I was skeptical at first as to how all of our records could be so far off, but it makes sense as to why the doors and windows are all custom sizes and how none of the trim work matches. I started to dig for more. I searched the internet for his name and our street, but I couldn't find anything on Marlar or our house. Before I lost hope I had my husband show me how to use Greenville County GIS maps and located our house. Under the "property card" tab I found out realtor J.O. Shaver bought the house in March 1964 and sold it to James Mattison in April 1964 whose daughter sold the house to us in August of 2015. I was a little discouraged that the original deed date was not listed, but remembered that our lot had been split to build our neighbors house (a fact we learned when we had our sewage line replaced and saw that both houses tapped into the same main line). So I clicked over to our neighbors house and finally saw the name John Willis Marlar 1-26-1926. As best I can tell Mr. Marlar sold his house in 1963 and the lot was split, leading to our neighbors house being built in 1968. So, our house really is a lot older than we thought, and the property cards must have been swapped at the county office. If you look at the two houses side by side it's easy to tell the wooden bungalow was there long before the brick ranch.
For some this revelation isn't that big of a deal, but to me it is so special. To know our bungalow is 90 years old just adds another layer of history and character to this home. I see the brick work and wood floors and can imagine the Marlars working tirelessly to finish this house. Every detail was made by hand and I wish he could know it doesn't go unnoticed.
Once I knew Mr. Marlar's full name I searched for him again and found his memorial on findagrave.com. John Willis was an automobile mechanic born in 1894 in Greenpond, SC just five minutes from our house. His parents are both buried at Beulah Baptist Church (Connor's family went to church here for many years and his maternal grandparents are still members), and when he died in 1967 he was buried at Cannon Memorial Park in Fountain Inn. His wife, Pauline Shaver Marlar, is buried next to him and I wonder if her maiden name is just coincidentally the same as the realtor who owned the house in 1964? Regardless, the history of this house continues to amaze me. I wonder if Mr. Marlar would approve of the changes we've made to the house over the years? Although the cosmetics have changed greatly, the bones have remained the same. Each family who has lived here has made it their own, and I hope the next family to move in will love it just as much as we do. |