This I find to be a fascinating aspect in genealogy that brings in a totally new way to gain insight into our ancestors past. Have you ever stopped to think about where our ancestors lived? When traveling in a area where my family lived I always make a point of locating the houses that they lived in during their time. It has led to some very interesting surprises.
While traveling the back roads of Putnam county Ohio where my ancestors lived for over 100 years there are many physical landmarks that I have come across. One in particular is the Prowant farm that had been in the family for many years. My mother remembers traveling to this farm from Michigan as a child. When I was in my teens it was one of the first places that we traveled back to when we were in the area. My mother was talking to the current owner of the farm and they mentioned that they had a cemetery on the property. Yes, I have been interested in them for a long time. They proceeded to take my family out into a field that was being used by sheep. Fenced off in the middle of the field was a well kept cemetery located along the Blanchard river. Once I started looking at the cemetery stones I realized it was family. One of the persons happened to be one of my original ancestors to the area. This event would be followed up by me in later years doing a full history of the house and it's many owners. Great stuff.
Here is a link to how to go about doing your own house histories. http://www.imcpl.org/resources/guides/family/house-history-aid/ Don't leave any stone unturned.
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