· Historic Preservation
· House Histories
· Genealogy
· Title Insurance
· Web Site and Book Publication
All research is billed at $35 per hour. A cost proposal will be furnished before the start of any project.
During our studies we routinely examine the following types of resources relating to the study of historic properties: Site files of state historic preservation offices · Historic map collections · Federal, state, county and local library repositories · Historic photographic collections · Early road development records · Deeds, mortgages, wills, inventories and estate files · Population, agricultural and industrial census schedules · 18th- and 19th-century newspapers · City directories · Tax records.
Preserving historic properties as important reflections of our American heritage became a national policy through passage of the Antiquities Act of 1906, the Historic Sites Act of 1935, and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which was amended in 1980. These acts were established to identify and recognize properties of national, state and local significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of these recognized properties and is maintained and continually expanded by the National Park Service on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior.
Environmental Impact Studies:
Tomkins Historical Research conducts research for all levels of environmental impact studies, while assisting archaeological consultants, historic planners, engineers, and historic architectural preservation firms. Environmental impact studies are partly conducted as a result of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. It provides for an impact review procedure where federally funded projects may have an effect upon historic properties. Similar review processes have been established at the state and local level.
National Register Documentation:
Tomkins Historical Research provides the necessary historical documentation to assist with the completion of the National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic properties considered to possess national, state or local significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture.
HABS/HAER Documentation:
Tomkins Historical Research assists historic preservation consultants, local historical societies and others interested in preserving the past through the Historic American Building Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER). HABS/HAER is an integral component of the federal government's commitment to historic preservation. The program documents important architectural, engineering and industrial sites throughout the United States. Since the early 1930s, HABS/HAER documentation has been playing a key role in historic preservation of American architecture and engineering through a recordation and permanent archiving program. A complete set of HABS/HAER documentation consists of measured drawings, large-format photographs and a written history. HABS/HAER collections are archived at the Library of Congress, where they are made available to the public.
One of Philadelphia's respected publications, Main Line Today, within the recent past, acknowledged that the number one thing "you can do to protect and nurture home and hearth" is to learn the history of your house. If you recently purchased a historic property or have owned one for some time, it is likely that you have acquired an interest in learning its history. When was your house built and by whom? Who were its previous owners? Was it the home of an important historical figure? Through detailed research, Tomkins Historical Research can answer these questions and discover many more fascinating details into the history of your property.
Compiling the history of your house is a venture that can last a lifetime. As the facts and legends are pieced together you begin to form the history of the property. While answering some of your questions, the research will lead you to ask more. Understanding that it is difficult to find the time to conduct the research yourself, and taking into consideration budget constraints, we have established three levels of research to assist you in discovering the history of your property. Obviously we hope that you consider contracting us at the highest level. You may, however, choose a lower level of research knowing that at some point you will continue the quest yourself. Or perhaps at a later date your budget will allow for us to conduct additional research for you. In each case we are sure that the products will be to your liking.
Level 1 - - - Cost: $250-$750
Level 1 is broken into two tasks. You can choose one or both. Task 1 involves the compilation of the ownership history of your property using the records held by your area courthouse and surrogate’s office. The documents that will be accessed include deeds, mortgages, wills, inventories and other estate files. For a fee of $500 the results of this research will be presented in tabular format. It will be organized by the property owners and their dates of ownership. Additional information included within the table will consist of the buyer and seller’s place of residence at the time of the sale and their occupation, if recorded, the purchase price and size of property.
Task 2 involves the compilation of published historic maps. During the mid-to-late-19th century and into the 20th century, various map companies created and published wall maps and atlases. The maps depict the established road network at the time and the existing houses and commercial enterprises along their routes. In most cases the properties are labeled with their owners. In addition, prominent individuals also contracted with the map company to have their properties depicted through lithographs along the edges of the maps or within the atlases. For a fee of $250 we will present you with copies of these maps and lithographs showing your property. The maps will be professionally presented being bound together in a booklet format. Each will depict the location of your property.
Level 2 - - - Cost: $900
Level 2 will involve the undertaking of both tasks described in Level 1, however, in addition to presenting the ownership history in tabular form and copies of the historic maps, a brief historical narrative will be compiled using the data from the title research and the maps. Discussion of the boundaries of the property will be presented in the narrative and graphically shown on a modern topographic map. The maps, ownership table and the narrative will be bound together in a booklet format.
Level 3 - - - Cost: $1,500
Level 3 will build upon the research and documentation compiled in Level 2. At this level, additional historical research will be undertaken to assist with rounding out the history of the property. Population and agricultural census records will be accessed. Census data compiled during the mid-19th century and into the 20th century will assist with determining what types of activities were taking place on the property and by whom. The population census is organized by the head of the household and lists all the occupants of the house, their occupations, their ages and their places of birth. The agricultural census includes information such as the total number of acres being farmed; and types and amounts of produce and livestock raised on the property. In addition at this level of research, published histories and manuscript collections held by your State and local libraries will be drawn upon. The historic maps, ownership table and a more detailed historical narrative will be bound together in a booklet format.
A sample (PDF format) of one of our house histories can be viewed by clicking on the following link: House History Sample.
Real Estate Sales:
Do you currently own a historic property that you are interested in selling? Many prospective buyers of historic properties are attracted to those with written histories attached to them. Others may be considering owning a home that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Historical research and documentation of your property will assist with its overall marketability.
Title Research:
Historic title research plays a vital role in performing our house histories and other historic preservation studies. We provide title research for single properties, large urban projects, railroad properties, and other properties possessing difficult title runs. Tomkins Historical Research has a commanding knowledge of the many court records and other resources relating to the study of historic properties.
Knowing one's heritage continues to be a very popular pastime and constructing your family lineage can be a very rewarding task. Tomkins Historical Research can assist you with your endeavors at anytime during your research. We can provide you with historical documents specifically concerning your family members who resided within the Mid-Atlantic States. These records include copies of birth, marriage and death certificates, wills, other estate files, census records, social security records, church records, naturalization records, land records, tax records, city directories and other miscellaneous historical documents.
Heirs to Estate Properties:
Tomkins Historical Research provides the necessary detailed genealogical research needed to locate the potential heirs to estate properties. Quite often, following the death of an owner of a property, his/her real estate will be equally divided amongst the surviving heirs. In some instances, the property will be overseen or even lived in by one of the heirs, while the remaining heirs retain a legal interest in the property. The property, now unconsolidated, may remain this way through this generation. The heirs-at-law over a period of time leave this life and their interest in the property is legally passed to their successive heirs and so on. Several generations later, the property is being passed through the family without their actual knowledge. Your father or mother made no mention of this property in their will, because they either forgot to record it or were not made aware of it by their parents. Perhaps someday you will receive a call or a letter from us informing you of a potential property inheritance.
Web Site Publication:
Tomkins Historical Research provides research and historical documentation for web site publication. One of the newest ways of documenting history is through the World Wide Web. Publishing a historical web site places history at the fingertips of people from around the world. The World Wide Web is becoming a rapidly expanding medium for research. It will not be long before every classroom, household and office is connected to the web. It is therefore in the interest of the nation to publish historical web sites that document, as accurately as possible, American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture. The federal government commenced this effort by web-publishing the results of their historic preservation programs such as the Historic American Building Survey, Historic American Engineering Record and the National Register of Historic Places.
Other non-profit institutions such as the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Chemical Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have formed consortiums to pilot the use of the World Wide Web "to locate, preserve and expand access to historical documentation of engineering and technology." Initial grants have supported the creation of over 30 web sites by professional societies, universities and museums, on a wide variety of topics ranging from the development of the artificial heart, to the planning, construction and early operation of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Tomkins Historical Research, working closely with the American Society of Civil Engineers, played a major role in the research and historical documentation for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Historic Web Site.
Book Publication:
Although conventional publishing is beginning to sense a challenge by web publishing, it will be quite some time before "hard copies" of books or magazines are permanently "out-of-print" so to speak. We are therefore here to assist you with these efforts also.