ny early registrations and chaffeur info

[mikesbrunn]

I purchased a 1914 Locomobile and I am trying to find the original purchaser of the car. I have got back to 1920.  it was purchased by a wealth family in NYC , in 1920 it was given to the chauffeur as a wedding present. I have found the chauffeurs name , but I am figuring that if you needed a license it may have an owner on the info. I have tried the ny city dmv ,  and they don't seem to have any info pre 1980

thanks- Mike

[mercer09]

very tough to do, unless the paperwork came with the car when you bought it.

 

A needle in a haystack.

 

I tried to do the same with 2 Duesenberg titles. The addresses they gave were of a rich family from 5th Ave NYC.

 

The Colgate Polmolive Building now resides there...........

[1950panhead]

If you know who owned the car in 1920 this is an incredible achievement.

The only way history can be determined is documents that came with the car or knowledge of prior owners.

Many governments only keep titles, registrations, license info for seven years, they are useless in searches.

[PFitz]

A number of years ago, I got in touch with NYS DMV in Albany when it was thought one of my customer's cars might have belonged to Amelia Earhart. She lived in NY State at the time and had the exact same make/year/model car that came off the assembly line very close to the same time of year. I wanted to track down the registration info and see if the numbers matched.   I was told that all the early records were not on computer, but were stored in the basement of the DMV in Albany, and that I would have to make an appointment to see them. 

 

To finish the tale, I never followed up on it because further research turned up a factory advertisement that showed that Emilia's 31 Convertible Coupe was all one color similar to my customer's car, but the customer's car still had the factory two-tone paint.  However, it might still be doable for you if you call Albany DMV.

 

Paul

[8E45E]

A buyer of that caliber of an automobile was usually a prominent citizen.  I would not be surprised if a write-up and a photo of his car appeared in the local newspaper in 1914.  It might be a trip to the main library and go through the newspaper microfilm and see if this is the case.

 

Craig

[8E45E]

25 minutes ago, PFitz said:

I was told that all the early records were not on computer, but were stored in the basement of the DMV in Albany, and that I would have to make an appointment to see them. 

However, it might still be doable for you if you call Albany DMV.

I would just be thankful that they still are available.

 

That also the same in Alberta, where the old paper copies are all stored in a provincial building in Edmonton, where an appointment has to be made to access them.  

 

Craig

[jeff_a]

Mike,

 

It's possible the owner was a member of the prestigious Automobile Club of America. They started about 1899, had a lavish clubhouse in NYC and catered to the financial elite of New York. I know they were still around in 1914 because I was reading the A.C.A.s publication, The Club Journal, just last week. I can go to Google Books and read entire issues, like Vol. 5, No 25, March, 1914.

 

Another avenue to take would be newspapers and social registers. Redbook Interstate Automobile Guide, New England (Car Owners) might be helpful.