The East half of the lots belonged to William C Starkey, the first husband of Mary Ann Newsham Starkey Sennott. His estate sold the lots to William R. Morrison on October 27. 1860.
William R. Morrison sold the lots to James Sennott on September 21, 1861. When James died the lots passed to Mary Ann, his widow for the term of her life and then to their son, John. Mary Ann later purchased the West part of the lots on October 25, 1866 from William and Rosanna Sprigg. There is another deed for the West part of the same lots dated April 25, 1902 where the west end of the three lots having a frontage of 43 feet and 4 inches on Fourth Street passed from Gerhardt Voetman to John S. Sennott.
The deeds don't mention the house on the lots. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps show structures on lots in Waterloo. The two earliest maps from 1888 and 1894 don't include the area of town where the lots were. The 1899 map shows a structure but the lot is only partially shown on the copy on the St. Louis County Library website. Here is the lot from the 1906 map.
The street address changed over the years, it started as 838 Fourth Street, by 1928 the address is listed as 302 W Fourth Street and later it became 408 W Fourth Street. Library was known earlier as First West.
A memoir written by John S. Sennott to his son Harry in 1926 says that the family lived in Waterloo but doesn't say if it was this house. John was born January 23, 1861 and his father, James, died December 6, 1862.
This is a picture of Mary Ann Newsham Starkey Sennott sitting on the porch of the house. There is no date on the picture. She died July 24, 1907.
Harry wrote the story of his life in 1968. He says that his family moved into this house after Mary Ann died in 1907. Harry's two sisters, Ethel and Adele lived in the house until they moved into the Monroe County Nursing Home in 1975. I remember visiting them in the house when I was a little girl.
Sources
Monroe County Deeds copied from visits to the Courthouse in Waterloo, Illinois
Deed Book 2 Page 141, Deed Book 2 Page 575, Deed Book 8 Page 597, Deed Book 35 page 103, Deed 99989 Record 117
Probate Files copied from visits to the Courthouse in Waterloo, Illinois
James Sennott probate file
Mary A Sennott probate file
John S. Sennott probate file
Death Certificates/Registers from Monroe County Courthouse in Waterloo, Illinois
James Sennott
Mary A Sennott
John S Sennott
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Monroe County downloaded during visit to St. Louis County Library, 1888, 1894, 1899, 1906, 1913, 1928
The Life of Harry Brey Sennott -- His Ancestors, His Children and Grandchildren" prepared in the Spring of 1968. Original in possession of the author.
