Does anyone on the list have any idea why people in DC moved frequently in the 1800's? I have ancestors and their relations in Georgetown who appear to move almost every other year according to old DC Directories. Their occupations were laborers, carpenters, coopers, ice man, drivers, etc, and I can see where they would have to move near where their jobs might be, but some people just moved a few house numbers from where they were previously. How could they move their furnishings and wives and children so often? Maybe they were living in rooming houses? It still seems like it would be a major inconvenience to move so often. Perhaps as their family grew their had so seek larger quarters? Thanks. Carolyn ************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.

Do you think numbers were re-alloted. If you remember in the state of Virginia, for example they changed the boundaries and even tho a relative lived in the same house all his life the address and country changed several times. Making you think they moved till you noticed the county change.

My great grandmother moved frequently in the city of Washington from 1886 until her death in 1933. She was a seamstress, and she started out a brand new widow with 4 daughters all under the age of 12 The youngest was only 2. It may have been such things as rents were too high, or landlord decided he wanted to live in his own house. Her last place of residence was an apartment on Park Road just off 14th Street, by then she was living alone. My God provides my every need according to His riches in glory. Amen ____________________________________________________________________________________ Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html

When my mother was a little girl her family lived in SE DC. They moved every year or two because the landlords kept raising the rent and they couldn't afford the place anymore. I've heard that to be the case in other cities as well, especially if the tenant fixes up the place. The landlord then thinks it's worth more than it was when they moved in. On the other hand, my g-grandmother's brother, Jonathan Dennis Cathell, lived in the same house (through one change of address) from the time he bought it around 1842 until his death in 1913. It seems to make a difference whether the person rented or owned the property. Susan in Missouri -----Original Message----- From: washingtondc-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:washingtondc-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Traversclt@aol.com Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2007 4:56 PM To: washingtondc@rootsweb.com Subject: [WashDC] Frequent Changes of Address Does anyone on the list have any idea why people in DC moved frequently in the 1800's? I have ancestors and their relations in Georgetown who appear to move almost every other year according to old DC Directories. Their occupations were laborers, carpenters, coopers, ice man, drivers, etc, and I can see where they would have to move near where their jobs might be, but some people just moved a few house numbers from where they were previously. How could they move their furnishings and wives and children so often? Maybe they were living in rooming houses? It still seems like it would be a major inconvenience to move so often. Perhaps as their family grew their had so seek larger quarters? Thanks. Carolyn ************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WASHINGTONDC-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message