The land on which this home was built once belonged to a family named Wilson, whose three married daughters lived in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The daughters inherited this lot when their parents died and in 1863 they sold it to John Werner (1828-1912). It’s interesting to note that the size of the lot at that time was the same size as it is today with only a 25-foot frontage on North Adams Street; the double building directly north of this lot (522-524 North Adams Street) predates this house. In those days lots were generally larger then now and subdivided since then.

It is most likely that John Werner, whose wife was Regina Werner (1832-1919), built this house for his family in 1863. About five years later, John and Regina had a son, also named John Werner (1868-1961), and a daughter, Katherine F. Werner (1874-1959). John Werner was a brush manufacturer and lived out the remainder of his life in this home. When he died in 1912, he left a Last Will; however, the courts deemed the Will to have been defectively executed and not valid for real estate. His heirs-at-law therefore adhered to his wishes in the Will; they deeded the home to their mother, Regina, for her natural life, then to pass to Katherine F. Werner.

Just six years later, in 1918, the wife of the younger John Werner, Edith Mitchell Werner, died at only 48 years of age after having one daughter. In 1919, the widowed Regina died, and the home passed to Katherine Werner. It’s interesting to speculate that an older photo included here may show Regina and her daughter, Katherine, in long skirts on the front porch of this house. A former neighbor, William Schweers, supplied the early 1900s photo and said in 2019 that he thought their last name was Werner (which the deeds show is correct).

Katherine Werner continued to own this property until 1958, the year before she died. It is not known whether she lived here herself or used it for rental income. In August 1958 this property was bought by the Havre de Grace Realty Company, Inc. who immediately sold it to Henry O. Creswell (1890-1970) and his wife, Helen M. Creswell (1899-1966). Upon the death of his wife, Henry Creswell sold the home to Lambert H. and Doris L. Babec in 1966. The Babecs lived on Erie Street and Lambert Babec was one of the two partners of the Babcar Company, Inc. that bought and sold real estate (the other partner being Dr. John Carriere). From then until 1976, the property was owned by the Babecs and the Babcar Company.

In late 1976 Lambert and Doris Babec sold this home to Howard Osborn Sifford, Sr. (1920-2002) and his wife, Lovina Elizabeth “Betty” Sifford (1931-2018). Together, they had several children, and Lovina also had children with her first husband, Miles T. Murdorf, Sr.; between the two families Howard and Betty had 17 children. Betty loved taking care of children and at the time of her death she had 47 grandchildren, 65 great-grandchildren, and 6 great-great grandchildren. Betty’s granddaughter, Ashley Dickerson, when hearing of Betty’s 2018 death said, “A lot of you may know Howard & Betty Sifford, Let's not forget these two amazingly wonderful people! Lived on Ostego and North Adams for over 54 years!” And Hollee Sifford, married to Keith Sifford, says that "Nanny and Pop-Pop" put a roof over several children's heads. "They loved everyone and welcomed all." Rose Murdorf Dickerson (one of Betty’s daughters) says this is the house she grew up in. “I miss it so much—I still ride by and reminisce about it—we have a lot of history in that house.” And Robin Horsman says of Betty, “She had the biggest heart of anyone I know.”

Following Betty’s May 2018 death, this home was advertised for sale with the notations that it had been “rehabbed” with “modern kitchen, sun room, new carpet, freshly painted, new hot water tank and commodes, great claw-foot tub, and fenced back yard.” In January 2019 the Estate of Lovina E. Sifford sold this home to Elaine Scribner who moved to Havre de Grace from Michigan with her husband, Steve Scribner-Wagner.

Elaine is a weaver who makes towels, wraps, rugs and more. During the course of renovating the house to their needs, they have approximated when changes and additions were made. The original house was two central rooms, one on each floor with a crawl space; the kitchen was probably the next addition, with a room above it; then the three-story front facade around 1900; and the sunroom was probably added in the 1960s.

County Records
Built 1930. 1415 sq ft, 2 stories no basement, 2 baths, 2700 sq ft lot.