Do you own an old house in the City of Victoria and are curious about when it was built and/or the people who lived in it?
With a little investigation, I can answer these questions and present you with a potential wealth of information about your house filled with fascinating details about its inhabitants. I will also search for archival photographs of your house, and associated people. If they exist, I can obtain copies of them for you at your expense.
Tax Assessment and City Directory details will be transcribed into a chronological format, and applicable biographical information (found in vital event registrations, newspaper notices, and other sources) will be included in a bound format. Some of your house's owners and residents will have left the province, and although my research generally stays within the province, I will include as much information as possible to allow you to pursue research further outside of the province.
Optionally I can write a social history narrative to accompany the vital event details of your house's owners and residents.
Required information: Current address and old legal description of the property. This can be found on a copy of the plumbing plans of your house, which can be obtained from Victoria City Hall (you will need to provide proof of your address in order to access plumbing and building permits). If your house was built after 1907, building plans might exist as well, and I can consult a database for you. Any other information you have would be very helpful in narrowing in on correct information.
If no old legal description is provided, there will be an additional fee.
Tax assessment research is generally only available for Victoria, but certain parts of Saanich were originally part of the Victoria district, so I may be able to research these properties as well.
A Land Title search provides a potentially costly, though efficient way of determining property owners. Please be aware that I cannot help you with Land Title searches. If you wish to pursue this route, please go here.
Contact me for further information.