These are really cool databases! A real time sink! Okay, when I searched for my own name I found my husband's name and his records from about 15 years ago plus. I had to search on my maiden name before I found myself and then it seemed like old census records, no birth records or anything. While messing around in this database though I did find a copy of my parent's marriage record - the original obviously typewritten with a carbon copy, nearly impossible to read, but there it was.
Next I searched on my grandmother and found that using her maiden name didn't work well. When I finally searched on her married name I found a death record and an obit notice. I also found a census record from the 80s. Kind of funny that we'd have opposite results, but I guess it makes sense since she was her married name for longer than her maiden name and I was my maiden name longer than my married name. I am wondering if there are incomplete records from the early 1900s (when she was born) and maybe that affected my search.
I looked and looked for the photos and maps tab in Ancestry and honestly couldn't find anything that even remotely resembled that. Am I looking in the wrong place? I do not know how to search for a place in Ancestry.
In Heritage Quest I searched books for Tucson, AZ and got 6 results. I clicked on the Arizona State Business Directory from 1930, Denver, CO Gazetteer Pub. It was really cool! It was a listing of all the businesses, banks, hotels, senators, universities, forests, dept of labor, etc from that time. I found a listing for the lumberyard that my grandfather managed during his working life. It was so interesting to see all the names of people who ended up having a huge impact on Tucson as it grew into a huge city. I grew up in Tucson and remember it being a small to mid-sized city but these records are of a Tucson that was a bustling town - pretty neat!
In Sanborn maps I wanted to look at Wall, but since that wasn't available I search Rapid City since that is really the only other town in South Dakota that I know anything about. In 1885 there wasn't much to Rapid City, lots of liveries. I couldn't find anything I recognized. In 1915 there was more to choose from, although not too much. I did find the courthouse. It seems like things really started happening in 1930 because the town really grew and there were alot more recognizable buildings such as the Masonic Temple and the Alex Johnson Hotel, that are still in use. I wonder what happened to cause the boom. This was a fun assignment because I just LOVE looking at maps. I could pore over old maps all day! What a great resource! Why aren't these available for smaller towns like Wall?
I'm really sorry, still learning. Our directions for finding photos & maps is outdated. If you'd like to try again, go into Ancestry, click "show advanced," and scroll down, you can check the box in front of "Photos & Maps." Re: Sanborn Maps: from their info: "The Sanborn Company created maps for all the cities listed by state in Digital Sanborn Maps. If a city is not listed, it is unlikely that the Sanborn Company created a map for that city." Sorry that your town is not included. You're right--these resources can be a huge time sink and a lot of fun! Thanks for your comments.
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