Your old house has a paper trail. We'll follow it.
A written, illustrated history of one house: who owned it, who lived in it, and how the block grew up around it. Researched from deeds, census records and historic maps, and delivered as a PDF you can print or give. For houses in Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania, built before 1940.
Four kinds of record, read against each other
No single archive tells a house's story. We put the sources side by side and write up what they agree on, with every claim tied to the record it came from.
Deeds
The chain of owners, deed by deed: who bought, who sold, on what date, and often for how much. The chain runs up to the sale to the present owner, and stops there.
Census records
Who lived at the address each decade: names, ages, occupations, birthplaces. Federal census records are public through 1950.
Historic maps
Property atlases and, where they exist, fire insurance maps show the footprint, the building material, the outbuildings, and how the block filled in.
Local records
Village directories, builders' notices and parcel records, where they survive online. These vary most from house to house.
Read a sample
A full report on a historic house whose story is already public. Open the sample report.
What we can't promise
- Two counties only, for now. We take orders for houses in Philadelphia and in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where we have tested the records. Anywhere else, you can join the waitlist below with no card.
- The house should have been built before 1940. The census is public only through 1950, and no public record lists who lived in a house after that, so a newer house leaves us owners but no households. A house built in the 1940s gets one census household at most. We don't take orders for houses built after 1950.
- A minimum, or no charge. If we can't trace the owners across at least 50 years and name at least two households who lived there, we cancel your order and your card is never charged.
- Some decades stay blank. Outside the city, the census often gives no house numbers, so we can't always say which family lived in which house. We say so where that happens and never guess.
- Nothing about the present owner or occupants. The owner chain names past owners from recorded deeds and leaves out whoever owns the house now. Households end at 1950. For owners after 1950 we give the deed facts only: no family or personal details.
- Reports are researched and drafted with AI tools from public records. Every claim cites its source so you can check it, and we mark what is an inference.
$149
- This is a pre-order. Reports are not yet being delivered.
- Your card is saved, not charged. We charge $149 only when your finished report is delivered.
- Delivery within 3 weeks of your order, as a PDF by email.
- Cancel any time before delivery and you pay nothing.
- A gift? Tick the box and you'll get a certificate to print as soon as you've ordered, to give while the report is being written.
The plain terms
- Who runs this?
- Commerce Infrastructure, a company with deep roots in Philadelphia.
- What do I get?
- A PDF report on one house: its owners deed by deed, the households the census shows living there, its place on historic maps, a drawn map of the lot, and a numbered list of sources. Length depends on what the records hold.
- Can I order for a house I don't own?
- Yes. Everything in the report comes from public historical records. Households end at 1950, and the owner chain leaves out the present owner.
- What if the report is thin?
- If it falls short of the minimum above (owners across 50 years and two named households), we tell you and cancel the order. You are not charged.
- Is this a title search or an appraisal?
- No. It is a history written for interest. Don't rely on it for legal, financial or property decisions.