Paranormal Investigation 101: The Historical Research
No matter how you slice it, having historical research can not only help you with your line of questioning on investigations, but it can also help to validate your data post-investigation. Additionally, like I mentioned above, having documentation of the historical facts can debunk the client or others preconceived ideas of what is occurring in their location. While I personally haven't always been the individual responsible for historical research, I have been the lead researcher for quite a few years now. I personally dive right into historic documents and don't come up for air. Through the years other lead researchers for our team have created a basic outline that is used universally for every location's historic research. I will be including some general information for anyone in the United States that wishes to historic research, however most of my details will be for the state of Maryland.
DEED TRACING
One of the first parts of our research outline is a table for our deed tracing. We begin with going to the Real Property Search for the State of Maryland to look up the address and find the current owner. (Note: We currently will not do rental properties without the permission of the owner. If we determine that the "client" is not the owner, we will put the case on hold until the owner gives written permission.) On the document that shows the information for the current owner it includes deed liber and folio information. Moving over into the State of Maryland's Land Records you are able to search for the deed using the liber/ folio numbers, you will need to read all of the deeds to continue tracing the deeds. I personally can't give a detailed teaching session on this, it's all a learning curve. Some people can do it, some people can't. When I note the deeds I include the date it was purchased, the individual(s) that purchased the property, the sellers, the liber/ folio, and any notes that are important regarding the property. Once you read over the deeds you may find some details that you wouldn't expect in an official document but you will also be able to determine when a building was built or "improved". Sometimes you will find that the deed is missing, don't fret sometimes these individuals received the property through a Will which will be in a different location altogether and you may have to purchase this information if you plan to do it online. If you choose to do this in person, you can go down to your local court house to obtain this information. By having the deed information for each individual that owned or leased the property, you have a jumping off point for Genealogy. (Note: Be careful about tax documents when attempting to ascertain the date of when a building was erected. These may only document when the building began to be taxed or came on the radar. Read the deeds.)
GENEALOGY
I do not profess to be good at Genealogy or researching people, honestly I am horrible at it. Genealogy is the the process of researching ancestors, which in turn can also be you researching the individuals that are involved with the location. You are easily able to sign up for an ancestry.com profile and do really in depth genealogy, however there are sites that are free on the internet that families have compiled that are extremely helpful. A lot of this information includes the resources from which they compiled the information. You can utilize FindAGrave.com as well to learn where individuals are buried, their birth, their death, their parents/ siblings/ significant others/ children, and even their obituary. (Note: FindAGrave.com will also help if you are looking for a cemetery that was located on the location site at one time. Yes it happens.) You would be amazed at how much information has been compiled on that site! Additional ways to research individuals is at your local courthouse, in newspaper archives, local library, and even local historical societies. There may be costs incurred to make copies of documents, but it is a small price to pay to have factual information. I usually create a family tree as I do the research, in a lot of cases this is NEVER complete, it never ends really. (Note: Local libraries sometimes make a lot of these documents and services free as long as you have a valid library card.)
NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES
I know I mentioned this in the Genealogy section but newspaper archives online are a fountain of information. Most of these require a subscription so be mindful of that when you decide to use them. You can also visit your local library to view newspaper archives. You are able to research deaths, accidents, people, births, weddings, foreclosures, estate/ will disbursement, ceremonies, and more. When you are attempting to find documentation of information a client may give you of a death or accident in the location, you most likely will find it there. I clip off any newspaper articles to put into the outline that give documentation on things or people associated with the property. (Note: Not all newspaper archive websites have every newspaper. Check each website to see which is most cost effective while covering the area you are searching for, some smaller newspapers are harder to find.)
JUDICIARY RECORDS
This works in many ways! You can check on the client to make sure they are who they say they are, you can check on historic records on the individuals that are involved with the property, and more. In most cases you will find the information about arrests and such in newspaper archives, but having the formal government information may be more factual. I rarely have to include judiciary records in our historical outline but if you need to verify information this is where you need to go.
WILLS, BIRTHS, WEDDINGS, DEATHS
There are many ways to access these different items but the best way is to begin with newspaper archives or even FindAGrave.com. This will give you names and dates to build on. Wills however are different for each state. You can access them through the Register of Wills. Local court houses would be the best choice to access documents which would be located where the death/ birth /estate/ will was registered.
SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL FACTS
One of the best ways to get historical facts about an area or even a building, is to go to the local historical society. When I say historical facts I mean are there any battles associated with the area? Did soldiers camp on the property? Was there a field or a cemetery? These locations are fountains of information with pictures, stories, and more. Go visit with them, they are usually the best people that love history. They may not be as keen on the paranormal aspect as we are but they are always helpful with historic research. You can also use the newspaper archives or the local library, to ferret out historical details of an area.
GEOLOGY AND LIMNOLOGY
This information is not necessarily considered "historical" however it can be found to be so in certain cases. Have you ever looked at a topographical map? Have you ever looked at a current map and a historical map that shows the lay of the land? Did it change? You would be amazed at how often cities divert waterways or the lay of the land changes over time. Having information on underground rivers or caves, rock formations, proximal waterways, and more can actually a) debunk activity by scientific means or b) potentially give a hypothesis or theory for why a certain area or location has paranormal activity.
These are the most important parts of our historical research outline, however we do not always limit to just these categories. Historical Research is always ongoing, especially if we have new information to research from the investigation. It can be more difficult to find when properties were renovated or had additions, but you should be able to get an idea of when a property was built and what other structures were on the land. You should be able to find some information on the owners and associates to verify or debunk claims. Historical research is an important way to make an intangible thing like spirits become tangible.
Rebecca Boyer
Co-Founder/ Case Manager
Antietam Paranormal Society
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