How To: Research the History of Your Home
One appeal of owning one of Lancaster’s older houses is knowing that there’s a rich history stored in the walls of your home. You are but one person in a long line of owners who lived in your property, one of many residents who perhaps raised a family, entertained friends, celebrated life, and came together through pain and sorrows.
If you enjoy detective work and have an interest in uncovering the history of your home, a subscription to LNP will make your work a little easier. In their archives, you can find content from all of Lancaster’s newspapers, dating back to the 1700s. It’s as simple as typing in a name or an address, and the history will present itself. You might expect to find the news of the day—similar to our own, modern newspapers—and you will; but you will often also find small details that truly bring the lives of the people that lived in your home to life. In these newspaper archives, you can read notices of people visiting from out of town, or of parties held, along with what happened at said parties and guest lists. Even something like an advertisement for help in the home tells a great deal about the economic status of the family living in a particular home. Using this newspaper archive resource, here are the five of the most interesting facts I learned about the property at 239 E. Orange Street in downtown Lancaster. Step back in time with me to learn about the rich history of this home.
On November 15, 1881, the homes at 237, 239, and 241 E. Orange Street were all sold in a public auction at the Leopard Hotel (located at 105-107 E. King Street). The value of the homes was high, due to their locations close to the many amenities the city had to offer and the many modern amenities inside. (These modern homes included 13” walls, marble bases and steps, indoor bathrooms, gas lighting and heat, and hot and cold running water throughout.)
John F. Steinman was a philanthropist, businessman, and co-owner of Lancaster Newspapers and WGAL (with his brother James Hale Steinman). Both brothers lived in the home with their families. It made news when James Hale’s car was stolen from outside of the property on January 18, 1921.
On numerous occasions, Antonio Lazo-Ariago—a lawyer and minister to the United States from Guatemala between the years of 1893 and 1903—visited his daughter, who lived in the home: Mrs. John F. Steinman.
It appears that from the beginning, the sheer size of the home demanded extra domestic help. Thus, throughout the archives, you will find advertisements seeking girls with references to do “downstairs” work, washing, or even to be a child’s nurse.
For those with a love of unsolved mysteries: on November 14, 1894, it was reported that Nelson B. Reynolds (who was listed in Franklin and Marshall College’s yearbook as having lived at the 239 E. Orange property during his college years) died by suicide from morphine overdose, in his boarding house in New York City. Reynolds was the son of a prosperous Lancaster businessman George N. Reynolds. Before heading to NYC, Nelson graduated from the Lancaster Boys’ school; the school’s principal, J. P. McCaskey, wrote of the deceased, “The death of Nelson Reynolds is unspeakably sad. He is/was a fine fellow.” His death was ruled a suicide due to a note his mother received from him, stating that he had just returned from the opera, enjoyed the show, and apologized for the trouble he was going to cause them from his death. Two neighbor girls—Kate and Mary White—were interviewed. One said she had been dating Nelson for two years and enjoyed his singing and mandolin playing. She said that he had sent them a note saying “Next time you see me I’ll be dead,” but she thought it was a joke. The Uncle of the deceased believed that there was a woman involved in his death. His friends said that he had been doing a lot of “dreaming and reading of French literature.” The true mystery? No morphine was found in Nelson’s room—but his diary and letters were torn to pieces, with pages ripped out.
By: Marian Pontz
