better than a regular modern name search since the index books group similar sounding names together so if you had an ancestor with the name Snyder and it formerly was spelled as Snider you would still come across it."
Thanks Fred for the clarification: this is useful to know and sounds similar to the way I search for deeds in person at the computer station at Montgomery County, whereas Berks has it online. Although a fully indexed database is often easier to use for those unfamiliar with these record types, researchers should be familiar with searching records using index books as well, as it is not difficult and can yield persons of the same surname, who could possibly be related, or with similar spellings as Mr. Sheeler suggests.)

Also available are mortgage documents and even subdivision plans. Yes, I repeat, these document images are all online! If you live in Berks County, the process of chaining the title for your house history research could be complete within an hour or so without even going to the county offices. The images can be printed or saved for $1 per page. (Update: Sheeler informs me that images are 50 cents per page, plus $1 when using a credit card in order to cover processing fees. Below, I was looking at a 2-page document, which would be ($0.50 x 2) + $1 = $2.00). Note that, as of now, the image viewing capabilities are based on the outdated Java platform and only seems to work on Internet Explorer (for me at least), but supposedly this drawback is known and is actively being updated to an HTML platform.

Public Outreach

Sheeler is clearly interested in the public actually being able to use and understand these public records. The office now puts out a periodic e-newsletter to provide updates to Berks residents on its efforts to streamline the deed recording process, bringing it into the 21st century while maintaining the integrity and security required of this governmental recording process. Sheeler also makes himself available to give instructional lectures to local groups on how to access and use these databases. Last month, I received the latest newsletter and was extremely interested to learn of this 5-minute video, produced by the Recorder's office, discussing the evolution of deed recording in the county:

I Digress (By Trying It Myself)

With all of this great information out there, although it did not benefit my personal house history directly, I had to try some of this out to enhance my personal genealogy research. I accessed the online database, and did a general search for my great-great-grandfather, Henry F. Snyder. There were 61 hits in the search for "Henry Snyder", 5 of which I could immediately tell were my ancestor. I knew because they were associated with property in Reading, where Henry lived, included his known middle initial "F", and also listed his wife, my great-great-grandmother Maggie. I went to one of the document images:

Screenshot of a scanned document image for a property deed, involving my great-great grandparents Henry F. and Maggie Snyder as the grantors.

In this particular deed, I learn that Henry and Maggie Snyder, in 1946, were conveying their 2-1/2 story brick house to a Ms. Edna Long, for the consideration amount of $1 (clue to check for a corresponding mortgage!). The address of the house was 736 Thorn Street, in Reading, and the deed further states that this is the same premises which Henry acquired in 1922 from Michael and Elizabeth Hill. Sure enough, my great-great-grandparents are listed at this same address in both the 1930 and 1940 censuses.

Clip from the 1940 US Census schedule, showing Henry and Margaret Snyder. The address number "736" is listed in the first column, with the street name "Thorn St" listed in the margin.

I was curious to see if I could get a Google Maps Street View of this house, assuming the house still exists. It does, but unfortunately, it looks like the Google car hasn't made it to this street (I was surprised!). Next time I find myself in Reading, I'll have to try to take a swing by.

Google Maps image. The brick dwelling at 736 Thorn St appears to still exist, but the Street View car hasn't captured an image of it as of yet.

Other Recorders on Notice!

I personally think that what Mr. Sheeler has done with the historic records at the Berks County Recorder of Deeds is incredibly commendable in terms of government accessibility and transparency, as well as in the preservation of important legal and historic documents. This is by no means a political website, but in many areas, the Recorder of Deeds is an elected position. If the county where your home is located isn't working to digitize documents, find out if there are plans to do so in the future from your current Recorder. The reality is that something like this takes years to execute, and often budget constraints make such efforts difficult. However making your voice heard as a local constituent can go a long way towards the effort of bringing records preservation into the 21st Century. Perhaps there would even be an opportunity to volunteer. Tell them to learn from Berks County!

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Saturday Spotlight-- Circa 1893 Brick Folk Victorian in Harleysville

This week's Saturday Spotlight house is a brick Folk Victorian home right on Main Street in Harleysville, PA.

Image courtesy of real estate listing by Connie Hunsberger, BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors

Folk Victorian homes are characterized by classic and simple home forms, adding Victorian detailing and spindlework, often with a front porch. They are distinguished from those homes commonly labeled as Victorian or Queen Anne since they take on traditional and vernacular shapes and forms. With the spread of railroad systems throughout the country by the mid-to-late 19th century, woodworking machinery was more widely used, allowing the decorative trim and wood detailing popular at the time more easily available for homeowners.

This example is approximately 2,400 square feet and was originally constructed with a two-story L-shaped plan which presents as a five-ranked, side-gabled facade on Main Street. The overall form resembles that of a Georgian Revival style but is detailed quite differently. The Victorian gingerbread porch with its turned posts are the main feature, and the blue-painted raised panel wood shutters originally provided desired privacy at the first floor. The windows throughout are placed in shallow brick arched openings, with the top header exhibiting additional Victorian ornamental detail. An approximately 200-square foot wood-framed addition was constructed at some point to fill in the L-shape on the first floor in the rear, with more turned posts continuing the character of the original home.

Image courtesy of real estate listing by Connie Hunsberger, BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors

Origins

Early ownership history has been difficult to nail down immediately, as 1900-1930 census records did not help me out with addresses of those residents enumerated. However, county records estimate that the home was constructed in 1893. As this brief history of the nearby and well-known Harleysville Hotel describes, Sumneytown Pike (Main St Harleysville on this stretch) was constructed in 1735, and vastly improved road conditions performed in 1848 allowed Main Street to flourish with the construction of new homes and businesses, including a general store, small clothing factory, and a feed store in addition to the Hotel.

By the time this home was constructed, the town had a population of a few hundred people. The 1893 estimated construction date appears to be accurate to within a few years based on examination of early atlas maps. The home appears to have been built on land formerly owned by Henry C. Delp, who was listed in the 1880 census as a farmer, but in 1900 as a "market man", perhaps having established a store along the main road. The census records from Harleysville, by the way, read like a list of surnames from my high school (I grew up in Harleysville)-- Gottshall, Kulp, Ziegler, Clemens, Moyer.

By the way, there also exists a wood-frame barn at the rear edge of the property, built supposedly around 1890 even before the house. Although this is just speculation not based on records, it is possible that this barn could date back to the property being owned by the Delp family.

Image courtesy of real estate listing by Connie Hunsberger, BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors

1970s to Present

This brick home has changed stewardship three times in the last 40 years, having been sold in 1976, then just a few years later in 1983, and most recently in 2002. It is currently on the market, looking for its newest caretakers. The interior rooms of the one-story wood frame addition have the exposed brick of the original exterior at this part of the house, which gives the inside of the home a nice nod to its history.

Image courtesy of real estate listing by Connie Hunsberger, BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors

Image courtesy of real estate listing by Connie Hunsberger, BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors

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Saturday Spotlight- Circa 1860's Second Empire in Gwynedd Valley

This week's Saturday Spotlight house is a stout and well-kept Second Empire in Lower Gwynedd, PA.

Although this house is a robust 3,800 square feet and commands its fair share of attention on Brushtown Road, it is dwarfed by many of the multi-million dollar mansions on the same road and in Lower Gywnedd at large. Yet, unlike the neighboring estates, this house has stood the test of time. It exhibits the characteristics of the Victorian Second Empire style, which was most popular in the post-civil war era.

The most distinctive feature of the Second Empire is the mansard roof, and on this house we see a straight-lined and shingled mansard. It's simple shape and lack of curves or flares owes to the simple nature of the rest of the home's exterior, as it lacks bracketing or other ornate details that many Second Empires exhibit. Yet, nonetheless, the three-ranked main facade of windows is typical of the style, and the two-story centered porch fits in as well. The dormer windows at the third level have an arched top, which is common.

Though you can't easily tell from the road, this house has significant addition square footage built onto it with a series of single-story additions: one on the rear, and one on the side. The single-story greenhouse is also clearly visible on the right side of the house from the road. The architecture of the house, both original and addition, is unified by some fine-looking wood german siding and what appear to be original wood shutters (at the least, if they are not original then they appear accurate historical reproductions from the street).

Origins

This one was a tricky one to date, as the county assessor's office has a construction date of 1832 listed. However, homes of this style simply were not built in the 1830's. The Second Empire style came into prominence as a modern style, both in the U.S. and in France, not until the 1850's at its earliest. Furthermore, although I labored to find documents or maps (within my reasonably short Saturday Spotlight research scope) that gave any indication of its existence prior to 1870, I was unable to do so. Perhaps further research would prove me wrong, but the house seems to be indicated on an 1871 map, but not on one from 1857. Thus, I am going to date this as an 1860's house.

A brief note about the land where this house sits. It appears to be part of the 700-acre tract originally settled by Edward Foulke, one of the earliest settlers of Gwynedd Township, in 1698.

The earliest owner which I was able to verify was Ms. Rachel Burrows, who owned the house at age 61 in the 1870 US census. Her husband John Burrows had previously passed away (possibly only a few years earlier, in 1867), but it is possible that the Burrows' were the home's original owners. Their son, 29-year-old William, is listed in the same household as a farmer, presumably farming the 4-acre land surrounding the home after his father's death. William's older sisters Matilda (age 34) and Mary (age 38) lived at the house as well in 1870, along with an 8-year-old girl named Ida May Scott. I did not dig too deeply into the genealogy of this family, but Ms. Rachel Burrows' maiden name was Scott, so it is easy to assume that the little girl was of some relation, perhaps even just visiting her aunt Rachel for the summer. The value of the home was estimated at $7,000 in 1870.

Rachel Burrows passed away in 1876 in Gwynedd, presumably at this house (an assumption, not a verified fact). Her son William continued to own the farm through at least 1880. The sisters, Mary and Matilda, continued on living at the house as well. An adopted 9-year-old girl also lived with the three single siblings in 1880. Somewhere within the next decade, however, ownership transfer to a Frank Woodhead.

By the time 1916 comes around, all the single-story additions appear to have been built already, and the house is owned by an Albert Boyle McMullen. County records indicate the construction of a garage structure (still present) in 1930. In 1934, and through at least 1940, the house and farm were owned by John B. and Jenny "Jennie" E. Heilman. John, a retired confectioner, was age 75 at the 1940 census, while Jenny was 68 years old, and the couple's son, 37-year-old Francis lived with them. The property was valued at $9,000 at this time. John Heilman, being French-born, perhaps was drawn to the Second Empire style of the house. He passed away in 1941 in Gwynedd Valley (again, maybe at the house, as no hospital or institution is listed on his death certificate).

1970s to Present

This house and its land have continued an interesting life in the past few decades as well. From late 1975 to early 1987, the house was owned by Francis Dring Wetherill Jr. Mr. Wetherill is a descendant of John Wanamaker, of department store fame, and his stepmother was a member of the Du Pont family. In 1987, the house was sold to Hugh A. A. Sargent, a senior partner in one of the most prominent law firms in Philadelphia.

Photo of the house, estimated from 1990s. Courtesy of Montgomery County

In 1998, the house, and perhaps more significantly, the land, were sold to a corporate entity-- Walmere Manor Land Development. At a time when incredibly large and impressive mansions were being built throughout Gwynedd Valley, this land was subdivided the following year into three parcels. Luckily, the 1860's house and its accompanying structures were spared and sold to a new owner that same year.  The remaining land was used to house a new multi-million dollar estate for Walmere's executive vice president. It is indeed a gorgeous building (I can't fathom using the word "house") and it was chronicled in a publication for luxury real estate listings in 2012.

The mansion built behind the 1860's house. Courtesy of Unique Homes Magazine

As for our Spotlight house, it was sold again in 2007 for $620,000 to a new steward-- a pittance compared to most of its neighbors. But it stands proud, kept in order, with its german siding and mansard roof, taking a proud position right against the street, whereas all the mansions are set back hundreds of feet. Take a drive along Brushtown Road, and admire this historic house as a stand-out among its fancy neighbors.

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Learning About the Home's Expansion by Looking at the Building Permit

Last week, I discussed a visit to the local building department to find out what the Township has on record in the way of building permits for the house. While I didn't find any permits or drawings from the home's original construction date in the 1920's, I did find a building permit dated April 11, 1946 for the enclosure of a rear porch. In actuality, there were three pages included-- a two-page permit application, plus the actual permit itself.

Permit Application to enclose rear porch dated April 11, 1946.

Although it's quite difficult to read, this is the actual building permit, dated April 17, 1946.

So, these are some pretty exciting documents to view, as they document a major piece of construction on the house. Back in the beginning of our history hunt, we could tell that the rear portion of the building was some sort of an addition, since the original foundation ends before you reach the rear living room. Further, this portion of the house exhibits a minimal amount of differential settlement, evidenced by the separation of asbestos siding at the juncture of the two building portions. This document now appears to confirm the assumption and tells us a bit more as well.

The Permit Application

Let's spend most of our time analyzing the permit application, as the permit itself merely simplifies the application information down into a few key pieces. There is actually much more information on the application. So, starting at the top of the application:

Although it's a bit difficult to read this scan of the microfilm, the top of the form includes the Permit Number (#4226), as well as Type (5) and Class of Occupancy (3), which, although we are only hazarding an educated guess here, likely indicates a wood-framed, single-family dwelling. The permit fee, which is typically a percentage of the cost of the work, was $5.00 (more on this when we get to page 2 of the application). The next few paragraphs serve to indicate that the Township Building Inspector (L.R. Brigham) approved the permit application on April 12, 1946, one day after owner John J. Cantlin applied.

The boilerplate print of the application form covers multiple construction project types, including "to Alter, Repair, and Remove, Demolish or to Move any Building." It is always interesting to me to find the signature of a person I've been researching, and John Cantlin's signature appears here, dated April 11, 1946.

Moving on, the application prompts a further description of the proposed work:

As we've already mentioned, the work is to enclose the rear porch. Although the application instructs that applicants shall "furnish building plans and specifications in duplicate", sadly we did not find these. Mr. Cantlin's application does indicate the planned use of 2x4 wood stud framing, joists, and german siding (to match the original wood german siding used on the main house).

And on Page 2 of the application:

Although several additional fields are not completed, the application does indicate that work is intended to begin "at once," and although it is very difficult to read in this scan, the actual permit verifies that the next bit of information is an estimated construction cost of $125 (equal to roughly $1600 today). No architect was consulted on this work, but the contractor is listed as Joseph Dolan of Jenkintown Rd in Ardsley. Sure enough, in the 1940 U.S. Census, 34-year-old Joseph J. Dolan appears at 850 Jenkintown Rd, Ardsley, in the household of his mother, Susie Dolan, along with his wife, son, daughter, and his two sisters and their children as well. The address number 850 on Jenkintown Rd is currently out in Rockledge, not Ardsley, so the street numbers must have changed at a point since 1940. A similar address number, 2850 Jenkintown Rd, is currently right around the corner from our subject house. However, since this batch of Jenkintown Rd households on the census was enumerated amongst households on Hazel Ave and Monroe Ave, I am guessing the Dolans actually lived a bit further down the road towards the Ardsley train station. Nonetheless, Mr. Dolan certainly lived nearby.

1940 US Census entry for Joseph J. Dolan, living in Ardsley at 850 Jenkintown Rd

Curiously, Joseph Dolan's occupation in 1940 is listed as "tree surgeon," not contractor or carpenter. Perhaps Joseph Dolan became a builder after his arborist days, however I tend to think a more likely scenario is that John Cantlin may have hired a handy friend of his to fill in his porch with exterior walls and throw up some siding.

Although a space appears at the bottom of the form for the Building Inspector to indicate that the work has been completed satisfactorily, it has not been filled out on this particular document. This building permit application is not quite the treasure trove of information for which I hoped, but it did fill in a few blanks and provide some more leads to pursue. It also gives us cause to examine the building itself with a closer eye...

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Analyzing the House's Info Found in Online County Databases

In the last post, I located a significant amount of information for the house via two separate online county databases-- that of the county's tax assessing board and that of the county's Recorder of Deeds. Here, we will expand upon some of this information and offer up what it means to our house history research. We can also take this information and use it to search other places for even further information.

Recap- What We Found

Between the two databases, this is a summary of the NEW information we found:

• 2001 Sale Price was $110,000 (I actually first saw this on Zillow, but the county database is Zillow's source).
• This 2001 transaction, in addition to having Catherine Cantin as grantor (seller) also listed " 'M' Cantlin Atty" on the grantor side.
• The Cantlins (John J & Catherine) took ownership of the house on October 18, 1932.
• The grantor (seller) in the 1932 sale was the Remlu Building and Loan Association.
• The house was assessed at $4,500 in 1987, and re-assessed at $91,800 in 1997.
• The consideration amount for the 1932 was $1,400. 
• The previous owners (2001-14) had multiple mortgages associated with the property.

Using the above new information, let us now analyze this information and perhaps do some quick, simple additional searches.

Analyzing the 2001 Sale

The couple that sold us the house paid $110,000 in 2001 from Catherine Cantlin. From my conversations with the neighbor, I already knew that Ms Cantlin was quite old by this point (I also knew she since passed in 2002, and was born in approximately 1906-07, but I found these out using genealogical search methods I will describe at another time). But the clue of "M (first name withheld here) Cantlin Atty" listed in the index with the 2001 deed is of interest with a new person involved.

Searching for "M" Cantlin by name in the Recorder of Deeds database reveals some interesting new bits. First, a Power of Attorney document was recorded with the county on the same date as the home transaction. This power was granted by Catherine to "M" and "R" Cantlin the year prior (I've since learned that "R", now deceased, was Catherine's son, and "M" her daughter-in-law). Likely, this 2001 sale of the home was a difficult one for the family, with Ms. Cantlin clearly quite elderly and having lived here for many decades. Also found in the search results for "M" Cantlin revealed that she currently owns a house the next block over from mine-- THIS bit of information COULD prove incredibly, incredibly useful, as previous owners are perhaps the most powerful source of inormation for a house history project.

There were two additional mortgages associated with the 2001-2014 owners listed (those mortgages being recorded in 2003 and 2012). Homeowners these days tap into their home equity to make home improvements and even for other non-home related purposes. It is quite clear that these owners put a significant amount of investment into the home over their ownership, with the house jumping in price by about $100,000. These additional mortgages are lower on the priority list to explore further, as the more recent improvements to the house are pretty well and easily known. Further, all of the mortgages were satisified (paid off) so they are of no great consequence at this time. Still, they are a potential source of further information.

Analyzing the 1932 Sale

John J Cantlin and his wife Catherine Cantlin purchased the home from the Remlu Building and Loan Association for (at least) $1,400 on October 18, 1932. On the face of it, this most obviously means that the Cantlins did indeed own the house for the vast bulk of its existence. However, as we saw in our initial census research, they were not the first occupants. This 1932 deed now proves that they were not the first owners. It is important to note that the existence of a deed at a certain time does not in and of itself prove the existence of a house at the same time, however our early research has already shown us a few facts that tell us the house was built prior to 1932-- a) the house is shown on a 1927 map, and b) the Stout family is living at the house on the 1930 census.

Index information of 1932 deed when John and Catherine Cantlin acquired the house.

So, was the Remlu Building and Loan Association, a company, the owner of the home when the Stouts were renting it in 1930? Possibly. We cannot know until we collect all of the deeds for the property to find out if 1930 falls within the period of ownership of the Remlu B&LA. As explained, all of the deeds are not listed online. Since they owned the home up to October 1932, it certainly is quite possible. As we explained briefly in the last post, a Building and Loan Association is a financial institution that focuses on residential lending, and home mortgages in particular. The name "Remlu" is significant, as it showed up on our 1937 map in the name of the neighboring subdivision "Remlu Heights". This small area of North Glenside, according to the Old York Road Historical Society in their Arcadia Images of America publication about Abington, was partially developed by a man named Ulmer, and he used the reverse spelling of his surname (Ulmer -> Remlu) in his subdivision. So, the institution that sold the house to the Cantlins was certainly a local one, and further research on this company may give us further information down the road as they were likely heavily involved in the development of this immediate area. For the time being, one can search the National Information Center for some basic historical information on corporations, and searching for Remlu B&LA tells us that it existed at least as early as 1979 (certainly), in 1982 moved to Wyncote with a slight name change, and was acquired in 1988 by another institution. If we locate a current listing of the acquiring company, there is a chance we could locate some more records.

Back to the Cantlins-- they certainly will figure very prominently in our research moving forward, especially if we can locate some living descendants who may have memories of the home. Mrs Cantlin by all appearances lived in this house for 69 years, and owned it up until within about a year of her death. However, we've now established that the house has a history prior to the Cantlins, and we will seek to find it.

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Census Records- An Essential Building Block for Your House History

If you've ever poked around ancestry.com, or talked to a genealogist, or looked into your own family history, then you've likely learned that census records, especially the U.S. Federal Census taken every 10 years, are one of the most essential sets of historical records for genealogical research.

The Essential Building Block

Family researchers are instructed to try to gather as many census records for their ancestors as possible, and upon viewing a digital image of a census population schedule, it is easy to see why. One can learn the make-up of each family unit, their ages, relationship to head of household, occupation, whether in school, what state or country born in, where their parents were born, and in some years even whether they owned a radio or not!

Although the original purpose of the US Census was to merely count the young country's population and to accurately apportion numbers of congressmen to each state, the scope of the Census expanded vastly over the years and today provides a ton of meaningful statistical analysis to aid policymakers and the population at large. Every once in a while you'll hear a news story citing a new statistic from the Census Bureau, such as this one, or this one. Population schedules like the one above are currently publicly available up to the 1940 Census and are a boon to genealogists. Nowadays they are indexed and easily searchable, making them an easy place to turn early in research.

Why does this matter to us as we research our home? 

So? How does this help me determine the construction date of the house? Well, why it may not directly help determine the construction date, a house history research project cannot truly come alive until we know something about who has lived here. After all, a house history is a HOME'S genealogy. Knowing a previous owner's occupation can place the family that lived there in the context of the neighborhood (or metro area) at large. Another example-- the census can tell you how much the head of the household earned in salary that year, which can be compared with his neighbors.

For many of the 1900 and later census schedules, the street name is listed in the left-hand margin, with the address number in the first column, helping you determine who lived at the home in that year. Although pre-1900 census schedules generally have less information (and the 1890 census was largely accidentally destroyed), if you are lucky you can trace some, or all, of your previous owners backwards through time in each census recording.

Our house's 1930 and 1940 Census Schedules

One very helpful website for searching census records is familysearch.org, a free website of historical records provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is bar-none the most extensive and most helpful free genealogical website. One can search for a person in their entire database of indexed records, or you can navigate to a specific record type (ie 1940 US Census) and search only within that record set. For more information on how to search census records, see here.

In what I have shared thus far, you know that a family named the Cantlins owned the house prior to 2001, and that according to my neighbor, the Cantlins may have been the original owners. If so, they would have owned the home for about 80 years. So, let's search for John Cantlin in the 1940 census (latest year available)-- doing so gives us a search hit that matches: a John Cantlin in Abington, Montgomery County, and the following listing:

The Cantlins are listed at an address that is close to the current address, but the street number is off by 100 (this happens to be my first clue that the address number changed at some point in time). John Cantlin was a grocery clerk at a chain store (earning $936 in 1939), and lived with his wife Catherine (the elderly woman whose son and daughter-in law sold the house for her in 2001), and three children-- Jean C. (age 13), John Jr. (age 12), and Robert (age 6). Furthermore, matriarch Catherine was also employed, as a "winder" at a textile mill, for all 52 weeks of the previous year. She actually made $1,204 the previous year, according to what they told the census enumerator-- more than her husband! Interestingly, most of the households on this same sheet earned about $2,000-$2,500 so the Cantlins were right in range with their neighbors.

So, the Cantlins were indeed living here in 1940, and the "O" next to John's name in the 3rd column from the left indicates that he owned the home. The value of our subject house at this time is purportedly $3,000. Let's check 1930:

Here they are, but they are not living in Abington but instead renting at 2926 N. 25th St in Philadelphia. What gives?

Hmm, another thing we can do is page through Abington Township schedules in the 1930 census until we find a listing with our address. A more laborious task, to be sure, but nonetheless, after some searching we find Central Ave, and a family named Stout living at our address:

Eugene Stout was a 53-year-old engineer at a hospital. The "R" indicates that the Stouts rented the home (for $30/month) and did not own it. Eugene lived at the house with his wife, Mary, and their children Mary & Edna (twins?), and Eugene. Could the Stouts have been renting this house from the Cantlins, who had perhaps recently built the house and had not yet moved from the city? A theory, but just that, a theory. However, we now have more information than we did before, and it appears that the Cantlins may not have been the original owners of the house after all. At the very least it appears they were not its first occupants.

Searching the 1920 census for John Cantlin (and Catherine Cantlin) yields no apparent matches (although the info given in the 1930 census suggests they did not marry until 1922). Eugene Stout and his family are living in Abington in 1920, but have not yet moved to Central Ave as they are listed as renters on nearby Jenkintown Rd. Lastly, paging through the schedules for Central Ave addresses in 1920 only gives us addresses in the 800 block, on the other side of Jenkintown Rd. There are no listings at the 400 block, giving strong evidence that the house did not yet exist when the census enumerator circled town in February 1920.

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