Researching Your House's History: Outline

I. Short Cuts

  1. An older resident in your neighborhood may have an Abstract of Title for their house. This report would document the ownership of their house back to the original Donation Land Claim owner, and might include the property where your house is located.
  2. A Title Report could be purchased through a Title Company. Abstracts of Title were digitized in the 1980's and Title Companies have access to this information. EXPENSIVE.

II. First Steps When Doing Your Own Research

  1. Talk to you neighbors
  2. Pull out your tax statement — write down the Account No. (also referred to as "Parcel No.") and the Map No. (ie. "21E12AB - - - -"). The Map No. will tell you the Township, Range, and Section No. you live in.
  3. Go to the Clackamas County Website CMAP. Look up your home by address, Parcel No., or Tax Lot Number. Write down
    1. Year Built,
    2. Parcel No., and
    3. Estimated Acres

III. Clackamas Co. "Assessment & Taxation Office" (Assessor)

  1. Tell the clerk why you're there — very helpful. They'll direct you to computers.
  2. "Ascend 3.8 Public Access Property Inquiry". Make note of "Property No." and "Alternate No. Computer will list property transfer events back to about 1999. Also check the "Memo" section. AND, be sure and also visit the "Jacket" Tab — it may have helpful info and sketches.

If the house was built prior to 1999 you'll need to go to next step.

IV. Deed Books

  1. While still at the Assessor's Office go to main desk and ask for the pertinent "Deed Book" using the "Map Number" from your tax statement, the "Map Number (TLNO)" from the CMAP website, or the "Alternate Number" from their computer program.
  2. 1st page will be a copy of oldest deed this office has. This information is very important. Photocopy this page or write down the legal description. The back of this page has each transfer up until 1999.

If the house was built prior to the date of the oldest deed in the deed book you will need to go to the next step. Make sure you have:

  1. Grantees name,
  2. date of deed,
  3. deed volume and page,
  4. acres, if mentioned, and
  5. Township, Range and Section No.

V. Clackamas County Recorders Office

  1. Using the "Indirect (Buyer) Index", locate the oldest transaction you had found from the "Deed Book". Names are organized by surname, 1st name or initial (and sometimes middle initial), Section, Twp (Township), Range, Book, and Page.

    There may be more than one entry for that individual. Write down those that match the Section, Twp, and Range (or perhaps Subdivision & Lot No.) that you found in the "Deed Book". You will need to look each of these up. The Indirect Index will also list the name of the seller — generally by last name and first initials.

    You will then want to find the actual deed from the Deeds microfiche. These are organized by book (volume) and page in the same cabinets as the indexes. Find the deed and make note of

    1. Name(s) of grantor (seller),
    2. date of deed,
    3. no. of acres if stated, and
    4. the legal description

    Note: If the size of the parcel being transferred is the same as more recent deeds the legal description should be virtually the same from more recent deeds.

  2. Next you need to determine when the grantor (seller) identified in the above deed purchased the property. This person becomes your "target".

    Armed with the name of the grantor (seller) from the above deed you need to return to the Indirect Index and locate the name of that grantor as the buyer [your "target"]. Unless you already know what that transaction may have taken place start with the same Indirect Index for the same span of years as you started with before. If you don't find their name in this index go to the next earlier span of years, and so forth until you locate their name.

Repeat the same process as in no. 1 above — locating the "target" in the Indirect Index then finding the actual deed for that transaction. From the actual deed you will learn who sold the parcel to the "target", and that person (the grantor) will become your new "target" in the Indirect Indexes.

Repeating this process over and over will eventually lead you to the original First Deed — that from the United States of America to so and so. This is the person to whom the U.S. Government granted a Donation Land Claim, Homestead, or other type of claim. As you work back in time the size of the parcel will get bigger and bigger, and the legal description will vary accordingly.

VI. Maps

  1. Metsker Maps: Historic Map Works
    By Township & Range 1928, 1937, 1951, 1966
  2. Sanborn Maps: Milwaukie & Oregon City only
    Digital Sanborn Maps 1867-1970, Multnomah Co. Library
  3. CCIS: Clackamas Co.'s Surveyor Information System
    Original surveys; plat maps (subdivisions, town sites); roads
  4. General Land Office (GLO) Maps: U.S. Bureau of Land Management
    1850's Surveys; by Township and Range
  5. History Geo: "First Landowners" and "Antique Maps Collection" -- A subscription website.
  6. City Directories

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