Ancestral Homes Series: JR Gram - Springfield, OH

I have decided to look up all of the addresses I find on censuses, directories, and other records and use Google Street View to see what the homes look like today. I normally plug the address in to White Pages reverse address search and Zillow, a real estate website, to see if there is still a home at the given address, and then use Google Maps to see if I can find a modern day street view picture of the home. Sometimes Google Maps is a little off, but Zillow always pinpoints the correct home, so I use that for reference before attempting to find the home on Google.

Not every city has street view, and many of the homes listed are long gone. Here are some of the homes my Randall, Gram, and Gross ancestors occupied in Springfield, Ohio, a town I am becoming quite familiar with and hope to visit someday.

JOHN R GRAM

In 1880, when he was 9 years old, John lived with his parents Joseph and Laura at 113 Grant Ave (now Grant St). The addresses have been changed, so I don't know the exact site of the home. It appears most homes on this street have long been abandoned.



From 1890-1896, John's "bachelor pad" was located at 209 E Clifton Ave. This home is no longer standing and the addresses have again been changed, so I am unsure of the site. After marrying Della in 1896, John moved in with her parents at 83 1/2 Main St (funeral home) and remained there until at least 1902. This place is also long gone, consumed by an industrial area.


In both the 1910 and 1920 censuses, John and his family were living here at 735 W High Street. The home no longer remains, but the one next door is still there.



Here is John in front of this house - you can see where it used to fit next to the neighboring home, which now appears to be a childcare facility. You can also see that the home in the background of the photo is still there today as well. It saddens me to think that the home of my great grandmother's childhood either fell into disrepair or burned and is gone. It looks so nice and well-taken care of in the photo.



In 1930, John and his family were living at 330 1/2 W North St. This entire block of homes seems to have been demolished and there is currently a large, fenced-off construction site over the former site of the home.


On his wife's death certificate from 1933, John's address is listed as 221 E Northern Ave. Sadly this seems to be the only home he lived in that still stands. How ironic that it is the home his wife died in.



Shortly after his wife's death, John moved in with his daughter and son in law (my great grandparents) Loren and Betty Randall, until his death in 1954 in Piqua.

It seems sad to me that this is probably one of the ancestors I have the most information on, only to find that almost all of his former homes have been demolished.
Springfield seems to be a town that has changed much since Victorian times.