If Erie County is like a lot of other places in the USA, addresses were changed in the early 1900's. Some counties that I have worked in changed about 1915. So, "1644 street name" became "1678 street name", for example. You would have to know IF they changed, WHEN they changed and WHAT the new numbers were. Sanborn maps around the time of the change were known to record both the old number and the new number. Just some other little issue to have to deal with. ----- Original Message ---- From: D S <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2008 2:01:52 PM Subject: Re: [NYERIE] Help with street address Kate: > I found the following information at the Erie County Real Property Tax > Services website http://www.erie.gov/depts/finance/webprop/index.asp -->> Wow! Thanks for the link and the great idea in general, Kate. :) I just spent some time there - putting in street addresses I have from Buffalo City directories circa 19-teens and 1920s "just to see". The house where my gr-grandparents lived from 1900 or so forward at 191 Sherman Street (that I found on those Sanborn maps) didn't bring up anything. Since the history pages I found for other pages went back to the 1970s at the latest - perhaps that house/building is simply gone now? Went back and did same for next generation street addresses and for address where my gr-grandparents lived in the 1880s/1890s. In the latter case, the house at that address now was built in the 1920s. (So I know if I visit again - and went there to take a photo - it's not their house! lol) Have same question re: "before 1970s" in this database. Tried another way - and put in surnames only of those any of the females married from my main line. Found possiblities for current "cousins" and in one case, found one I know is related but have never met or contacted. Just know the name. So have an address to write now. No time at the moment, but can see I'll need to do some rummaging around at other county (or town) sites for property tax databases. Thanks for the heads up, Kate! :) Deb (in rainy and windy northern California) ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

Aaaahhh ... makes sense. If I'm used to town and county boundary changes, why not streets and house numbers. Once again, I say thank you. Deb On Sun, Feb 24, 2008 at 11:13 AM, Carol Stevens <[email protected]> wrote: > If Erie County is like a lot of other places in the USA, addresses were changed in the early 1900's. Some counties that I have worked in changed about 1915. So, "1644 street name" became "1678 street name", for example. > > You would have to know IF they changed, WHEN they changed and WHAT the new numbers were. > > Sanborn maps around the time of the change were known to record both the old number and the new number. > > Just some other little issue to have to deal with. >

>If Erie County is like a lot of other places in the USA, addresses >were changed in the early 1900's. Some counties that I have worked >in changed about 1915. So, "1644 street name" became "1678 street >name", for example. > >You would have to know IF they changed, WHEN they changed and WHAT >the new numbers were. House numbers in the City of Buffalo have been remarkably stable, with a few exceptions. Main St. was renumbered some time in the mid-19th century. Elmwood Ave. was renumbered when it was extended south from Ferry St. to Allen. There are certainly a few others. The numbering algorithm is "increase by one every ten feet, measured from the beginning of the street." Of course the rub is "where does the street begin?" On most east-west streets the numbers begin at Main St., and increase in both directions. The singular exception is West Ferry St, which is numbered from the Niagara river. This numbering plan is extended into the suburbs in some, but not all towns. Back about in the 1970s there was a movement started by public safety people to have a consistent county-wide numbering system, similar to those in younger cities in the mid- and far- west. The plan was adopted by a few towns, but the idea never caught on elsewhere. For example, Transit Road has numbers differing by thousands on the east and west sides where it is the boundary between the Towns of Amherst and Clarence. Clarence adopted the new system; Amherst did not. Local government can sometimes be quite obtuse! Another thing to watch out for is street name changes. There have been many in Buffalo. Usually the numbers did not change, just the name. The Monroe Title Company has prepared a list of changes which is available in the Grosvenor Room at the central Buffalo library. I assume it may be available on-line somewhere, since I have a copy of it in my computer. George