House Detective

From Bhamwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

House Detective: A Guide to Researching Birmingham Buildings is a book written by Ann McCorquodale Burkhardt and first published by the Birmingham Historical Society in 1988.

House Detective grew out of the author's first assignment by the Historical Society to write a memo about which historical and government records were useful in researching the history of buildings in Birmingham. The book is divided into sections based on the location of the records. First, if you're researching your own building, it encourages you to start with the records you have on hand and neighborhood lore. Next, it suggest visiting the local office of Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation, which has records of all Jefferson County properties back to the U.S. land grants. (The company was acquired by Fidelity National Financial at the end of 2008.) The majority of the book deals with the Jefferson County Courthouse and Birmingham Public Library. The former for probate court and property tax records. The latter for the many historical and other records it houses. It also includes guides to deciphering some types of records. Lastly, it recommends that if you know of specific municipal dealing about the building, you check Birmingham City Council records at Birmingham City Hall.

References

  • Burkhardt, Ann McCorquodale (1988). House Detective: A Guide to Researching Birmingham Buildings. Birmingham Historical Society. ISBN 087651994X.

External links