Truxton Is In Shaw – Page 48

Police of Truxton Circle- Thomas Lawlor

Here’s a quick story of Thomas Lawlor. In November 1882 Ofc. Thomas Lawlor, an Irish immigrant, who lived on 4th St NW in Truxton Circle, was at work and fell ill. Then he went home, and died.
Thomas Lawlor lived at 1618 4th St NW with his wife Ellen, and their two children Daniel and Mary in 1880.

The 1880 census didn’t ask if people were owners or renters. I only discovered that Lawlor owned the property because I was searching for the newspaper announcement that he had died. In addition to finding his funeral arrangements, I found a mention of a real estate transfer.

For some reason Thomas Lawlor, the resident of 1618 4th St NW in 1880, sold/ transferred the property (0509E-0053) to James Lawlor in 1878. I don’t know if James is a relative.

It seems to be a very Irish thing, of that time, to have something at the home of the deceased. It appears they departed from 1618 and made their way to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. I wonder if the German George Glorius and his family, one block over, joined the procession? The Glorius family also attended Immaculate, which from personal experience, is a 15 minute brisk walk away from 1618.

There is very little of interest in his personnel file (see https://catalog.archives.gov/id/145835884). He seemed to have wandered into a grocery on North Capitol, where he wasn’t supposed to be, and was written up for it.

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.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Garland E. Carr pt.1

Garland-E-Carr-June-21-1922 — African American Truxton Circle Property Owner- Garland E. Carr

I did not find Mr. Garland E. Carr via the Census, like I normally look for African American TC home owners. No, this one came to me via someone doing history at the National Archives looking at another topic of which Mr. Carr was involved. What Mr. Carr did I will wait until later to reveal.

A few months after this picture was snapped, his mother along with his sister Genevieve R. Patrick became owners of 1520 1st St NW. This was Square 552 lot 165.

Later in 1936 Elizabeth Carr sold it.

In my next post I’ll talk about what Mr. Carr did to have his picture taken.

1957 Church Survey- Rehoboth Church of God- Rando Church Near Shaw

The Rehoboth Church of God no longer exists in Washington DC. Nor does it’s 1957 address 1101 8th St NW. There is a convention center at that spot. So if it were still there it would be in Mt. Vernon Sq., next to Shaw. Really doesn’t matter as they did not provide much information to the 1957 Church Survey.

CS-42-Rehoboth Church of God by Mm Inshaw

1914 Howard University Students in Shaw

I wanted to see if by chance Arthur B. McKinney was in a Howard University yearbook. The yearbooks or student yearbook type publications go as far back as 1914. I did not spot him in that yearbook. I don’t know if those things covered the medical school.

But I did spot something interesting, addresses. This was not repeated in later yearbooks. So here is a small list of the students in Shaw:

Annie H. Catlett- 943 (or 913) St St NW

Frank Robert Cook- 1636 10th St NWCeretta Desmukes- 209 O St NW

Mark E. Rivers- 103 or 403 U St NWWalter S. Savoy- 1325 12th St NW

Herbert L. Stevens- 922 Florida Avenue NW

1957 Church Survey: Second Baptist Church- Rando Church not in Shaw

Well this is another in the series of churches participating in the 1957 Northwest Urban Renewal Area church survey. This church survey has never been replicated. There have been other reports but they approach the churches as a whole and not as individual congregations. Churches are interesting as an entity. Florida Avenue Baptist is completely different from Mt. Sinai Baptist, despite both being Baptist.

Today’s church is Second Baptist Church at 816 3rd Street NW, which is still functioning today in the Mt. Vernon Triangle area. Then as is now, it is an African American church. In 1957, it was a middle aged and middle class Continue reading 1957 Church Survey: Second Baptist Church- Rando Church not in Shaw

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Arthur B. McKinney

Parts of this are from a previous post I published some time ago. I’m revisiting this African American home owner, to add more information.

I had given up on Mrs. Annie Newsome (or Annie Newsone in the 1940 census) who was listed as the head of household and married. She appears in the 1930 census with a different possible birth year. So I gave up on her and decided to look at a professional man who might have more information about him.

Dr. Arthur B. McKinney abducted from Freedmen’s Hospital Sat, May 15, 1926 – Page 2 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comSo I chose Dr. Arthur B. McKinney of 1519 1st St NW from the 1940 census. From the little clip above, Dr. McKinney was involved in some odd little caper in 1926 where his brothers abducted him from Freedmen’s Hospital and took him to his mother’s house at 1515 1st St NW. A Della A. McKinney, widow, is listed as a home owner in the 1930 census at that address.

In the 1920 Census, Arthur B. McKinney was a 31 year old doctor living with his mother Della at 1515 1st St. NW. Looking at Ancestry’s family tree, his full name was Arthur Bancroft McKinney. He married Ethel J. Thornton in December of 1920. They apparently had no children. But the family tree fails to note his siblings as Samuel A. and Della McKinney had 5 sons, 2 daughters, a daughter-in-law, and a grandson living with them in 1900 at 63 P St NW. Continue reading Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Arthur B. McKinney