Ye Olde Ancestral Home

If ye socks read my book Like the Cats of Kilkenny, you've seen a picture of the Morgan family's ancestral home in Virginia. It's an historically significant structure, which is probably why it is still standing.

Unfortunately, so many of the places our ancestors have called home do not survive the tests of time or the wrecking ball.

I'll never forget how disappointed I was back in 2004 when I visited Sandusky, Ohio, with address in hand only to find an urban wasteland where a thriving working class neighborhood once stood.

Nowadays, though, it is no longer necessary to go on such wild goose chases, as almost every local taxing authority has gone digital. My little corner of heaven has been searchable online for quite some time (at http://www.ocpafl.org/ ).

More recently, I discovered Monmouth County, New Jersey, is online ( http://oprs.co.monmouth.nj.us/ ). And, imagine my surprise to discover the home of my great-grandmother Ann Jackson Gleeson in Long Branch is not only still standing, the local officials had even posted a recent photograph!

This is 132 Rockwell Avenue as it appears today. It was built back in 1903, and appears to be holding up pretty well, don't ya think?!