About a month before the wedding of my parents, Bill and Lea
Hork, they stood on the piece of land where their first house was built.[1]
The housing development was called Shore Acres in what used to be called West Pittsburg,
but is now known as Bay Point. They look so happy.
The story, as I remember it, was Lea’s parents, Pansy and
Tom Johnston, put up the down payment for the property as a wedding present.
The deed mentions only Bill, a single man, as the grantee. He purchased “lot
no. 606, as designated on the map entitled ‘Shore Acres, Unit No. 5, Contra
Costa County, California’.”[2]
The grant deed was signed 4 Jun 1953, two months after their
wedding and recorded six days later. The deed of trust gives the address of the
property: 35 Wharf Drive, Pittsburg, California. The holder of the load was
Bank of America. The loan was for $6,350.[3]
What was the occasion of the photo? Was this the day Bill agreed to purchase the house from the developer? Was the down payment put down at this time? Were my grandparents there, too? Who took the photo?
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They didn’t live in the house long. There are photos of me before I am one years old, so they were there at least through 1954. By 1955, they are living at 467 East 9th Street in downtown Pittsburg.[4] No deed was found where they sold the house on Wharf Drive. So, what happened? Were my parents unable to pay the loan and the bank took it back? Had my father lost his job, which made paying the mortgage difficult? Perhaps they couldn’t pay the property tax?
There is no one to ask. I wished I had thought to ask about
this house when my parents and my grandmother were still alive. I will attempt
to see if there are any deeds or deeds of trust with the name Bank of America,
but since it is a large bank here in California, there will likely be many
entries to search through to figure out what happened.
P.S., my parents did purchase another house in 1963 and I
have that deed, too, but that can be another story.
#52Ancestors-Week 7: Landed
This is my fifth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.
[1]
The photo, probably taken by my grandparents, was dated 15 March 1953.
[2]
Contra Costa County, California, grant deed, v. 2138, p. 593, Earl W. Smith,
Inc to William J. Hork, recorded 10 June 1953.
[3]
Contra Costa County, California, deed of trust, v. 2138, pp 594-596, William J.
Hork to Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association, 4 Jun 1953.
[4] Polk’s
Pittsburg-Antioch City Directory 1955, p. 221, Wm J Hork, (Seattle,
Washington: R.L. Polk & Co, 1956).
The photo of your parents at top of this post is such a treasure. Do you think a local newspaper might have carried any public notice of a foreclosure or auction of the property in the event your family wasn't able to pay the mortgage?
ReplyDeleteOh, that is a great idea. I just discovered that some of the newspapers of our county are now on Newspapers.com. I'll try searching under the address.
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