Author: Mari

Looking at the 1920 census for another Black home owner, I came across Ernest Hawkins, who is listed as “Hawkens”. He lived at 38 N St NW in Washington, DC with his wife Sarah and daughter Ernestine.

When I do these histories I look at genealogical sites and of course the land records. The land records don’t show much activity, but do provide useful death dates in this case. One interesting thing I should mention is that this family appears twice in the 1910 census.

Ernest F. Hawkins was born in 1872 or thereabouts, in Washington, DC. He married Sarah Walker in March 1894 in Fredericksberg, VA. Their daughter Ernestine was born later that same year in December. In the 1900 census, Ernest is listed as working as a coachman for a livery. The family were renters in a 2 unit property at 1720 5th St NW.

I’m not sure what was going on in 1910. In one, 38 year old Ernest F. Hawkins, 37 year old Sarah W. Hawkins and their 15 year old daughter Ernestine are living in Keyport, NJ. They lived on 3rd St where Ernest was a laborer at a brickyard and they had been married 16 years. That enumeration took place April 27, 1910. The other appearance in the 1910 census was at 53 P St NW, where 36 year old Ernest and Sarah Hawkins lived with their 14 year old daughter Ernestine and 11 year old son Henry Hawkins. Ernest worked as a laborer for the Treasury and the couple had been married 16 years. This enumeration took place on April 19, 1910. They aren’t an exact match but the closeness makes me think they were counted twice.

So when we find the family firmly in Truxton Circle as home owners, Ernest is listed as a 47 year old messenger who works for the government. Sarah is also working for the government as a matron and Ernestine is a Maryland teacher.

As I mentioned earlier, the land records don’t show much activity, just death. The first two are 1953 deeds transferring the property from Ernest and Sarah to Ernestine though a go-between, Zeph P. Moore. The first deed mentioned that Ernest died March 21, 1927 and Sarah W. Hawkins died May 23, 1951. The nest document is a 1970 deed mentioning the death of daughter Ernestine Hawkins-Smith on February 27, 1967. The property was left to Charles R. Walker, who sold it to Charles F. Adams and Clinton W. Chapman There is no mention of how Charles R. Walker is related but I gather he is some relative from Sarah’s side of the family.

William H. Bowman was the African American owner of 20A N St NW, according to the 1920 census. But for looking at his ownership of the property let’s just look at 20 N St NW, Washington, DC, as the A and the B, for the other household hint that this was a two flat unit. It is possible, the Bowmans lived in unit A and the Wrights and Redmans in unit B.

When the 1920 census was taken William H. Bowman lived with his wife Mary E. and their teen aged sons, William (Jr?) and James. But when looking at the land records, William died later that year November 17, 1920. This was noted in a 1928 trust (borrowing money) for $2500 with the Washington Loan and Trust Company in Mary’s name. It looks (I can only guess) that this allowed her to pay off an August 1918 debt.

Once again, I’m going to guess, but the next document appears that Mary E. Bowman financed work with the Washington Contracting Company in 1934 for $320.00. She borrowed another small amount, $253.00 in 1936 and $450.00 in 1937 from different trustees.

It appears she refinanced her debt with a $3600 loan from the American Building Association in July 1937, and immediately paid all the previous debts.

Three years later she sold the property to John T. and Ruth King on April 16, 1940. The Kings were a white couple who lived at 25 Randolph Place NW.

We’re getting close to the end of the African American home owners in the TC from the 1920 census. This is one of the handful of posts I have left.

This post’s subject is Joseph Edward Parker and his wife Irene H. Parker. It appears that they purchased this property in September 1910, so they were the owners of this 2 unit property in 1920. The Parkers lived in unit A, with his 14 year old daughter Helen. Unit B, had renters, Mr. & Mrs. Taylor and their boarder, Matthew Brown.

Joseph E. Parker was born March 17, 1874 in Virginia. He was a widower when he married Irene F. Haymon in 1914. His first wife Nannie, Helen’s mother, is difficult to locate.  At some point Helen married and her name became Helen Parker Winston. Irene died February 17, 1929. Joseph died September 9, 1945. It appears Irene and Joseph were members of the Mt. Airy Baptist Church.

Since I couldn’t find a lot of reliable information about the Parkers and their lives, I will look at all the borrowing and repayment they did in the land records.

Joseph and Irene borrowed $3,500 March 11, 1924 from the Perpetual Building Association to pay for “existing encumbrances.” This allowed them to pay trustees Theo Judd and Joseph Sullivan for a 1919 debt and a 1910 with trustees Joseph Weller and Burr Edwards within the next month or two. It looks like they refinanced their Perpetual Building Association debt with $3,300 June 1928 as the 1924 debt was noted paid in July. It looks like it was refinanced again with Perpetual in October 1928 at $3,500, and the earlier June debt was released.

As noted above Irene died in 1929. So it was just Joseph alone, just as he was alone in the 1930 census. Her death was noted in a October 1932 trust, where he borrowed $300 at 6% interest from trustees Sol Rothbard and Charles Kaplan. July 1934, he borrows again, $3,531.14 from the Home Owners’ Loan Association and Irene’s death is noted. The next month he paid off the October 1928 Perpetual Building Assoc. debt. In October he paid off the 1932 debt with Rothbard and Kaplan.

He transferred the property to his daughter Helen P. Winston on June 17, 1936. It isn’t until 1940 when she uses the property to borrow money. June 1940, Helen, who was living in Brooklyn, NY borrowed $3000 from the Metropolitan Building Association. Mrs. Winston paid off her father’s 1934 Home Owner’s Loan Association debt. Then in October 1945, a month after Joseph’s death, she sold the house to Harry Wachter, an unmarried man.