About History through Homes
This History through Homes project seeks to survey and compile historic named homes in Middle Tennessee (and soon West & East TN as well as multiple regions of Mississippi) built from the 1780s until 1939. Many have descriptive names and a lot are just known by the families that owned the property.
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This work is different in several areas:
First, the focus is on home ownership and family stories- not on the architectural style.
Second, I have made as many connections as possible between relatives owning homes and with families owning multiple homes over time. See the separate family lists.
Third, there is a deliberate emphasis to highlight diversity with as many female and African-American stories as possible.
And fourth, I generally include both husband and wife with shared joint ownership of the property.
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On main site here, I have list of the historic homes by county and by construction date. Please see Blog for full narrative and any pictures/ images for the homes.
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It is my fervent hope to help with the recognition of these existing properties and the possible preservation of them after thoughtful debate.
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I extend my gratitude to these people who have helped me in this project: Ridley Wills II, Dr. Carol Bucy-Davidson County Historian, Rick Warwick-Williamson County Historian, Patrick McIntyre - Tennessee Historic Commission, Kenneth Thomson-Sumner Co. Historian, Yolanda Reid-Robertson Co. Historian, Gregory Tucker-Rutherford Co. Historian, Eleanor Williams-Montgomery Co. Historian, and Jim Hoobler, retired, Tennessee State Museum curator.
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See Homes by County for a listing by build date and see Blogs for the story of the home, its history and owners.
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For sourcing, I have heavily relied on Find-A-Grave, Ancestry.com, and Wikipedia for general information and do not include them every time. National Register of Historic Places properties and sourcing are marked with NR near the end of the blog.
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Enjoy your exploration of this material.
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Jay Brothers, Researcher, Author, Publisher historythroughhomes@gmail.com
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For HistorythroughHomes merchandise, please go to Zazzle and search for
HTHCollection - tote bags, kitchen towels, etc. with home images on them.