Police of Truxton Circle- James S. Boswell

There were several cops in Truxton Circle. The two I can think of also died in Truxton Circle. Somewhere I had a list of men who listed themselves as policemen in the various census. Once things open back up I can go down the list and review their personnel files, as I have here for James Boswell.

You may remember James Boswell from the Black Homeowners of TC: The tragic story of Ofc James S. Boswell post. He, his wife and the odd family member lived at 219 Q St. NW. He had a very short retirement, less than a month. And then, he died. And not too long after that, his wife died.

As you can see from this short bio, a Carl E. Mueller complained about Ofc. Boswell. These complaints and the brouhaha all about it appears in the personnel file. Below is part of his personnel file. I don’t think it is his whole file. And in it are letters from the a bunch of the people involved, including a handwritten letter from Ofc. Boswell. There is a racial element and the N-word is mentioned. I vaguely think it was Boswell who throws the N-word in, as he recalled his version of the conflict.

James Boswell Policeman 1895 1912 by Mm Inshaw on Scribd

1957 Church Survey- Mt. Zion Pentecostal Church

It’s Pentecost. Wear red and write about a Pentecostal church.

photo of property

Mt. Zion Pentecostal Church was and still is at 1112 N St NW. It was a tiny church in 1957, with just 70 members. It was and still is an African American church.

They did not provide any information about the professional make up of the congregation. But they did say that most of the membership lived outside of the Northwest Urban Renewal Area in other parts of the District of Columbia.

CS 40 Mt Zion Pentecostal by Mm Inshaw

1957 Church Survey- Tried Stone Church of Christ

Well, this is another church that no longer exists.

The Tried Stone Church of Christ in 1957 when the survey was done, was at 1217 5th St NW. That address no longer exists. It was on Square 513 and lots 813-815. Those do not exist. When I threw the address into Google, I got a spot where the Metropolitan Community Church sits at 474 Ridge St NW.  it’s on a corner.

The survey sheet doesn’t reveal a lot of information about the church, except that it was a steeple church.

CS-41-Tried New Stone Churc… by Mm Inshaw

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Garland E. Carr pt.2

Sorry for the delay. Stuff happened.

So Garland E. Carr was a co-owner of 1520 1st St NW, with his mother and sister in 1922. The Carrs do not appear in the 1920 nor the 1930 census. They owned the property between 1922 and 1935.

In 1918 Garland was a farmer living in North Carolina when he was placed (not sure if drafted) in the military. In 1919 he returned from France and the answer to how do you keep them on the farm after they’ve seen gay Paris, is you don’t.

On June 11th 1922 Garland did something and was listed as living at 29 Massachusetts Ave NW. So what happened was, Garland Carr, being a vet tried to claim disability. His claim was denied and he was very displeased. So displeased that he returned to the Veterans Bureau office that denied him and (I’m going to quote the Evening Star) “had bored a hole through a window sash and thrust burning paper into the building  because, he said, his claim for disability was not allowed and he could not get no money from the bureau. The fire burned out when the paper was consumed.”

Garland Carr (center) arrested for trying to blow up Veterans Bureau, 6/21/22 SOURCE: Library of Congress. National Photo Company Collection.

I get why he did it. My mom was a vet and I remember her struggles with the VA. But it was still a crime. He may have spent a year in prison for it.

He may have spent a year in prison. He moved on with his life. During Word War II he was a self-employed contractor.