TRACING THE HISTORY OF YOUR HOUSE

By

Cathy Beaudoin

Consider these questions as you explore your home’s past…

When was the house built?

Who was the architect or builder?

What style is it?

What did the house look like originally?

Who were original owners or occupants?

How does house fit into the neighborhood? The City?

10 Prevalent Styles of Architecture in Dover

5 paths to investigate:

1.) Begin with the setting: rural vs. urban, waterside vs. forest, low-lying vs. hillside, newer side street or urban core

2.) Oral histories: ask around---neighbors and long-time residents, historical society members

3.) Physical evidence: style, building materials, framing, nails, roofing, siding, foundations, windows, doors, fireplaces

4.) Consult a professional: “house investigators” ($350!)

5.) Documentary evidence: deeds, tax records, probate records, cemetery records, building permits, directories, atlases, maps, newspapers, photographs, census records

Library’s Historical Room: Dover history section

1827 map

by Asa Tufts,

Postmaster

DOVER MAPS

1834 Dover Village by G.L. Whitehouse

Dover Village

1851

1871 Atlas of Strafford County

1871 Atlas---Dover downtown

Bird’s Eye View, 1888 http://memory.loc.gov

Zoom View, Bird’s Eye View map, Dover, 1888 http://memory.loc.gov

1892 Atlas of the State of NH

Sanborn Insurance Map, March 1898 http://www.dover.lib.nh.us

Dover Directory, August 1830

1830 Dover Directory

Register of Deeds Office

Strafford County Building

• Record made each time property (lot & bldgs) sold

• Deeds bound in large volumes at County Building

• Mortgagor and Mortgagee Indexes by decade

• Start with yourself: find your own deed

• Deed will refer to date, volume, and page of previous

sale

• Locate previous volume and travel back in history!

Photographs of some of Dover’s Historic Houses

from the Library’s collection

Can you identify these children?

Federal Census, 1790, Strafford County: Dover

Obituary Index: http://www.dover.lib.nh.us

AND…Newspapers on microfilm back to 1828!

Various Cemetery Sources

Register of Probate

Strafford County Building

Wills Testamentary proceedings

Inventories Administration Accounts

Indentures Petitions

Renunciations Accounts of sales

Balance books Guardian bonds/accts

Documents tracing the settling of an estate

Heritage

Walks

1979-

2002+

Library’s Historical Room: town histories, city reports, city directories