Episode 137: The Walls Can Talk: Finding History in a Hidden Room with David Whitcomb

Attorney David Whitcomb purchased space for a new office and found forgotten picture history of the suffrage movement. These old photos revealed clues about local history and national politics.

In our last house, we found a note from the first owner hidden beneath the wallpaper. Nothing too amazing. His name and a date. In this house, there is a cobweb filled bin in the back of the basement filled with old doors that were once used. I’m actually afraid to dig around in it, but this podcast episode is inspiring me to do so.  

Perhaps you’ve discovered a forgotten bit of the past in a place you’ve lived or worked? I’ve received countless emails from people that have found photographs in the darndest places when they are renovating houses–in walls, behind fireplaces, and more.  Never has anyone ever said they found a whole room.  Well…that is until I spoke with attorney David Whitcomb and his amazing unexpected find.   

His tale will have you looking in closets, examining ceilings and hoping to rediscover lost history like he did.  

Bonus  Lost History Discovered (in the Recycling)

Episode 84 U.S. Naval Photo Collections: Online Resources You Can Use

About My Guest:

David J. Whitcomb is the founder/owner of Whitcomb Law Firm, P.C.  Mr. Whitcomb is a graduate of Canandaigua Academy (1995) and obtained his law degree from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law (2007).  Mr. Whitcomb focuses his practice on real estate (transactions, contracts, leases, and evictions), lending, estate planning and probate, business entity formation and representation as well as representation in matrimonial and criminal matters.

About Maureen Taylor:

Maureen is a frequent keynote speaker on photo identification, photograph preservation, and family history at historical and genealogical societies, museums, conferences, libraries, and other organizations across the U.S., London and Canada.  She’s the author of several books and hundreds of articles and her television appearances include The View and The Today Show (where she researched and presented a complete family tree for host Meredith Vieira).  She’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, The Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, Germany’s top newspaper Der Spiegel, American Spirit, and The New York Times. Maureen was recently a spokesperson and photograph expert for MyHeritage.com, an internationally known family history website and also writes guidebooks, scholarly articles and online columns for such media as Smithsonian.com. Learn more at Maureentaylor.com

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