September 2021 – Page 2 – Truxton Is In Shaw

1957 Church Survey: Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ- Church not in Shaw

I’ve been holding off on publishing this one because I figured I would do more research. But I never seemed to get around to doing that. The reason is because Bible Way, near the mouth of I-395, did a great thing. The fed and local government’s “plan” was to run that interstate up through what was my 4th St house and over on to Florida Avenue. Bible Way played a part in stopping it. I figured they deserved more research on the matter.

Bible Way Church was one of many urban churches surveyed for this DC inner city survey. Anyway, 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.

CS-34-Bible Way of Our Lord by Mm Inshaw

In 1957, Bible Way Church at 1130 New Jersey Ave NW was headed by Rev. Smallwood E. Williams. The Washington Post wrote of Rev. Williams, “In 1963, he used his political connections to save his church from being torn down. Interstate 395 was scheduled to go through his building. With the help of Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey, then a senator from Minnesota, Williams got the plans redrawn so that the highway would skirt the site.”

Bible Way’s own website tells me they began in Shaw in a storefront at 1409 9th St NW. Looking at the 1957 survey, it was a large church with 2,000 members, a Sunday attendance over 3,000, and several paid staff members. It was also an African American church as the body reported that 99% of members were Black. Looking at the occupational distribution, I’m going to guess this was a blue collar church, as in line with Pentecostal type churches. Most of the membership, 69%, lived outside of the boundaries (see below) of the Northwest Urban Renewal Area (part of which became Shaw) in other parts of DC.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Walter R. Carter- 111 P St NW

Sometimes when I take a name of an African American homeowner from the 1920 census for Truxton Circle, I go down a fun little rabbit hole that has me staying up way past my bedtime. This is not one of those incidents.

Walter R. Carter doesn’t have a lot of interesting info in Ancestry about him.

photo of property

There are a lot of Walter Carters in DC in the time period I’m looking. In 1910, according to the city directory, Walter R. Carter was a clerk at the ??? Post Office Department? (whatever p o d is) and living at 214 D St NW. In 1916 he was a clerk in the Treasury department, living at 110 F St NW. But in 1917, same address, same department but a messenger instead of being a clerk. But in the 1919 city directory there were 2 Walter R. Carters, the clerk on F St with the IRS and a messenger at 111 P St NW with the Treasury department. Too many Walter R. Carters.

So let’s go to our source. In the 1920 census, Walter R. Carter, 40, born in Alabama and working as a clerk, lived with his 24 year old wife Beatrice H. Carter, who also worked for the government (but I can’t tell what she did) and a 21 year old lodger a seamstress from Texas, Minta McGill.

The 1930 census just confused things. There was another Walter Carter in 1930, who lived on P St with his wife Beatrice, however, it was a completely different Walter, because back at 111 P St NW, Walter R. Carter was a divorced man, living with a couple from North Carolina, the Sanders, as his renters. The other Walter Carter, married to a different Beatrice (different ages), was from Virginia and worked as a chauffeur for a private family. The other Walter lived on the next block at 53 P St NW. I wonder if they knew of each other.

So what say the land records? Well we can see the Carters’ divorce reflected, though they don’t say it in so many words. The online land records start around 1921, the first records related to this property start in 1931 with a release. There should be a record of the 1927 trust (or debt) taken with trustees Melvin F. Bergmann, Louis C. Dismer and Charles W. Schafer, but I don’t see it. I see the name Bergmann appearing often in these land records… I should follow up on that one day. Beatrice H. Carter’s name appears on a few releases, acknowledgement of payment of debts, from 1934. But a trust, borrowing money, from 1934 for $1000, with trustees F Thomas Evans and Herman Miller, has him borrowing the money without Beatrice. In a 1935 release for a 1934 debt, the document states that Walter R. Carter is an unmarried man.

In 1946 Walter R. Carter sold the property to Ida Owens, who happened to be married to Hance Lee Vance Owens, for $5000.

Old Drafts- Assuming class & income

This is a post that for some reason I did not publish. If I did it would have been published on 7/29/2008.

I’m writing this post to acknowledge that when I observe my neighbors and fellow citizens, talking about their wealth or lack thereof is at best a guessing game. I hesitate to talk about the ‘suspected’ homeless guys who hang out all year, near where I work, because I don’t know if they are homeless. They don’t have a shopping cart of stuff and they appear cleaner than some of the ragged tourists who march around. It’s just that they hang out in the same spot day after day, winter, spring. summer, and fall, during work hours and occasionally one guy will whip out a cup with some change and shake it. There are all sorts of signs that strongly signal that they are homeless, but to my knowledge few to none have self identified themselves as such. So when I question and analyze my presumptions, I’ll say I’m about 80% sure. Because honestly, taking in their ages 1/2 of them, and they are doing what my retired uncle is doing, sitting around and staying out of Aunt M.’s way. They could be the same.
There are things about our neighbors that point in this, that and the other direction as to which is their economic class. Because we are not privy to that which, frankly is none of our business, our guesses about whether someone is a member of the underclass, the overwhelmed middle class, or wealthy is just that, a guess. Unless they tell us.
I guess this comes from some people watching I was doing.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Ernest Lomax- 1627 NJ Ave NW

The census sometimes steers you wrong. This is the series where I look at the 1920 census for African American home owners in the Truxton Circle neighborhood. The census said he lived at 1653 New Jersey Avenue NW, but when I looked at the land records, no Lomax. Thankfully, I can search by name.

photo of property

In the name search for Mr. Ernest E. Lomax, I discovered he owned his home at 1627 NJ Ave NW (SSL: 0509E 0013), as well as 1726 Montello Ave NE (SSL: 4053 0017), 1110? 1st St NW (0557 0035- currently a greenspace), 409 H St NW (SSL:0517 0803), and lots somewhere in NE DC close to Eastern Ave and Hunt Pl NE (SSL: 5204 0020).

In 1910 Ernest and his son Herbert Lomax lived at 211 G St NW, without any other family there. Ernest was a widowed tinner at the time but later became a plumber. According to the 1919 city directory the family was at 1627 New Jersey Ave NW. There Ernest was a plumber working for Swann & Lomax, living with his new and younger wife Mamie, and a family of in-laws the Downings. In 1930 the Downings and Lomax remained at 1627 NJ.

The available land records start around 1921 and there are a number of trusts and releases between 1922 and 1937 between Ernest Lomax and the Washington Loan and Trust Company. In 1941 Lomaxs transferred the property to Phoebe E. Tyrrell, who later in 1946 transferred the property back to Mamie M. Lomax, and her male relatives, Edward H. , Elmer H. and Leon E. Downing. In another 1946 deed, we are told Mamie was a widow and Ernest had died.

In 1960, Elmer H. Downing sold the property to Sidney and Jean Blanken. In that deed, it’s revealed that Edward Downing died May 27, 1960 and Mamie Lomax died October 18, 1949.

A 1949 deed from his H St property gave a number of death dates. The widow of Herbert Lomax, Gertrude, sold the property to Minnie Shapiro. Herbert Lomax died January 25, 1949. Ernest’s first wife and Herbert’s mother, Louise, died November 21, 1909. Ernest Lomax died April 17, 1941.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Charles Sheton- 1635 4th St NW- Another Dead End

The goal of this exercise is to pull the names of Black home owners from the 1920 census and explore what I could find.

photo of property

Sadly, the name in the census doesn’t match up with the name in the DC Recorder of Deeds on-line records site. I double checked the census page, tried variations of the spelling and just searching for the surname. Nothing.

1920 Asians of Truxton Circle

I was thinking of doing Asian Home Owners of Truxton Circle, but none of the six Asian residents were home owners in the 1920 census, which is where I’m pulling my data for the Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle.

So let’s look at the residents, all men.

Tom Kee, b. 1851, China. Tom Kee lived at 1412 North Capitol St NW working as a laundryman. Almost all of the men in this post will be in the laundry and clothing cleaning business. He only shows up in this one census. I hunted him down in the 1919 city directory and found him via an address search. He was at 1422 North Cap. but that looks like a typo as it was between 1410 and 1414. I could not locate him under the Kees but found him under Tom, making me wonder if Tom is his surname. I switched the names around, but did not come up with any plausible leads.

Lee Bock Wing, b. 1873, California. Lee Bock Wing lived at 400 R St NW. Like Kee Tom, he too was in the laundry business. Interesting thing, in the 1940 census Lee Bock Wing shows up at 1412 North Capitol, Kee Tom’s 1920 home. Wing won’t show up as Chinese in the 1940 census because that field is unclear and Ancestry indexed him as White.

C.A. Suzuki, b. 1870. Pffft. I’m not going to find this guy. He was a roomer at 222 Florida Ave NW, the home of Wilson Lavender, an African American home repair man. Suzuki was the Lavender family’s only roomer. Suzuki being Japanese, was a manager, according to the census. In the 1919 city directory there were two Suzukis. One, CS Suzuki, was a butler, the other S Suzuki, was the manager of ladies furnishings. In the 1925 city directory there are three Suzukis, but I’m not sure if any of them are the same person who lived on Florida Avenue.

The Chen Brothers, Charlie b.1895 and John b. 1885- The Chen (maybe Chin) brothers lived at 1632 1st St NW, which no longer exists. Like many Chinese immigrants in DC, they were involved in the laundry business. In the 1920 census it was unclear if Charlie was the owner of the home. Checking the Recorder of Deeds, he was not. The search for Charlie was unfruitful. The search for John was confusing. The 1930 census lead me to two different Chens. One being Sam Chen who had the same estimated birthyear as John. Sam also lived at 1632 1st St NW. Is John Sam? Is Sam John? Moving on.

Frank Sing, b. 1870- He is listed as being White in the 1920 census. He and his parents were reportedly born in China, so I’m taking a leap and guessing he was Chinese. Mr. Sing lived at 1237 1st St NW as a roomer. His landlord was an African American man, Herbert Johnson, who was also renting. Frank was one of two roomers. Today, he would probably considered a roommate. Ancestry hints that his name could also be Frank Gury. It doesn’t matter, I can’t find him past the 1920 census. He was 50, and it’s 1920, so he could have died.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: George Brown- 1639 4th St NW

Normally, I pick the name of a Black home owner from the 1920 census who lived in Truxton Circle, and try to find something interesting, or semi-interesting.

photo of property

Thankfully George Robert Brown had a Family Tree description done in Ancestry.com because Brown and George are very common names. His tenure on 4th St goes back to the 1900 census, but he, a day laborer and his wife Ella Elizabeth (nee Wright), a dressmaker, and their 18 year old daughter Lulu/Lula/Lucinda lived at 1119 4th St NW. Besides the houses on that side of the 1600 block of 4th St NW, weren’t built until around 1900.

The Brown family does not appear at 1639 4th St NW until the 1910 census. Then George Brown is listed as a hotel waiter, Ella was still a dressmaker and Lulu was 2 years younger than what she should have been (26 years old as opposed to 28) and working as a public school teacher. The family had lodgers living with them, Charles E. Fuller, a picture hanger, and Patience Willis, a domestic.

In 1920, the family was still at 1639 4th St NW with some small differences. Ella E. Brown was still a dressmaker, but George was a GPO messenger, and Lulu, still a teacher, but had married. She married William Miner in 1917 and they had a 1 year old son George W. Miner. The family retained one of the lodgers from 1910, Patience Willis.

The family had moved to 1433 R St NW where government clerk William Minor was the home owner by the 1930 census. Lucinda/Lulu was still a public school teacher and her father George Brown was a widow. According to an Ancestry family tree Ella E. Brown died August 31, 1928.

Ella E. Brown’s death is confirmed in the DC Recorder of Deeds’ records. The on-line records provided go back to 1921. A deed from May 8, 1929 stated that George R. Brown was a widow. There are two deeds for that date, and two deeds for February 14, 1950. I know they are serving the purpose to do something, but I don’t know what. What I do know is that one of the 1950 deeds tells us George R. Brown died October 10, 1936.

The Miners, which includes Lucinda, William, their son George and his wife Charlotte Bell Miner held on to the property until June 2000. George and Charlotte sold the property to Adeola and Mufutau Sanni. For the time the property belonged to the Browns it wasn’t mortgaged. The Miners took out a loan with Riggs Bank (for Jefferson Federal Savings and Loan Assoc.) in 1978 for $20,000. This time I’m sure it was for actually that much.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Peter M. Murray- 1645 New Jersey Ave NW

As part of this series, I pick the name of a Black home owner from the 1920 census who lived in Truxton Circle, and try to track their life in this DC neighborhood. This is another sad story where someone loses their home.

Image not found

One little note, I have the man’s name as Philip M. Murray from the 1920 census. But other records have him down as Peter M. Murray.

Let’s hit the land records and take a look at what happened.

The DC Recorder of Deeds’ online records start around 1921. The first record for 1645 NJ Ave NW (E0509 0020) is a trust, which means money was borrowed, between Peter M. and his wife Charlotte M. Murray and trustees on June 10, 1925 for $5500. The debt was paid or released and recorded on May 28, 1931.

This was followed by a release, the next month on July 3, 1925. A release is usually a document to show the debt was paid. This release was for a debt taken out on January 21, 1921.

May 21, 1931 the Murrays were forwarded 30 shares from the Oriental Building Association which amounted to $6000. In November 1932 there was a trustees deed filed. It appears the Murrays defaulted on their loan. The Oriental Building Association ran a notice in the Evening Star and so the Murray’s lost their home.

So who were the Murrays? Peter Marshall Murray (must be logged into AncestryLibrary.com for link to work) was born in 1888 in Houma, Louisiana to John L and Lavinia Murray. Charlotte was born Charlotte M. Wallace in 1885 South Carolina. They married in Washington, DC July 2, 1917 when she was 32 years old.

In 1920 they lived at 1645 New Jersey Ave NW with Charlotte’s mother, her 23 year old sister, and a live in domestic servant. Peter Murray was a physician, Charlotte and her sister Sametta were teachers. In July 1921, the Murrays had a son John Wallace/Walker Murray (d.2001).

According to the 1930 census the Murrays had departed DC and were living in a 7th Avenue apartment building in New York City. According to his World War II registration card Dr. Murray and his family lived at 2588 7th Ave Apartment 2P in central Harlem. So by the time they lost their DC house they were settled in New York.

One of the last records of him and Charlotte was a 1952 trip to the United Kingdom on the Queen Mary out of NYC to Southampton England. Dr. Murray died in December 1969 in New York. Charlotte died much later in 1982.

From Gerald D. Dorman, “Presentation of the Academy plaque to Peter M. Murray, MD.” Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine 45, no. 8 (1969): 729.

There is more information about Dr. Murray after he and his family left DC.

New York Academy of Medicine First Black Fellow- https://nyamcenterforhistory.org/2021/02/23/nyams-first-black-fellow/

The Second Annual Post Graduate Seminar for Physicians Nov 3-5, 1941 held at the Howard University College of Medicine- listed as a presenter https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/forallthepeople/img/698.pdf

Peter Marshall Murray, M.D. 1888-1969- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2611885/

UPDATE 9/8/2021- I strongly suspect there is a portrait of Dr. Murray at the National Portrait Gallery- https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_S_NPG.67.21 painted by Betsy Graves Reyneau.

Look’s like I got my self a famous man-The American Medical Association included him for Black History Month in a Facebook post.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Wallace J. Broadas- 1607 New Jersey Ave NW

Normally, I pick the name of a Black home owner from the 1920 census who lived in Truxton Circle, and try to track their life in this DC neighborhood. Sometimes, if there is something interesting, I’ll

look at what happened after they moved and where they went.

Sometimes looking for the one person works, but sometimes things are so muddy I have to look at his or her surrounding family members. Wallace J. and Madge V. Broadus had a son named Arvid (sometime Arvide)… it was easier to find him in the following 1930 census. The 1930 census had the family still at 1607 New Jersey Ave NW, but Madge was missing and Wallace was a widower and working as an elevator operator for the US government.

I had to search for Wallace Broadus’ daughter Evelyn to locate the family in the 1940. Wallace J. was working as a skilled laborer for a printing office. He also remarried. Maybe the Government Printing Office? A number of Truxton Circle residents worked there. I found Arvid W. Broadus’ World War II draft card showing him at 1607 NJ Ave NW. But the events of World War II would have this son leaving home, marrying a gal named Mary Louise Jackson, then divorcing her in 1950 in Walton, Florida, where she remained.

Unfortunately for me, there is another Wallace Broadus or Broaddus floating around Washington, DC around the same time. So I’m not clear when he passed away. But like so many, it appears that he left the house to more than one family member. People. In your wills, leave a single piece of property to one relative. You want to leave more property to another relative, than go on and get yourself another property. sigh.

photo of property So it appears according to Wallace J. Broadas’ will, (probate in US District Court admin # 115,960) the property was left to Arvid Wallace Broadus, who was then not married. It says unmarried, but he’s divorced at this point and it doesn’t seem like he remarried. AND Evelyn Louise Shears (nee Broadus) and her husband Harry J. Shears, and Wallace’s sister Bessie Elizabeth Mack (nee Broadus), her husband William Mack and someone Bernice Occulane (aka Oculaine) Mynatt, who I believe might be his sister or other relative. Mynatt’s maiden name was Bernice O. Broadus before she married Bernard Ross Mynatt in DC in 1938.

Anyway, in 1966 the family sold 1607 New Jersey Ave NW to SOVEREIGN INC . Before there were plenty of trusts (borrowing money) and releases (paying it back) between 1922 and 1954 and I just don’t feel like covering it.

UPDATE 11/14/2022: The family owned 1607 New Jersey NW for longer than Wallace’s lifetime. Arvid owned it up until his death in 2009.