Paul... I am familiar with both and have been using the Mutual Assurance online for years. The Sanborn maps though are sketchy because the LVA does not carry all years nor all books covering all areas of Richmond. I believe the last 19th century maps were 1898 and then skips over to 1905. The librarian said that the Library of Congress may have all of them but not sure. I am looking for North 27th Street maps from the late 1800s on our house but they don't have them as they are in a book volume for those years that they don't posses. And they don't go any older than 1895? The area north of Broad and east of 25th Street is not well documented and wasn't even annexed as part of Richmond until 1865. It was considered the suburbs of Richmond in Shedtown though now squarely part of Church Hill. Eric Original Message: ----------------- From: Paul Drake [log in to unmask] Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:44:56 -0500 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Mutual Assurance Insurance policies qiestion Sorry; my URLS did not go with this note. Here again Sanborn Insurance Maps The Sanborn Map Company produced large-scale fire insurance maps showing detailed information about building use, and often providing precise features of large factories or commercial establishments. The Library of Virginia's collection covers Virginia cities and towns from the late 19th century to 1989. It is also offered on a digital database for the years 1867 to 1970. This database contains maps for the District of Columbia and selected cities and towns in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Mutual Assurance Society http://lvaimage.lib.va.us/collections/MU.html http://departments.mwc.edu/hipr/www/masfp3.htm The Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia, incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly in 1794, sold fire insurance policies for buildings in Virginia. The Library of Virginia maintains a finding aid to policies issued between 1796 and 1867 in Richmond and Henrico County, and the Center for Historic Preservation at Mary Washington College offers a computerized index to the entire collection. As a resource in gathering historical information about Virginia businesses, the Mutual Assurance Society policies cover many commercial enterprises, and name the insured and the occupant of the property, along with its location and value. -----Original Message----- From: Paul Drake [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Friday, July 25, 2008 10:43 AM To: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask] Subject: RE: [VA-ROOTS] Mutual Assurance Insurance policies qiestion See my notes following *** -----Original Message----- From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask] Sent: Friday, July 25, 2008 9:52 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [VA-ROOTS] Mutual Assurance Insurance policies qiestion While comparing early Mutual Assurance Society (MAS) insurance policies against those of Henrico Deed Books (HDB), I came across various date and owner discrepancies. I find title deeds to houses issued to an owner years before they have an insurance policy issued by MAS. ****It may be that the owner of record waited until the later years to buy insurance, as insurance on houses was yet something of a novelty. Then too, you may be seeing a policy that followed or preceded a policy of a different insurance company. There were but a few until late in 19th Century. Sometimes I find co-owners or owners on policies not seen on deeds! And you may well find the same today; upon the sale of, say, one half (or some other fraction) as an interest in any structure. Indeed, I have an insured business building belonging to my partner and me; that, though I am the sole owner of the real estate. Almost without exception we insure structures and not the land upon which those are located. Questions: 1) Was it normal in the early years (pre 1850) to have delayed policies issued and if so, why? *** As now, if an owner feels that the policy premiums exceed the replacement costs or probability of loss, the structure goes uninsured. 2) Were policies mandatory? **** Nope, however, again as now, a lessor may require some measure of insurance as a condition of the lease or rental contract. I say that because there is a house around the corner from me situated on E. Marshall Street (then ' I ' Street) built in 1814 that I have never seen a MAS policy on. *** Insurance is almost always at the election of an owner, lessor or mortgagor. 3) Was there other companies issuing policies in Richmond during this time frame and if so, who were they and are their records available to look at like MAS? **** Try these sites either as a browse subject or at VA Library Thanks for any info you can provide concerning these puzzles. Eric -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web.com - Enhanced email for the mobile individual based on MicrosoftR Exchange - http://link.mail2web.com/Personal/EnhancedEmail To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web.com – Enhanced email for the mobile individual based on Microsoft® Exchange - http://link.mail2web.com/Personal/EnhancedEmail To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html