Who Died in My Haunted House?

Who Died in My Haunted House?

Surprisingly, this is not an uncommon question asked in the genealogy section.

To determine who died in your house, first you would have to figure out who live there, then when and how they died.

1. Start with the year of your house’s construction, or take a guess if it is not known. It is possible there has been more than one house at that location, but for now assume that it is the current house. Of course, the Native Americans were here first and most of their names are lost to history. Resources to determine the year of house construction: a. City or suburban directories. b. http://www.mcrealestate.org/ shows information on current taxes and the year that homes were constructed

2. Figure out who lived in your house. a. City directories from 1914 forward can be checked by address to see who the head of the household and spouse were. Minor children are not listed. b. For 1930, 1920, 1910 and 1900 you can check Federal Census records seeing who the minor children where in a household once you have established the parents’ names. Starting in April 2012 the 1940 census also will be available.

3. Figure out which of these people are deceased. a. http://www.daytonmetrolibrary.org/research-a-databases/history-a-genealogy/resources/hobits

The Dayton Obituary Index lists many citations for obituaries in the greater Dayton area.  Once a name is found in the index you can get the obituary from the microfilm.  How much information is in the obituary will vary greatly from one to the next.

b. Ancestry Library Edition database – subscription at Dayton Metro Library. The Ohio Death Index covers 1908-1944 and 1958-2007. It lists the person’s age and death date. c. Montgomery County Vital Statistics. For a fee you can purchase 1908-present death certificates. They show cause of death. d. http://www.familysearch.org/ Ohio Death Certificates 1908-1953. e. http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ Free Social Security Death Index from about 1962 to about 3 months before the current date.

4. Figure out the cause of death of the deceased. If an elderly person dies a peaceful death after a long productive live, this may not be the person haunting your house. If there is a tragic story behind the death, it may have been reported in the newspaper. The death certificate would state the cause of death. An obituary may or may not state this information. a. Full text of Dayton Daily News articles 1990-present are available at www.daytondailynews.com. More sophisticated searching capabilities are available through the subscription version link off the Dayton Metro Library website. Go to www.daytonmetrolibrary.org Click on Research Databases Choose Dayton Daily News Archive If you are in the library, you can search articles now. If you are at home, then you will have to enter a library card number to search. You can search by the name of the deceased. An address is not often reported in articles, but you may get lucky. b. An index to 1985-1989 Dayton newspaper articles is also on the library’s web page. For these articles, the text can be found on microfilm at the main library. Go to www.daytonmetrolibrary.org Click on Research Databases Choose Dayton Newspaper Index c. Other articles may have been clipped and may be part of our Local History Room’s Clippings File or Local History File. See a staff member in the Local History Room for the files. The Index’s call number is Local History 071.717 I38.

d. If the death was part of a spectacular crime, or if the ghost is widely known it may be described in one of these books or on this tour: 1. Spilt Blood : When Murder Walked the Streets of Dayton by Curt Dalton. Call number 364.1523 D152S 2004. 2. Haunted Ohio by Chris Woodyard. There are 5 volumes in this series so far. Call number 398.25 W912. These are very popular and may be checked out. 3. Dayton Ghosts by Karen Laven. Call number 133.109771 L399D 2009. 4. Ghosthunting Ohio by John Kachuba. Call number 133.1 K114G 2004. 5. Ghost Walk of Dayton by Gem City Circle Walking Tours. Given each Friday and Saturday evening in October. Other Dayton tours are available at other times of the year, including one on murders. Email grantsguru501c3@yahoo.com . http://gemcitycirclewalks.wetpaint.com/ e. The Great Dayton Flood took the lives of many residents. A number of resources are available on the flood. 1. http://www.daytonmetrolibrary.org/research-a-databases/history-a-genealogy/collections-a-exhibits/the-great-flood-of-1913

Highlights of the flood collection, flood postcards, flood images.

2. A number of books are available at the Dayton Metro Library on the flood. f. Cholera epidemics struck more than once in the area. A few names are recorded in this book. Cholera Deaths, 1849, Dayton, Ohio by Darlene Sizemore. Gen R 977.173 S6252C. g. The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 killed millions worldwide and hundreds of people in the Dayton area, including many on the Air Force Base in October 1918. We have scanned a sampling of these obituaries and they can be found under the heading “Early Obituaries” on our website http://content.daytonmetrolibrary.org/cdm/ . Also on this site are some obituaries and articles about deaths from the 1913 Flood.

Why they are haunting your house and how to stop it is another question. One of these groups may be able to assist you. Dayton Ohio Ghosthunters Society - http://www.daytonghs.org/. Dayton Ghost Hunters Society - http://www.daytonghosthunterssociety.com/ .

Dayton Metro Library 215 E Third St Dayton, OH 45402

  www.daytonmetrolibrary.org   history@daytonmetrolibrary.org

Oct 2011 slw