What are you doing today?
Today he is going to Raleigh, two hours away, to the State Archives in the capital city. He will be looking up deed transfers on 206 East Queen Street in Edenton from 1894 back to 1790. We were able to get 1894 to 2018 in our own Chowan County Courthouse.
The very fact that our house is so old, has set in motion the desire to know all about the history of the house. We’ve met and talked to five different families who once lived in this house. They all loved this house, as we do, and told us wonderful stories and remembrances of their time here. They told us how the furniture was placed, how the space was used, what color the walls were, what it looked like, and what the neighborhood was like from the 30s and the 70s. Knowing them has made this house breathe, expand, come alive, and fill with the joy of living here.
I’m putting together a “book” of the house history, with all the information we’ve gathered. Maps, pictures some residents gave us and their stories, including the changes they made to the house and garden, will all be included. This isn’t a book to be published, just a book for us and them, the Historical Commission, anyone who might be interested.
Their names are also being painted on the backside of my “Museum Garden.” Since the fence was moved back 17 feet, there is now a garden space behind the little cottage in the back yard. It’s in total shade, so it was a natural for my love of moss gardening. It’s also the new home of my old water pump and other beloved things, including my daughter-in-law’s stained-glass window. The hardest jobs were clearing the space and breaking up donated clumps of hosta bigger than pillows. Ouch! We purchased a vintage lawn glider that faces the wall where names are recorded along with quirky artifacts we’ve found in the house and gardens, owned, loved, used, and left by residents of the house when they moved on.
Researching the title search is a fairly simple, though time-consuming work for Dave, who spent his last 20 years as a real estate broker following retirement from IBM. He understands the cataloging and what to look for in title transfers. An unusual way for him to spend the day, but interesting.
When Dave returns with the rest of the story, those names will be added on the wall, and our Museum Garden will be complete. There is a beautiful spider web bejeweled with dew hanging from the roof overhang of the cottage this morning. It’s a living part of the wall, too.