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115 Redbird Lane

PhotosLegacy Version

General Information

No:   115  
Street:   Red Bird  
House Name:   Solomon Moore House  
Historic Plaque:     
Owner Info:   Y  
Built:     
Sec:   29  
Subdivision:   Baysore Meadows  
Lot:   18, 19  
Architect:     
Cont/build:     

Description:    2 story brick & siding American Farmhouse, gable roof.   
Original Use:   Residential  
Current Use:   Residential  

CHANGES:
As Built:   N  
Added To:   Y  
Subtracted From:   N  
Replaced:   N  

Description Of Changes:   1956 - the west wing was added during the original remodeling. 1969/70 - north wing added: 2 story addition for a family room and bedroom (Frank D. Watkins, Jr.). 2005 permit for England to add & remodel - number of bedrooms not increased. Arcanum, architect. Fletcher Home, contractor.  
Deeds
Shows earliest property ownership records

Stories:

Story 1: Samuel Moore and his wife journeyed from West Virginia and built the 2 story brick house at the lower end of Given Road, opposite the Fresh Air Farm. There they lived with their 6 children. After the death of Mrs. Moore (Rebecca), Samuel married Mary Ferris Bickley, a widow with 6 children. They had 3 children which made a total of 15 children. (From Hither and Yon on Indian Hill - but some things in here appear to be wrong: It's Solomon rather than Samuel and Ann rather than Mary, 2nd wife.)



Further research by descendant, Jean Morrison:  Ann Ferris was born December 1799 in Columbia Township, at what is now Mariemont, to Eliphalet and Catherine Ferris, who built the now almost 220 year old Georgian Colonial farmhouse on Plainville Road.  They migrated here from Connecticut that same year.  At barely 16 years old, Ann ran away with her father's farmhand Henry Beekley, to Brookville, Indiana where some of her father's cousins already had settled.  They married there and had seven childten.  The last named child was named Henry after his father, who sadly disappeared while working on the river carrying grain and goods south.  Ann, though disowned by her father for leaving his home with Henry, returned to Hamilton County a few years later.  Though her father vowed never to see her again after her marriage, he gave her a piece of property and provided a home for her young family, numbering six children.  Ann married a second time to Solomon Moore, a widower also with six children.  With a household now numbering 12 children, Ann and Solomon Moore added three more children.  In the 1870 federal census Ann was recorded as having $30,000 worth of real estate, quite an acreage for a female at that time. ... Solomon Moore died ca 1857 in Columbia Towhnship (buried in the Old Indian Hill Baptist Cemetery, on Old Indian Hill Road, near where it splits with Indian Hill Road).  During the remainder of her widowhood Ann raised a total of 15 children of hers, his, and theirs, some of whom are buried with her in Greenlawn Cemetery in Milford.  Ann Ferris Beekley Moore (1799-1878) is Jean Morrison's third Great Grandmother.  



Story 2: The original front of the house was on the east, now a window. This entrance was across the creek from Given Road. One can still see the remnants of the old gravel driveway. Jan Watkins in 2002 tells us, The fireplace, mantle and side cabinets in the living room are original as is the smaller fireplace and mantle in the bedroom above.
Story 3: John Garber, realtor, bought the original farm house and surrounding acreage from the Baysores. He remodeled the farm house which had no plumbing or modern heating system. The remodeling plans were drawn by G. E. Porter, architect. In the mid 1950s he put it on the market at a fairly high price so it didn't sell. It was rented until the Watkins bought it in 1969. The surrounding acreage was used to develop Red Bird Lane. The street was named Baysore Lane but realtor Max Palm who lived at #109 didn't like the name and was instrumental in getting it changed to Red Bird Lane. 115 Red Bird was originally part of Indian Hill so the mail carrier was from Indian Hill.
Story 4: Baysore Meadows Subdivision was owned by Jack Fuller (or perhaps it's more accurate to say Montauk Builders. According to information in the Deeds Index, Montauk builders was a partnership between Jack H. Fuller, George E. Porter, Jr. and G. F. Strathman). He put in the street: Baysore Lane. It was dedicated in 1956 (source unknown but in Esther Power's handwriting).
Story 5: Jan Watkins writes, I worked with Pat [Henley], and others, in the early 70s to 'preserve' the land that became known as the Wilderness Preserve [later Miami Grove Nature Preserve], and later on as a volunteer at Cincinnati Nature Center where I was a staff member.
Story 6: This house is on the 17 October 2010 TP Historical Society House Tour, The White House Tour. Barbara Jane and John England - 115 Red Bird Lane. This American Farm House, circa 1830, was originally part of a 425-acre parcel in Indian Hill. Early entrance to the homestead was gained from Given Road by crossing a creek. Access was simplified in the 1950s when Red Bird Lane was constructed. Over the centuries, the modest home that is said to have once housed 15 children has been transformed into an elegant dwelling.
Story 7: Frank Daniel Watkins was born January 23, 1928 and died September 26, 2010 Craver Riggs Funeral Home.

Look at the Old Version (Legacy Version) to find more information especially about family burials and more!