Step 4
Finding information on the previous owners of your house.

In most cases, your permit will have given you the names of the original owners of your house. If your permit didn't note an original owner, or if you're interested in finding out about others that lived in your house, you can find this information in City and County records.

In order to discover who lived in your house before you, you must have the legal description of your property. This should be on the permit. If it is not, go to the city's Department of Transportation, Bureau of Inspection, Division of Maps and Plats. At the end of the room is an annex with waist high cabinets holding oversized books. You can look it up yourself or ask staff for assistance. To look it up yourself, follow the directions below.

On the wall is a locator map. Identify the area your home is in, note the color indicator and number, and find the appropriate book. Each book contains detailed maps. In the front is an index. On the page where your property is shown, copy the numbers and letters at the top; find your lot, copy down the number closest to it, and the letter closest to that. Write down the lot and block numbers; the subdivision name; and the section, township and range (look for these at the top of the map, e.g. "NW 1/4 sec. 15-38-14). Take good notes so you don't have to return. It's a good idea to ask someone for help as sometimes the subdivisions of property can be misleading.

Your next step is to go to the first floor of the same building, to the Office of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Once inside, search for the stairway down and descend to the basement.

In this large room is a series of low cabinets filled with identically bound books. Index books can be found on the tops of the cabinets. Use the index to identify which of the bound tract books to look in to find information on transactions relating to your property. The index is arranged by the township and range numbers (the "38-14" numbers from the example above). After finding the section number (e.g. " 1 5") look for the subdivision name. This will refer you to the number for the appropriate tract book.

There is an index page in the front of each tract book that will direct you to the correct subdivision. Then look for the appropriate block and lot you're interested in. In a variety of handwriting from recorders of deeds through the decades, you'll find the names of sellers and buyers, types of transactions, and other miscellaneous information. Some of the transaction abbreviations used are not self-explanatory. Ask at the front desk if you need help deciphering them.

Be aware that the information found on these pages make up the clues that you need to track down the stories of the people who lived in your house, so don't overlook anything that you may want to follow up on later.

If there is some transaction on your tract's page that piques your interest, and you want to look at the complete transaction document, ask a clerk to help you look up the book and page for the document number. Take the document number and book and page to the microfilm library next door where you fill out a form to receive the appropriate microfilm. On the microfilm you will find more details of the legal transaction which may give you clues for further follow up.

Learning More About The Owners of Your House
Once again, the Chicago Historical Society is the best place for you to start this research once you know who the previous owners were. If you are following in the footsteps of a prominent Chicagoan, try looking up his/her name in:

• The Ridge Historical Society Archives
  
• The CHS card catalogue
• Book of Chicagoans and its successor,
  Who's Who in Chicago, published in nine editions from 1905-1950 by the A.N. Marquis Company (Copies available at RHS)
• History of Chicago (1884-86), by A.T. Andreas
• History of Cook County, Illinois (1884), A.T. Andreas

If the first owner of your house wasn't a Who's Who sort, you can still discover some information about them in city directories, telephone books and census reports as well as in Chicago and Cook County Sources: A Genealogical and Historical Guide (1986) by Loretto Dennis Szuc (CHS). All of these can be found at the CHS except the census reports. For these, go to the Newberry Library.

Directories
Various types of directories are useful in providing information about houses and their occupants. They were published by various companies, but there are two basic types: alphabetical (by name) and reverse (by address).

Census Records
Census Records are a fascinating way to learn more about the people who lived in your house. For instance you can discover the names of everyone in the house and their relationships to each other. Census resports came out every 10 years beginning in 1840. Due to privacy concerns, the Census Bureau delays issuing complete records for 72 years. Consequently, the 1930 census is the last one to have been issued. Also, 99% of the 1890 census was destroyed in a fire.