Call Number:

2004.196

Repository:

Chestnut Hill Historical Society

Extent:

0.25 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

2004.196

Date:

1717-1881 (inclusive)

Creator:

Reis, James J.

Abstract:

James J. Reis, a commercial real estate broker in Ambler, Pennsylvania, began collecting old deeds around 1987. The James J. Reis Deed Collection, 1717-1881, consists of 125 deeds for properties in the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Roxborough, Germantown, Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy, as well as Whitemarsh and Springfield townships in Montgomery County.

James J. Reis, a commercial real estate broker in Ambler, Pennsylvania, began collecting old deeds around 1987. He turned the lobby of his business, James J. Reis Real Estate Inc. (located in the former Ambler borough building), into a museum space in 1993 to display the deeds. The Chestnut Hill Historical Society acquired a portion of his collection in 2004.

Bibliography:

Lim, Paul J. "Deeds Dating to Colonial Era Will Get a Showplace: Realtor James Reis Will House Historic Documents and his Firm in the Former Ambler Borough Hall." The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 7, 1993. Accessed December 30, 2011. http://articles.philly.com/1993-03-07/news/25950007_1_documents-deeds-james-reis

Yanofsky, Beth E. "Museum Entertains Firm's Waiting Clients: 'The Documents Were Taking Up Too Much Space In My Home,' The Broker Said." The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 25, 1993. Accessed December 30, 2011. http://articles.philly.com/1993-06-25/news/25973684_1_documents-real-estate-deeds

This collection consists of 125 deeds for properties in the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Roxborough, Germantown, Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy, as well as Whitemarsh and Springfield townships in Montgomery County. The deeds, which date from 1717-1881, are organized into folders by region.