WSIC-1950s Sell Off- 43 Bates Street NW

At the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th a company began with the idea of buying and building sanitary affordable homes in Washington, DC. That company was the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) and their experiment in charitable capitalism came to an end in the early 1950s. This blog will attempt to look at the Truxton Circle area properties sold off from WSIC to regular people.

Attempt. The 45 Bates St NW post had some confusion and lo, this one isn’t any better. Once again it appears they sell the one property to two different people and goodness gracious, I am confused. But let’s try to sort this out.

https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:gmd:gmd385m:g3851m:g3851bm:gct00135a:ca000042/5943,1454,793,955/397,/0/default.jpgSo like 45 Bates Street the Truxton Circle (and other parts of DC) lots owned by WSIC are sold off in one big lot to three men, business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans for $3 million dollars in June of 1950.

They sold a one-half (1/2) interest in 43 Bates Street to Mrs. & Mr. Elizabeth and Neal Nelson on January 26, 1951. The Nelson’s borrowed $2,525.

photo of propertyThat same day the business partners sold the other 1/2 interest to Mrs. Irene Brown, Mr. James E. Rogers and his wife Perlina Rodgers. The three also borrowed $2,525 from the same trustees as the Nelsons, Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman. However their ownership didn’t last very long and they went into foreclosure in September 1952.

Hickman and Bernice Leathers replaced the Rogers and Brown, buying 1/2 interest in the property in October 1952. The borrowed $3,173.94 from trustees Levin & Weightman. Their ownership only lasted until March 1954, with another foreclosure.

I’m just going to note. Something doesn’t feel right about this. Something feels, predatory.  Okay, back to the land records….

In April 1954, Levin, Taube, and Evans sell the one-half interest to three ladies, Leotta Francis, Isabell and Rosalie Forde. They borrow $3,186.77 from trustees Levin & Weightman. In January of 1958, the ladies sell the property back to Nathaniel J. Taube and James B. Evans and new partner, Harry A. Badt.

With two foreclosures with the other half of 43 Bates, I wondered how long the Nelsons lasted. They lasted until March 1958, with a foreclosure.

And then it gets more confusing.

In an August 1958 deed, Harry A. Badt and his wife Jennie sell off several parts of properties, of which one-half interest of 43 Bates NW is one. They sold 1/2 of 34 Bates St NW, 1/2 of 55 Bates St NW, half of 43 Bates St NW, half of 34 O St NW, half of 1216 Carrollsburg PL SW and 1/4 interest in 1235 Simms PL NE to four people. Of the set, Rose Levin got 3/9th interest, Lawrence L. Levin got 2/9th interest, Myron S. Levin also got 2/9th interest, as wells as Ruth Wagman with 2/9th interest.

In 1959 George Basiliko, whom the Washington Post referred to as a “slum lord”, bought a slew of Bates Street and other Truxton Circle properties from the heirs of and remaining living owners of the original 3 businessmen. There were a lot of people and a number of properties, but in short, 43 Bates was one of the properties in this batch. George and wife Sophia Basiliko borrowed $73,500 for the group of properties from Telsyndicate where James B. Evans and Nathaniel Taube were the trustees. This document was followed a few months later by an agreement binding the Basilikos, Evans and Taube and Telsyndicate, noting the Basilikos secured funding from the Perpetual Building Association.

George Basiliko, owned the property until the late 1970s? I can’t find a deed transferring the property but the next owner appears to be DC’s Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). And there was that whole scandal in the 1970s forcing Basiliko to sell off his Truxton Circle properties.

1940s Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Dorothea/ Dorothy Wilson-Young- 402 R St NW

So this is a bit of a prequel to the Virginia Wilson post. I probably would have done a Dorothy Wilson post already if she was listed as an owner in the 1940 census. But she wasn’t. She was noted as a renter instead, even though she owned it since 1931.

In the 1940 census 33 year old widow Dorothy Wilson was listed as the head of household at 402 R St NW, and a renter. At that time she worked as a maid at the Y.M.C.A. She lived in the house with her 65 yr old widowed mother Bell (Belle), and her 27 and 29 year old bothers Clinton and Raymond.  These brothers show up in Virginia post and eventually get their names on the property.

So in March 1931 Doretha (her name gets spelled various ways) Wilson purchased the house from Frank and Iva M. Pratt. She borrowed $1,900 at 6% in her name from trustees P D Holmes & M C West. Ten years later in 1941 Dorothea (noting that Doretha was incorrect) borrowed $2,500 from the Perpetual Building Association and $685 from trustees Thornton W. Owen & Louis Yudelevit at 6%. That year she closed out her initial 1931 loan. She paid off the smaller 1941 loan in 1946. The larger 1941 debt was cleared in 1953. But before that, she added the names of six of her siblings to the property in 1946 for lot 813. Then again for lots 67 and 68 in 1953.

One of those six siblings was Virginia Wilson.

In the 1950 census, her sister Virginia was the head of household. Doretha/Dorothy Young was living with family at 1619 R St NW in Apt# 600. She and husband George Young were living with niece and nephew, the Wootons.

One last note regarding Dorothea Wilson, she had married and in the 1953 was going by Doretha Young. When the family sold/ transferred the property to their nephew Michael Jay Wooton, Doretha was one of the surviving siblings to transfer the property in 1975 document # 7500008198.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Virginia Wilson- 402 R St NW

Grr. It’s another one of those complicated family properties.

Okay, let’s do this. If you’re new to my blog, I look at the census, I find the names of African Americans who owned property in the neighborhood now known as Truxton Circle, and I write about it. Sometimes I find semi-notable people, notable adjacent people, but most times everyday people, like you.

I was able to link property ownership of 402 R St NW to Virginia Wilson by looking at the Recorder of Deeds’ records and the 1950 census. So in the 1950 census Virginia Wilson, a single Black 32 year old nurse was listed as the head of the household. She lived with her sisters Willie Beatrice “Willie B./ Williebee” Wilson, Rosa Frye, brother Percell Wilson, 1 year old nephew Michael Wooten and a roomer, William Bell.

Virginia Wilson came to own the property as one of several relatives of Dorethea/ Dorothea/ Dorothy Wilson, who owned it alone prior to 1946. This then had me looking at Dorothy Wilson who appeared at 402 R St NW in the 1940 census, as a renter. I will write a separate blog looking at her. As I wrote earlier, this is one of those complicated family properties.

Dorothea Wilson made it complicated when she transferred the property via Belle Wilson (her mother) on July 30, 1946 to the following relatives: herself, Virginia Wilson, Rosa E. Frey(Frye), Clinton Wilson, Leroy Wilson, Raymond Wilson, and Willie B. Wilson.

I noticed Percell Ray Wilson wasn’t listed. He died February 20, 1953, and was probably excluded from the 1946 deed because of his lack of employment. Looking at his entry on the 1950 census and his World War II draft card, he was not employed either of those times.

photo of property

 

Percell’s obit provides the information needed to show that Clinton, Raymond, Virginia, Willie B., and Doretha Wilson and Rosie Frye. So everyone on the 1946 deed are siblings. Why dear Lord, why? The obituary also mentioned he was the brother of Mrs. Mary Boswell and Nellie Blount and the uncle of Elizabeth Wooten and Herbert Blount. That’s somewhat important later.

Another, but minor, complication is where the property sits. It sat on lots 67 and 68 and 813.  The same year Percell died, Doretha Wilson transferred lots 67 and 68 to the sibling group, which included Virginia, in August 1953.

Siblings Rosa Frye and Willie Beatrice Wilson took out a loan on the property in August of 1955. It was for 1683.36 at 6% interest from the Bank of Silver Spring.

And then nothing until 1975 when Michael Wooton becomes the new and sole owner of 402 R St NW. Remember little Michael the nephew from the 1950 census?

I’ve tried looking for more biographical information about Virginia, but I’ve gone down many rabbit holes and came up with nothing. So I will end it here.