The group of title searchers and examiners that eventually became the ATE began meeting informally in Philadelphia in 1939. The group's primary purpose was to educate itself about the rules and regulations affecting real estate as they related to the government records they were required to search and report on as part of their jobs. The early members, as well as the companies they worked for, wer
e based primarily in Philadelphia although many searchers frequently traveled outside of the city to conduct research on properties located in the surrounding suburban counties. In 1942, the sustained interest in the regular meetings prompted several members to form the group as the Association of Title Examiners. This effort was accomplished primarily by Charles Zarrigan, an attorney with Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, who was also primarily responsible for the drafting of his company's underwriting manual. Charles also wrote the first set of ATE by-laws and held the presidency for most of the organization's early existence until his death in 1963. From the time of the death of Charles Zarrigan until the 1990s, the ATE went through various periods of fluctuation in membership due to the fluctuating real estate market and changing business dynamics in the title insurance industry. During at least one point in the 60s and one in the 70s, the group almost disappeared entirely due to a lack of participation. Many similar organizations in other states actually did dissolve around this time for the same reasons. However, by the 1990s, the ATE was firmly established and now works is conjunction with its one-time rival and now sister organization the PLTA [www.plta,org].
