In question & answer format, this presentation introduces the most frequently-consulted sources for establishing the history of a house or building. Learn how you can determine the date built, who built it, and more.
2. How to visit us
1 Museum Court
North of Rt.198
off Elmwood Ave.
Free parking &
bike rack
On #20 bus line
3. Our Building
Designed by George Cary in 1901, for the Pan-American
Exposition, a National Historic Landmark since 1987
4. Admission
Free to Museum members & US veterans
Students & seniors: $5.00
$10.00 for all others
5. Library Hours
Wednesdays through Saturdays
1-5 pm
Plus 6-8 pm on Wednesday evenings
No appointments necessary
6. Library Collections at a Glance
Collecting since 1862
20,000+ books
200,000 photographs
3,000 manuscript collections
6,000 microfilms
Vertical/Pamphlet file
Clippings file
About 10,000 maps, plans, prints & drawings
7. Professionally Staffed
A genuine librarian is on
duty during all public
service hours
Ready to assist with house
research!
8. A Few Rules
Library materials may not be borrowed or removed from
room
Purses, backpacks, briefcases, etc., are stored in our new
cube lockers
Please bring valid photo ID to use manuscript material
Most oversized flat material is stored off site. Retrievals
are scheduled once a week.
9. Touch Screen Sign-In
We ask for name,
address, phone or email,
and what you’re
researching today
13. Technology on Site
Free Wifi, laptops & tablets welcome
One online catalog/internet workstation
Photocopying done by staff if size & condition
permit, $.25/page
14. Technology on Site
Two microfilm reader-printers, $.25/page
One microfilm scanner, courtesy of the Western
NY Genealogical Society
Bring a USB flash drive
16. Questions We’ll Try to Answer
1. How do I get started?
2. When was my street built?
3. When was my house built?
4. Who designed my house?
5. Who lived in my house?
6. Is any of this stuff online?
17. Architectural Research Sources
Major Architectural
History Sources
Research Library
The Buffalo History Museum
1 Museum Court
Buffalo, NY 14216
library@buffalohistory.org
October 2016
www.buffalohistory.org
A.
When built?
B.
1st owner?
C.
Designer?
D.
Occupants?
E.
Appearance?
1 Architect's Records, Plans, Drawings
We have mostly public buildings; very few houses X X X X
2 Atlases
Published roughly once per decade, 1850-1960 X
3 Buffalo City Directories
Address section in back starts in 1930 X
4
Buffalo Common Council Proceedings
Use these to find building permits X X
5 Census Records
Addresses are recorded starting in 1880 X
6 Obituaries & Death Notices
Our card file has about 99,000 names X
7 Photographs
We have about 30,000 house & building photos X
8 Social Directories
These are limited to upper-income households X X
9 Suburban Directories
Hardly any were published before the 1950s X
10 Your Deed or Abstract of Title
Might help you find a building permit X
http://tinyurl.com/TBHM-ArchGrid
19. Architectural History Sources
Buffalo Atlases
Erie County Atlases
Directories—city, social
Buffalo Common Council Proceedings
Photographs
Obituaries
Census Records
Business Records from Architectural Firms
20. 1. How do I get started?
Bring your deed or Abstract of Title if you have one
21. Abstract of Title
Often acquired as part of the closing
Might go all the way back to the Holland
Land Company, ca. 1804
Example from our collection:
Mss. A2013-02
Will, Abstract of Title, and Survey of Cyrus P. Lee
22. True or False?
Millard Fillmore lived in my house. It says so
on my deed.
False
My house was built in 1804. It says so on my
deed.
False
23. 2. When Was My Street Built?
Index to Records…
City of Buffalo, 1896
F 129 .B8 I42 1896
24. Sample Page from Index to Records
Lists every tiny little
bureaucratic action
taken on every City
street up to 1896
Includes canals,
railroads, gas
companies, etc.
25. 3. When Was My House Built?
City directories
Social directories
Buffalo Common Council proceedings
Atlases
26. Buffalo City Directories
Published annually, with some gaps
We have 1828 to 2001 in hard copy
Online versions are collected at:
BuffaloResearch.com/onlinedirectories.html
27. Sample City Directory Page
Look up the names on your deed
Last name, first name,
occupation, address
Women rarely listed until the
1920s
Children omitted until around age
18
No photocopying from directories
28. Special Section in City Directories
Reverse address section:
look your street and see
each business or
resident
This feature began in
1929
29. Social Directories
Dau’s Buffalo Blue Book
Buffalo Address Book &
Family Directories
Omitted immigrant &
working class
neighborhoods such as the
East side
30. Buffalo Address Book & Family
Directories
Good starting point!
Ideal for West side houses
Published 1880-1916
Has an address section like
the city directories
On microfilm & online
http://tinyurl.com/BHM-
addressbooks
31. Buffalo Address Book & Family
Directories
Online at:
http://tinyurl.com/
BHM-
addressbooks
32. Dau’s Buffalo Blue Book
Published 1898-1940
Has an address section
In hard copy only
Not digitized or online
1903
33. Suburban Directories
Erie County & Suburban:
1927, 1929, 1931, 1949,
1959-2001
Very little village, town, or
rural coverage prior to
1959
Not digitized or online
35. Buffalo Common Council Proceedings
Include building
permits!
1832-1899 on microfilm
1854-1996 hard copy
Permits are listed by name
1832-1907
Permits are listed by
address starting in 1908
36. Buffalo Common Council Proceedings
Over 25 editions are
online here:
https://goo.gl/pyTcu6
38. 1866 Emslie Atlas
Only at TBHM, not
online
6 vols. arranged by ward
Shows land owner names
more than building
footprints
39. 1868 Buffalo Sanborn Atlas
Shows individual
buildings
Shows only the
downtown core
Only at TBHM, not
online
More Buffalo Sanborns,
1880-1950
40. 1872 Hopkins Atlas
First atlas to show individual buildings for entire city of
Buffalo
Online at http://tinyurl.com/Buff1872a and
http://tinyurl.com/Buff1872b
45. 1866 Stone & Stewart Atlas
Erie County
Shows property owner names
Shows buildings as tiny black
squares
Online at
http://tinyurl.com/Erie1866
46. 1880 Beers Atlas
Erie County
Shows property owner names
Shows individual buildings as
tiny black squares
Online at
http://tinyurl.com/Erie1880a
http://tinyurl.com/Erie1880b
47. 1909 New Century Atlas
Erie County
Shows property owner names
Shows buildings as little
black squares
Online at
http://tinyurl.com/Erie1909
48. 4. Who Designed My House?
Not every dwelling is the work of a private
architect
Inexpensive house plans have been available by
mail–order since before the Civil War
Plus there popular house types (think ranch
house!) that are designed & built by developers
49. 5. Who Lived In My House?
Get out your deed, if you have one
City Directories
Social Directories
Census Records
Obituaries
51. Erie County 1810-1930
Arranged geographically
Ours are on microfilm
Names everyone in the household, 1850-1930
But addresses are not listed until 1880
52. 1940 Census is online
Released to the public in 2012
Go to National Archives website:
http://1940census.archives.gov/
53. Federal Census Indexes
1790-1850 New York State
1850 Black Rock
1860 Erie County & Upstate NY
1890 NY State Veterans
In print, not online
55. Obituary Index 1811-2001
Check the names on your
deed
99,000 names in a card file
Name, date of death,
occupation
Newspaper where obituary is
found
Does not list everyone who
ever lived or died here
Not digitized or online
57. 6. What Did My House Look Like?
Pictures & Photographs
Plans & Drawings
58. Pictures & Photographs
Only at TBHM, not online
About 30,000 house &
building pictures
Houses are in A-Z order by
street name
Most date from1870-1970
We do not have every single
house or building in Buffalo
59. Using Our Photographs
Photocopies are $.25, black & white only
Museum-quality reproductions available by special order
We scan only for publication, exhibition, or academic use
Rate sheet is downloadable from our website
May not be put online without our permission
61. Plans & Drawings
The bad news is…
Most architectural firms, like most businesses,
come and go without their records being saved
62. Plans & Drawings
The good news: We have drawings and/or business records
from:
George Cary, pre-1945
Esenwein & Johnson, 1882-1942
Green & Wicks / James, Meadows & Howard, 1893-1971
Duane Lyman, 1923-1975
North & Shelgren, 1909-1994
John A. Ort, 1950-1967
63. Plans & Drawings
The bad news is that they are
almost all are for schools,
churches, hospitals & other
public buildings
The few house drawings are for
upscale residences
So, 99% of the time, we do not
have your house plans
70. TBHM on Tagpacker.com
Browse our bookmarks! 1200+ links sorted into
categories or tags
https://tagpacker.com/user/buffalo.history.museum.
research.library
71. New Picture Store!
Our new online storefront offers museum-quality
reproductions for home or office décor
BuffaloHistoryStore.org
72. Sanborn Maps at BECPL
www.buffalolib.org
Click on Research
Enter library card # at
top of page
Scroll down to
Sanborn Maps
73. Bonus search trick
Open Google Books: http://books.google.com
Search on your address like this, using quotation
marks:
“123 Main” Buffalo
74. One question we can’t answer
“Did something bad happen in my house?”
Crime stories are usually indexed by the names
of victims, not by address
75. Questions?
library@buffalohistory.org
(716) 873-9644 x 306
For best results, call Wednesdays through Saturdays,
1-5 pm
www.buffalohistory.org
Hashtag this: #BuffaloHistory
Research Library
Buffalo History Museum
1 Museum Court
Buffalo, NY 14216