House Research

I recently went to the local library's Local History Room to do some research on the house.

What I already knew was that from 1770/1771 to 1843, the house was owned by Stephen Wilcox. When he died (at 97), the house was then bought or given to his great-great-grand-niece Adelia Wilcox. The house remained in the Mildrum family (three unmarried daughters lived there until their deaths) until 1953 when the last Mildrum sister, Hattie, died.

At the library and town hall I was able to find property transfers. It appears that Hattie sold the house on November 18, 1942 to Winslow G. Merrit. On February 15, 1957 Winslow Merrit sold the house to Leslie J. Wagner and Alice B. Delaney. On September 11, 1963, Leslie Wagner sold the house to Spence W. and Elizabeth A. Nelson. They sold the house to the person we bought it from in 1966.

I was also able to get a couple simple property maps from the town hall. They show inaccurate property lines (according to the map, our next door neighbor owns our driveway, garage and a corner of our house), which we know aren't true because there are metal stakes in the ground indicating the property lines.

I was also able to find a couple building permits from when the previous owner installed the pool and when he upgraded to 200 amps.

I love researching stuff :)

Stephen and Mary Wilcox

I came across these the other day and thought they were really interesting. Like I've said before, I'm really into old stuff..

This is the death notice of the original owner of our house... Stephen Wilcox. He was born on October 19, 1746 in what is now Berlin, CT. He died on December 31, 1843 in the house. I read somewhere that he was buried at the house, but we haven't found any evidence of that. He has a headstone at the Wilcox Cemetery down the street, so he may have been moved there. Showing how beloved he was, his death notice takes up 13 lines in the newspaper. All of the other death notices take up 1 or 2.. being only one sentence.

 DIED

  Another soldier of the Revolution gone. In Berlin, Ct. on the 21st ult, Mr. Stephen Wilcox, at the advanced age of ninety seven years. He was a man respected and beloved by a numerous circle of relations and friends, his descendants being over one hundred. He was remarkable for his temperate habits through life, to which we may ascribe his longevity. He was a consistent and exemplary member of the church of Christ over seventy years. But like the scattered leaves of Autumn, which cling to their parent stem and are torn away by the rude blasts of December, he is gone. Papers in Ohio copy.

His wife Mary Kelsey was born on December 30, 1749 in Wethersfield, CT. She died on October 22, 1836 in Berlin, CT. According to her death notice she died as a result of a fall, but we aren't sure if that fall was at home or not. Her notice, while not as long as her husbands, was also considerably longer than the other notices listed.

DEATHS.

  At Berlin, Oct. 22d, Mary, the wife of Mr. Stephen Wilcox, aged 87 years. His age is 90. This venerable pair have lived together almost 66 years, and have been exemplary members of the Church of Christ, nearly 65 years. Her death was occasioned by a fall.