began like any other Tuesday in June in Sacramento.
On that day at 9:30 O'Clock AM the Pacific States Auxiliary Corporation held a public auction selling the North 7 acres (as measured to the centerlines of the adjoining roads) of Lot 38, Carmichael Colony No. 2, 15 Maps 3, Sacramento County.
The beneficiary under a 1927 Deed of Trust granted by Mabel Alice Gammon (a single woman) for $5,000 apparently was the high bidder because the Trustee's Deed was made out to the Pacific States Savings and Loan Company (consideration $3,000) and recorded on Friday, June 16, 1933 as Document No. 7046 in Volume 439 of Official Records at Page 145, Sacramento County Records.
I've been putting together a chain of title on our recently acquired property (Assessor lists the building's effective year as 1935).?ÿ The County Recorder has created a computerized index back to 1850 which is pretty good but there are misspellings, missing parties on documents, etc.?ÿ I have managed to find everything.?ÿ I followed it back to a 1936 Deed from Pacific States S&L to Griswold but had not found how the S&L took title until today.?ÿ A few weeks ago I played a hunch that one of the property owner's brother-in-law had an interest in the property at some point in the past.?ÿ That didn't turn out to be true but the 1925 Deed (found in the electronic index but had to pull the microfilm because the page was missing from the scans) I found into him on the South 3 acres referenced a 1921 Deed from Graves to Hosmer by book/page.?ÿ Using that I followed it forward to Gammon, found a Gift Deed from Gammon to her brother, Earle, which was of no effect then the December 1932 Notice of Breach recorded by Pacific States S&L Company, which does not transfer title, just notifies Gammon they are going to auction off the property in a foreclosure sale.
I was having no luck finding a document actually transferring the title to the bank.?ÿ Based on the boilerplate in other Trustee's Deeds I determined it would likely be in March or April 1933.?ÿ I pulled the microfilm with the General Grantor Index and looked for Gammon, found her.?ÿ This document is definitely not in the electronic index.?ÿ I got the document from the microfilm and voila there it is.
Next, did Pacific States Savings and Loan Company build the house or did someone do so under another arrangement??ÿ The house appears to be in the August 1937 aerial photo (high contrast, hard to see).?ÿ Lawrence M. Griswold was a local ad agency owner; it appears that he may have been doing real estate development as a side endeavor so he's my number one suspect as builder right now.?ÿ The Sacramento Public Library has the Sacramento Bee on-line back to 1940, 1920 to 1940 goes up in July.?ÿ That has been very helpful to learn about the various characters involved in the property.
Its research like this that makes the other "half" of surveying truly fascinating at times......?ÿ Thanks for sharing!
The problem I have with microfilm research is that it puts me to sleep.?ÿ After half an hour or so of slogging through deeds -- especially the hand-written variety -- I struggle to stay awake.
You're sounding bored- fire season will kick in soon and take all that spare time off your hands...
I've been processing point clouds for months, this is my mid-day break from it.
Here is the chain of title (owners) since the first Deed out of D.W. Carmichael in 1919:
First note the 1919 Deed restriction: "It is agreed that no open privys (sic) shall be built or maintained on said tract, and that no building shall be maintained for the purpose of selling spiritous malt or vinous liquors other than for the purpose of legitimate drug business."
DW & Myrtle Carmichael and Henry & Alice Florence Mitau (Carmichael & Mitau were apparently business partners in Carmichael Colony Unit No. 2)
to
B.E. Graves (1919 - Lot 38 of Carmichael Colony No. 2, 10 acres)
to
Thomas & Grace Hosmer (1921-7 acres)
to
Earl & Hermina Crawford (1925)
to
Mabel Alice Gammon (1926) (gift deed to brother Earle in 1931, no effect)
to
Pacific States Savings & Loan Company (via foreclosure sale in 1933 on a 1927 Deed of Trust for $5,000, stated consideration $3,000 for a $2,000 loss)
to
Lawrence M. & Gertrude Alma Griswold (1936)
to
A.G. & Josie Skidmore (1937, approximately 1 acre out of the 7 acres) first confirmed resident of the house
to
Bert E. & Joyce Fisher (1941)
to
Edward S. & Helen Spence (1943)
to
Henry F. & Patricia Zacharias (1945)
to
Harold E. & Margaret Gillogly (via Calvet 1958)
to
Charles & Daisy Zachman (1962)
to
Leroy & Virginia Zachman (1963)
to
Gary P. & Patricia Summerhays (1984, first Deed of our current 0.345 acre lot)
to
Pamela J. Maybury (1998)
to
David B. & Bonnie D. Karoly (2018)
The Sacramento Daily Recorder is a legal newspaper...
The California State Library has it on Microfilm back to 1911.?ÿ The computerized microfilm reader allows the user to scan and email images from the paper...
Be careful, Jim. You may be allergic to the smell of old microfilm!
