|
How
To Research A Building
Researching takes
patience and organizational efforts. The following information will provide
you with a starting point. Please include copies of original documentation
for review.
Begin
Here . . .
1. If your notebook
is empty, visit the Recorder of Deeds Office in the Kane County Government
Center in Geneva. Trace the chain of title and ownership. Look for unusual
changes in valuation as you record the legal description of the property
through warranty deeds, mortgages, abstracts, etc. Be sure to obtain copies
of all relevant documentation.
2. Next . . . Stop
in at the Elgin Planning Department in City Hall, 150 Dexter Court, and
check the subdivision plats. Often building were not constructed until
the area was subdivided. Also, building permits are available from the
1920's forward.
3. The property's
architectural style can help to determine the era in which the building
was constructed. Take heed of major remodeling, additions or other changes
which modified the architecture, or you could be led in the wrong direction
regarding construction dates.
Helpful
Research Tips
Remember
. . .
Houses were
moved frequently in the 19th and early 20th centuries. If the architectural
style is unusual for the indicated time of construction, or if the foot
print, number of stories and lot location differ from that shown in the
Sanborn maps, or if the address is not reflected in old city directory
listings, the building may have been moved on site or the original building
demolished or destroyed by fires.
As you spend time
looking through city directories, note that address changes took place
city-wide in 1884 and 1895, as well as in the 1870's. Be aware that a
building may have three different house numbers due to a change in the
numbering system, and that street names have changed over the years.
Abstracts
An abstract
of title transfers ownership of the land and not the date of construction.
But it may provide clues. . .look for increases in the “consideration,”
the taxes or for mortgages which may indicate construction. Note the names
of owners which are useful when referring to the city directories.
Occupants
Information
about the occupants and/or owners obtained from city directories can often
be found in the obituaries of old newspapers on microfilm at the library.
Death records for those burned in Elgin are available at the offices of
Bluff City Cemetery (ledgers), Lake Street Memorial Park and on microfilm
at Gail Borden Public Library.
In addition
to newspaper obituaries, bound copies of the Elgin National Watch Company's
“Watch Word” magazine contains accounts of the deceased. Thirty years
of this publication are indexed on microfilm and available at the Gail
Borden Public Library.
Newspapers
The Elgin Daily
Courier published an annual review of local construction which is useful
for discovering the date of some 19th and 20th century homes. The buildings
are sometimes grouped under the architect or contractor name. The name
of the street usually follows the name of the property owner. The papers
are on microfilm at the Gail Borden Public Library. The listings were
published on:
Dec. 24, 1886 Dec.
19, 1891 Jan. 4,
1902 Dec. 10, 1904
Jan. 29, 1909
Dec. 20, 1887
Dec. 31, 1892 (Includes
1901 yr.)Nov. 28, 1905 July
19, 1909
Dec. 14, 1889
Feb. 6, 1900
Dec. 31, 1903 Aug. 27, 1908
Aug. 5, 1909
Dec. 13, 1890
(Includes 1899 yr.)
There are construction
review packages kept in a locked case at the library for years 1899, 1901,
1902 (covers 1900 yr. in Jan.), 1907, and 1910-1914. Reviews of new construction
were discontinued after 1914.
Often, houses do not fit into any one architectural style. The following
books may be helpful:
A Field
Guide to American Houses. Authored by Virginia and Lee McAlester.
1984, 1987.
Identifying American
Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms. Authored by
John J.G. Blumenson, 1977.
From the Walls
In. Authored by Charles Wing, 1979.
Maps
Sanborn maps (Sanborn
Fire Insurance Company Maps) are available at the Gail Borden Public Library
and the Elgin Planning Department. Two detailed maps dated March 1897
and February 1903, available at the City's Planning Department, show the
outlines of structures and are color coded to indicate stone, wood or
brick construction. By comparing the shape of the present building with
the map outline, it may be possible to determine later additions.
Building plan books
were also used by local builders for the design and layout of buildings
and may be found at the library.
Don't
Forget!
Other sources
to consider are letters, diaries, genealogical records, dateable photographs,
account books and scattered references in periodicals. County and city
histories published in 1876, 1888, 1898, 1904, 1908, and 1927 are filled
with biographies.
Bibliographies
The following list
is certainly not complete. . .but it provides a beginning. If a source
states “Request,” it is in a locked bookcase in Adult Services at the
Gail Borden Public Library.
The Past and Present
of Kane County, Illinois. Published in 1878. Request.
Kane County Directory, 1859-1860. Request.
The History of Elgin From 1835 to 1875. Published by Lord and Bradford
in 1867. Request.
Kane County Gazetteer. Published by John C.W. Bailey in 1867. Request.
Elgin Today–1904–Historical and Descriptive, Biographical. Published
by Lowrie and Black in 1903.
Elgin, Illinois–Pictorial and Descriptive. Published by Artistic
Publishing Association in 1886. Request.
Biographical Record of Kane County. Published in 1898.
Art Work of Kane County. Published by W.H. Parish Publishing Co.
in 1898. Request.
Architecture of the Old Northwest Territory. Authored by Rexford
Newcomb and published by the University of Chicago Press in 1950.
Golden Jubilee Souvenir, St. Mary’s Parish, Elgin, IL. Published
in 1903
Northern Illinois Gazette, 1855-1856. Request.
The Elgin Historic District. Authored by E.C. Alft. Published in
1980.
National Register Nomination for the Elgin Historic District. Authored
by Bruce Dahlquist and Patricia Andrews, 1983.
Elgin, Past and Present–Historical and Biographical. Authored by
R. Waite Joslyn. Published by T.H. Kennel & Co. in 1927.
Kane County Illinois Early Families, 1833-1885. By the Elgin Genealogical
Society, 1991.
Elgin: An American History. Authored by E.C. Alft. Published in
1984.
Elgin neighborhood historical/architectural surveys are available at Elgin
City Hall.
|
