Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: John Robinson

Going back to the 1920 Census our next Black American home owner is John Robinson, a 34 year old cook who lived at 1417 New Jersey Avenue NW.  He lived there with his wife Annie B., their 7 year old daughter Dorothy M., his brother Sam, and his widowed aunt-in-law Belle Pryor.

John W Robinson
Credit: JKROBIN3571 originally shared this on 30 Nov 2010 via Ancestry.com

Because of the amazingness of Ancestry.com, we have a photo of Mr. Robinson. This is a nice reminder that these people who I write about were real people who lived in Truxton Circle and who are our neighbors from the past.

On March 14, 1885 John Robinson was (probably) born in King William County, Virginia to John B. Robinson and Oney Smith. He was still in Virginia, as a school boy in 1900. By the 1910 census he appears in Washington, DC living as a lodger with J Walker Robinson at 1222 4th St NW and working as a cook in a cafe.

In 1911 Continue reading Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: John Robinson

1957 Church Survey: Third Baptist Church

I’m posting this church survey earlier than I had planned because of a Black Home Owners of TC post that I plan to put up and I wanted this to be available. This is the 1957 Church Survey for the Northwest Urban Renewal Area. It was probably the one spot for in depth information about individual churches, big and small, in Shaw, and a little bit outside of Shaw. This post is about the Third Baptist Church at 1546 5th St NW.

 

photo of property
This was the church of a previous Black Home Owner of Truxton Circle, Officer James S. Boswell who had long since died before this survey was done. But let’s take a look.

CS 19 Third Baptist by Mm Inshaw

Third Baptist was and still is an African American church. In 1957 it reported to have 600 members of which a majority lived in the NW Urban Renewal Area. However there was a mention that members were moving from NW and Georgetown to NE DC. They didn’t report any numbers for their occupational distribution, saying that there were many white collar workers and the majority were unskilled manual workers.

1957 Church Survey: Church of God and Saints of Christ

This is a church from the 1957 Church Survey that provides no information. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

The Church of God and Saints of Christ was located at 401 New York Ave NW, which technically puts it in Mt. Vernon Square. Currently the First Tabernacle Beth El sits there. The church survey doesn’t provide a lot of information except it had a “bishop” who lived around the corner at 405 M St NW.

photo of property

CS-36-Church of God and Sai… by Mm Inshaw

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: The Garretts of 1408 3rd St NW ver.2.0

I posted before about the Garretts, but I wasn’t as familiar with the land records and Ancestry has improved a bit.

In my last post about the Garretts, I wrote:

John W. Garrett of 1408 3rd Street NW (SSL:W0553-0810) who was listed as a mulatto (African American)  Engineer and head of household. In 1920, Mr. Garrett was a 70 year old West Virginia native living with his 2 daughters Beatrice E. Garrett and Armetia M. Johnson and 7 year old granddaughter Marjorie Johnson. By the 1930 Census Mr. Garrett had died, Armeta/Armetia was listed as the head and her 1920 sister was now her partner? (head tilt) Both Beatrice and Armeta were dressmakers, probably self employed dressmakers. They could have been in business with each other. In 1940 the inhabitants of 1408 3rd are listed as renters, including Beatrice Jarrott, which sounds awfully like Beatrice Garrett. They could be the same person, but the ages don’t line up. She could have lied about her age, adding on 10 years in the 1940 census.

Looking at the land records there isn’t much. But I understand it. In the 1920 census the house was listed as being owned free and clear, and they kept it that way. Under the Garretts there are no trusts (mortgages). We don’t see anything until 1951 when the daughter Beatrice Garrett and granddaughter Marjorie Ellen Rand sell the house to Violet M. Barbour, who took out a loan for $4,500 at 6% interest.

photo of propertyNow back to John W. Garrett. He was impressive in the census. For the 1910 census he claimed to be a fireman Continue reading Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: The Garretts of 1408 3rd St NW ver.2.0

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Barbra Smith of 1430 3rd St NW

In the 1920 Census Barbra Smith was pretty old. She was born in Maryland around 1840, which made her 80 years old. Looking at past census records, she’d been at 1430 3rd St NW for a long while, as in been there since the 1880 census long while.Image not found

So lets go back to the 1880 census. In 1880 Henry Smith, an illiterate Black laborer, lived at 1430 3rd St NW with his also illiterate wife Barbra, a laundress, their literate children William and Frances, and baby Victoria. They also lived with his mother Deliah Bond, and adult step-relatives. He died in the Summer of 1915, leaving Barbra, William and Victoria as survivors.

I could not find a lot about the Smiths in the record. It doesn’t help that ‘Smith’, is a really popular name. Continue reading Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Barbra Smith of 1430 3rd St NW

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle- James W. Aiken

Looking at the 1920 Census our next African American Truxton Circle home owner is James W. Aiken. Aiken was a 25 year old waiter from North Carolina living at 1429 3rd St NW. He lived there with his wife Isabelle, daughter Mignon (like the filet), and son James W. Aiken Jr.

photo of property

The land records are confusing, as usual. The first record is from October 1925 and it is a trust, which means money was being borrowed, between J. Wills Aiken et ux and Baltz & Owens Trustees. It appears the Aikens borrowed $2,400.00. Then in November 1925, are two deeds between the Aikens and Wilber C. Wiley. The deeds are right after each other, Aikens transfer to Wiley then Wiley transfers it back to the Aikens, on the same day. I’m not sure what that was about.

Then there is another document, a release, which means whatever loan has been paid off or fulfilled,  also from 1925 where J. Wills Aikens pays off the debt of James R. Clarke and his wife Mary M. Clarke. Those names sounded familiar and they were Black TC home owners from an earlier post. James Clark/e was a waiter too. I’m not sure what that’s about either.

The Aikens borrow and pay off several loans from 1926 to 1946. But in 1949, Isabelle Aiken took out a loan for $4,500 with the Perpetual Building Association, alone. But that same day J. Wills and Isabelle transfer the property to Anna Pararas, who then transfers it back to Isabelle Aiken. In 1970, Isabelle pays off a loan, alone.

The genealogical record shows the Aikens lived at 1429 3rd Street NW for a good long while. But that’s not the most interesting thing. James Willis Aiken, or Wells J. Aiken, or J. Wills Aiken was born in Brevard, Transylvania, North Carolina April 17, 1891 to Mary Pardon Aiken and James P. Aiken. He had 1 or 2 half siblings and 13-16 full siblings one of whom was Loretta “Jackie Moms Mabley” Aiken , if the family tree is to be believed. If you are unfamiliar with Moms Mabley, you obviously didn’t watch the last season of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Anyway here she is:

I wonder if she stopped by to see her brother when she was performing at the Howard Theater? Maybe not. My half sister didn’t even bother to say hi to me when she came up from Florida for Obama’s first inauguration.

Anyway, back to boring old James Aiken. Waiter. As I wrote, they were there for a while. A World War II draft card has James at 1429 3rd St NW as an unemployed waiter. In the 1930 Census James is, Wells J Aiken, hotel waiter and Isabelle a federal government employee.  In 1940 they were on 3rd St, living with their 24 year old son. James was back to being James W. Aiken and a waiter, and Isabelle a clerk at the Government Printing Office. James died in September of 1971. Isabelle died in December of 1974. Their children sold the house in the mid-1970s after their mother’s death.

Edited 8/24/22- Original video removed because it was made private. Paragraph edited.

Hot Take- Redlining not as bad as urban renewal

So as I write one boring Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle post after another, I noticed that these residents were borrowing money from individuals and institutions. These weren’t government sponsored loans, to my knowledge. Redlining, in the original sense (as I acknowledge the word has been expanded to other injustices), was the New Deal agency Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) discriminatory attitude towards minority areas regarding loans. But loans to African Americans in Truxton Circle were being made. Not a lot, but money was borrowed.

Because I am looking at people from the 1920 census and the online land records start around 1921/1922 I am not seeing a lot of people borrowing money to obtain their homes. They already own it by the time I’m looking at them. I might see it, or hints of people taking out a mortgage to purchase a home when the 1920s home owners sell and there is documentation regarding the next owner borrowing money. Or I see releases when owners settle their debts with one or more lenders. Or they take out mortgages or loans on their property or their children do. I might see people taking out mortgages to purchase when I eventually get to the 1930s home owners.

The rate of home ownership is low. But that tends to be the case of urban areas compared to suburban ones. I have to go past a lot of renters in the main TC census spreadsheet I use, before I find my home owners.

These owners aren’t necessarily upper class or white collar. There were several waiters as home owners. Another occupation was messengers or express men. There was one laborer, but he was being far too modest as he owned a coal yard and several properties. Another was a policeman.

Dr. Euphemia Lofton Haynes, the first Black American woman to earn a PhD in mathematics, owned several properties in Truxton Circle and other parts of the District. I’ve been through her papers at Catholic University and she was able to borrow money for her properties. The federally backed loans were not the only game in town.

Why Urban Renewal is Worse

I would describe redlining as getting bullied and urban renewal as getting bad plastic surgery. Getting bullied is bad and can lead to long term problems. The problem with bad plastic surgery, is you asked for it, paid for it, and it turns out making things worse. I used a proposed map as the featured image because it showed the plan to put a highway through most of Truxton Circle. It would have wiped out hundreds of buildings.

Once you tear down a 100 year old building there is no rebuilding it. All the homes that used to house the home owners on Square 551, are gone. They aren’t coming back. There’s a park and the Northwest Co op there. Those houses are gone. Forever.

You can see the marks left by urban renewal. They show up in modern architecture and in wide neighborhood splitting highways that did not exist as such 50-100 years ago.

In 1930 most of the Truxton Circle neighborhood was Black. It would be a reasonable assumption that the neighborhood was redlined. Fast forward 90 years and the neighborhood is fairly integrated. It has half the population, but it’s integrated. The legacy of redlining is in the hearts of some but the neighborhood itself appears to have moved on. Only three of about 18 blocks have been permanently changed by urban renewal or development.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Julia Dobbins

Julia Dobbins appears in the 1920 Census as a home owner and a widow living with her adult daughters and a couple of boarders. She lived at 1413 3rd St NW, on square 553 lot 54. The daughters were Emma J., Gertrude V., and Ethel L. Dobbins.

In 1910, Julia was renting 1609 Cooksey Place. I believe this was on the block bounded by Florida Ave, R, 1st, Q and 3rd Streets NW, or square 551. She was a widow laundress living with her 3 daughters and her mother Mintie Smith. The 1911-1915 city directories have her on Cooksey.

The land records are sort of helpful. The earliest is from 1923 where Gertrude transferred her one third interest in the property to Julia Smith and Emma Taylor.

Is Julia Smith also Julia Dobbins?

There is a mortgage with the Perpetual Trust Building and Loan Association for 1926 and there are many names.

Julia A. Smith, aka Julia M. Smith; Emma J. Dobbins, aka Emma J. Taylor; Gertrude V. Dobbins, aka Gertrude V. Watson. None of the records say if Julia Smith is also Julia Dobbins.

Julia Smith Dobbins died January 19, 1929. So she did not make it to the 1930 census. After their mother’s death, Gertrude Watson and Ethel L. Herron transferred their interest in the property to Emma in 1930.  Between 1930 and 1931 Emma Jeannette Taylor used the property to borrow money from the Perpetual Building and Loan Assoc, as well as individual lenders for an amount over $2,000.  William Henry Smith, who may have been Julia’s grandson listed in the 1920 census,  transferred 1413 3rd St NW in 1946 to Leonard Taylor. This quit claim signed by Smith noted that Emma Taylor’s will left him an interest in the property. Leonard Taylor then sold the property that year to Newman Coxson.

I’m just going to assume Julia Smith and Julia Dobbins are the same person.

1957 Church Survey: Holy Trinity

Well this will be a quickie as it is a church from the 1957 Church Survey that provides no information. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

Holy Trinity sat at 1618 11th Street NW, square 309, lot 817. It’s not there anymore.

CS 38 Holy Trinity by Mm Inshaw

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Susan E Berry

According to the 1920 census Susan E. Berry owned 237 O Street NW, an address that no longer exists. It does not exist because the Armstrong school ate it, then the second Dunbar building ate O Street. So I have to look at the old Baist map at the Library of Congress site to guess which lot was Mrs. Berry’s.

Image not found

According to land records she owned lot 3, or lot 11 or lot 58 on Square 553. Let’s just go with lot 58. I’m not sure how it’s lot 3. When I search for lot 3 I get records for Mrs. Schools, Mrs. Forrest, and Mrs. Berry’s son or late husband Hillard Berry. She could have owned another lot on Square 553 but this post will look at lot 58, or 237 O St NW.

To deal with the property history, we will have to look at the Berry family.  Susan E. Ruffin was born in South Carolina in 1865 and she married Hilliard J.C. Berry in 1884. This was the same year their son Hilliard or Hilyard Berry was born in South Carolina. In 1887 their 2nd son William Berry was born in the District of Columbia. Their youngest Alethya was born in DC in 1889.

In the 1900 census Hillard was a hotel porter and listed as the head of the family and the property owner of 237 O St NW. He lived there with Susan and their 3 school aged children. In the 1920 census, Susan was a widow living with her son William J, her daughter Athethya or Alethia Henrietta Williams, her son in law Alfonse Williams, and their son, her grandson, Berry Williams.

Just searching the name Susan E. Berry in the land records brings up lots 3, 11, and 58. So she sold lot 3 to the District of Columbia in 1922. Susan died in either 1925 or 1927 and in her will left lot 11/58 to Alethya. In 1934 Alethya borrowed $800 from trustees. She paid that date later that year. She borrowed again in 1949 from the American Security and Trust Company for $20,000. Alethya died in 1951 and her son Berry Williams (along with his wife Aretha) sold the property to the District of Columbia in 1966 for $10,400.00.

I should note that in Susan’s will she also left 239 O St NW to Hilliard Berry. It appears that he sold that property in 1937. She also left property in South Carolina, which was to be sold and divided amongst the two surviving children.