November 2024 – Truxton Is In Shaw

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 42 O Street NW

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

I’ve previously touched on this before, but let’s see what happens with 42 O St NW:

February 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 42 O St NW to Mildred H. Stitt, William E. and wife, Eva M. Hall.
Feb 1951 Stitt and the Halls borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
February 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 42 O St NW to Lewis Jordan.
Feb 1951 Jordan borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
April 1951 Jordan sold/transferred his half to Maurice Tilghman.
September 1959 Jordan, and by extension Tilghman, lost their half to foreclosure. Via an auction Colonial Investment partners Evans, Taube and new partner Harry A. Badt regained possession of that half of 42 O St NW.
September 1959, as part of a property package, Harry A. and wife Jennie Badt, sold/transferred some of their ownership of 42 O St NW to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
June 1959 (recorded 2/29/1960) Badt, Evans, Taube, the Nathan Levin survivors and their spouses, sold 42 O St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
April 1960 Stitt and the Halls lost their half of the property to foreclosure and Badt, Evans and Taube got it back via an auction.
April 1960 as part of a property package, Harry A. and wife Jennie Badt, sold/transferred their ownership of 42 O St NW to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
August 1960 Evans, Taube, Levin’s survivors and their spouses sold the remaining half to George Basiliko.
July 1971 it appears Sophia and George Basiliko sold the property to the Housing System Development and Construction Corp.
April 1978 George Basiliko Inc sold 42 O Street NW to the O Street Properties Partnership.

I’ll end it there. So there are foreclosures and it was sold to George Basiliko. The sad thing was the 1960 foreclosure, so close but no cigar.

WSIC- Related 118 Q Street NW

So I am looking at WSIC houses on the blocks between North Capitol, 3rd, Q and P Streets. Sometimes neighboring homes that are not WSIC homes get caught in the net like dolphins in tuna nets. This is one of them. I’m going to give it the WSIC treatment anyway. photo of property

The land records I can find on the Recorder of Deed’s site for 118 Q St NW starts in the 1940s. So lets start there:

March 1941 James I. and Mildred F. Medley sold 118 Q St NW (lots 26, 813 & 814) to Hubert R. Quinter and sister in law Mary B. Zetelle.
January 1946 Mary B. Zetelle, Mr. & Mrs. Gladys Z. and Hubert R. Quinter transferred several properties through Nannie D. Carr to remove Mary Zetelle’s name from the deed.
January 1961 Gladys Z. and Hubbert R. Quinter sold two lots 813 & 814 to Mercedes B. and Norman F. Manders.
Jan 1961 the Manders borrowed $3,500 from trustees William S. Green and Arthur J. Sherwin.
September 1963 the Manders borrowed $7,000 from the National Bank of Washington.
December 1963 the Manders were released from their Jan 1961 loan.
October 1964 the Manders sold lots 813 & 814 to the Diamond Housing Corporation.

I’ll leave it with the Diamond Housing Corp. because it appears to have either sold to another company or renamed itself. The paperwork doesn’t provide a clue if or when this happened.

Let’s look at the people who owned 116 & 118 Q St NW. Isabelle Mercedes (nee Barry) Manders was born a White DC native in 1926. She had a Catholic education, attending the Sacred Heart Academy and then Dunbarton College of the Holy Cross (check out their history 1910-1959). In 1948 she married Norman Francis Manders at Nativity Catholic Church in Brightwood. Norman was also a DC native born in 1927. When he married Mercedes, he was a graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy. In the 1950 census the couple lived at 935 Kennedy St NW, Apt 202 with their infant daughter. At that time, Norman was working as a painter and paperhanger (wallpaper dude) and Mercedes was a dance instructor. In the 1954 city directory the family was at 1715 Oglethorpe NW and Norman operated his own decorating business. The couple eventually had 5 children, later lived in Potomac, MD, retired to Florida and had over a dozen grandchildren. I doubt they lived in Truxton Circle.

Looking at Mary B. (nee Wallace) Zetelle and the 1910 census, she lived at 3101 14th St NW with her husband Antonio, step daughter (?) Gladys Magruder. However, in Gladys’ 1913 wedding announcement to Hubert Quinter, she is listed as a niece. The Delaware marriage record has her parents as Daniel and Blanche Wallace. Hubbert Roger Quinter was born in 1890 in DC. In the 1920 census the couple lived at the 16th Street South Brook Apt House with their two year old daughter. At the time Hubbert was an insurance agent. In 1930 the family lived at and owned 3228 Woodley Rd NW. Living with the little family was Gladys’ aunt, Mary. They lived next door (3232 Woodley) to Hubbert’s brother William K. Quinter, a “well known District Bar member” and lawyer. By the second World War they moved to Chevy Chase, MD. Hubbert was still in the Insurance business but this time working for a Real Estate firm. Mr. and Mrs. Quinter lived with their married daughter, their granddaughter and two African American servants. In the 1950 census, the family moved back to DC living at 4801 Connecticut Ave NW. At this point Hubbert was president of the Real Estate Mortgage and Guaranty Co. and noted for being an associate of Harry Wardman. He died of a heart attack at Georgetown Hospital in 1961.

Edit- 12/1/24- added that Isabelle Manders was white. I forget to add the race of the people when they aren’t African American. I also forget to add it when they are Black too.

WSIC- Related- 116 Q Street NW

Yet some nearby houses like 116 Q St NW looked like they might have been WSIC. Looking at the land records, this house is not. photo of property

The records for lot 814 go back to 1941, but the recorder of deeds go back to the 1920s. One of the owners name on the 1941 document is James I. Medley. Using that name, records from 1927 to 1939 were located for lot 26.

January 1927 William Adams sold lot 26 to James I. Medley.
February 1927 Dewey Washington sold lot 26 to James I. Medley.
March 1927 James and Mildred F. Medley borrowed $4,500 from trustees C. Frances Owens and Eugene A. Smith.

In 1927 James Medley purchased several lot 26 portions, particularly from the Nash family. They also took out a loan but none I can attach particularly to 116 Q St NW.

March 1941 the Medleys sold lots 813 & 814 to Hubbert R. Quinter and ~~sister~~ in-law Mary B. Zetelle.
January 1946 Hubbert and Gladys Z. Quinter and Mary Zetelle transferred several properties, including 814 to Nannie D. Carr. Carr transferred it back to the Quinters.
January 1961 the Quinters sold lots 813 & 814 to Mercedes B. and Norman F. Manders.
January 1961 the Manders borrowed $7,000 from trustees Williams S. Green and Arthur J. Sherwin.
October 1964 the Manders sold lots 813 and 814 to the Diamond Housing Corporation. The Diamond Housing Corp. borrowed $8,500 from the Franklin Federal Savings and Loan Association.
March 1965 the Manders were released from their January 1961 loan.

I’m deciding to end it there.

Edit 11/26/2024- changed Mary from sister in law to general in-law. She may have been Gladys’ aunt but I am not sure.

WSIC Related- 130 Bates Street NW

Well this is not a Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) house. But I’m going to give it the WSIC treatment because our fav Greek slum landlord, Geo. Basiliko shows up, as does the Bates Street Associates.

photo of property

Let’s see what happens with 130 Bates St NW, starting with the 1st DC Recorder of Deeds doc:

August 1937 Martha E. Aue borrowed $2,700 from the Metropolitian Building Association (trustees Melvin F. Bergmann and Edmund M. Emmerich).
August 1937 Aue was released from a 1920 mortgage with trustees Patrick J. Welshe and Charles Schafer.
June 1951 Aue sold the home to Mary A. Furnary.
June 1951 Furnary borrowed $4,500 from the Liberty Building Association (trustees Louis C. Dismer, Julius A. Maedel, and John H. Stadtler).
July 1951 Aue was released from her 1937 mortgage.
May 1952 Furnary sold the property to Donald Quarles.
Quarles borrowed $4,415 from trustees Howard F. and Robert A. Humphries at 6% interest. Half of the amount was for Furnary and the other half for Rebecca M. Smith.
July 1952 Quarles and his wife Earline, transferred the property to Robert A. Humphries, who in the next doc transferred it back to them.
March 1962 the June 1951 Furnary loan was foreclosed upon and for $5,600 George Basiliko was the winner of the auction.
March 1962 Sophia and George Basiliko borrowed $4,800 from the Perpetual Building Association (trustees Junior F. Crowell and Samuel Scriverner Jr.)
July 1970 the Basilikos were released from the 1962 loan.
October 1980 the Bates Street Associates Limited Partnership, with Haley-Makielski Associates, George Holmes Jr. and Jack W. White sold the property to Delores W. Manning and her daughter Lawanna Manning.

I will leave the property history there. So let’s look at the people involved ending with the Basilikos.

Mrs. Martha E. Aue shows up in the 1936 DC City directory at 130 Bates (Ancestry says 30 Bates). Martha Rollins married William Aue in 1898. The 1950 census showed that she was a white widowed 74 year old female living with her 47 year old son Raymond Henry Aue and a roomer. Both she and her son were listed as unable to work. On his WW2 draft card he was listed as being blind. Raymond died that year and Martha died in 1958.

Mary A. Furnary was a bookkeeper at a Real Estate Firm according to the 1950 census. She lived with her parents who were Italian immigrants.

Unfortunately, there were two Donald Quarles in DC in the 1950s. One white, one black, and neither one I can connect to Earline.

This is not a WSIC house. It was not owned by anyone associated with WSIC nor the Colonial Investment Co, which purchased the WSIC rentals.

WSIC Related House- 127 Bates Street NW

So I thought this was a WSIC house. It wasn’t built as one. photo of property From the picture above of 127 Bates from 2004, the lot number is 0821.

Cool.

Whelp. The record for that lot goes back to 2013. So to the 1919 map

1919 map from Library of Congress — 1919 Baist Map of section of Square 552

127 Bates Street NW appears to have been Lot 804. The record for that lot end in 1929.

Mmmkay. So the alternative lot number is 25, but that covers a lot that stretches from Q St to Bates. And there was a lot going on with lot 25, but I am going to follow Frank and Frances Hild who owned lot 804. In 1928 they sold to Leon S. Oppenheimer and Elmer B. Young. But Oppenheimer and Young also bought portions of lot 25 from Consiglia and Frank Frazzano. And it remains confusing and messy.

Then I jump to the 1950s and the Washington Sanitary Improvement Co buyers Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans of the Colonial Investment Co. They are selling lot 805, which is 125 Bates; lot 811 which is on Q St; lot 819 & 820 which appears to also be 125 Bates.

Working from the other end, the earlier name attached to lot 821 is Dorothy L. Clemons, she seems to have owned 127 from 1981-2014. A 1981 financing statement has 127 Bates associated with lots 819 and 782. We never see lot 782 again. Clemons purchased 127 Bates, as lots 819 & 820, from the Bates Street Associates Limited Partnership. The Bates Street Assoc. Ltd. got the property from the Dc Redevelopment Land Agency.

The title information is a little messy. What I can tell is that it was owned by the Colonial Investment Co., DC RLA and the Bates Street Associates.

1920 to 1930- White to Black- 1709 New Jersey Avenue

1700 Block NJ Ave NW, 1930. Brown= AfAm residents; White= No data

In this series of looking at the odd numbered side of the 1700 block of New Jersey Ave NW from 1920 to 1930, I decided to look at the other end of the block. The change from 1920 to 1930 for most of the block was from white renters to black home owners. My post The sell off of the 1700 block of New Jersey Ave NW pretty much explains the why.

Looking at a previous post I wrote:

1709 NJ Ave NW (Sq. 507, lot 14) sold to Julia G. Holland by M. Harvey Chiswell around September 1920. She also had a loan/ deed of trust between her W. Wallace Chiswell, H.A. Kite for $2,800 at 6%, secured by M. Harvey Chiswell.

It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so this is the pattern: I look at the white renters then the black homeowners.

White Renters

There was only one household mentioned in the 1920 census for 1709 NJ Ave NW, the Nolan family. The head was a 47 year old Irish-American bricklayer named James Joseph Nolan. Julia (nee Woolridge), his wife, his 84 year old mother Mary M. Nolan, and their two sons Victor (17) and Fredrick (9). Victor worked as a mechanic at the Navy Yard.

The family was at the house for the 1910 census. Then it was headed by 73 year old, retired contractor, James Francis Nolan. Mary, James J., Julia, grandsons Victor and James F. Jr. Little James F. could be Fredrick.

When Mary M. Nolan died in 1924 the Washington Times reported that she lived at 1223 8th St NW. The family was at 1252 10th St NW for the 1930 census. They were still renters and a multi-generational household. Victor was married and in the home with his wife Cornelia and daughters Miriam(5) and Margaret (3). James and Victor were working as bricklayers and James F. a stacker? at the Patent Office. Julia died in 1936 and their address was 1543 3rd St NW. and her funeral was at Immaculate Conception. In 1940 the Nolan family were listed as homeowners. But this time Victor was the head, working as a clerk at the Post Office supporting his wife, two daughters and his father.

James died in 1947. At that point he was living at 9505 Biltmore Dr, Silver Spring, MD.

Black Homeowner

Julia C. Holland purchased the home at 1709 New Jersey Ave NW. In the 1930 census she lived at the property with her daughter Thelma Holland and four lodgers. Also in 1930 she took out a loan with trustees EK Coleman and Leo Kahn. The next loan, which was taken out in 1941, noted that Julia had died. For a 1965 loan, the paperwork noted that Thelma had died and her estate had passed to Julia A. Henderson. Julia A. Henderson was already dead or incapacitated and her estate run by Thomas O., Carl O., and John E. Henderson. This ends with the 1966 sale by successor guardian Preston H. Harris to Harry W. and Max. M. Goldberg.

Julia C. Holland was renting a place with her daughter Thelma at 1519 11st St. (NW?) with her mother Laura Clark and mother in law Agnes Holland in the 1920 census. In 1920 she worked as a charwoman for the US government. The two older women worked as laundresses.

It appears that Julia Clarke Holland died in April of 1933 and her funeral was held at Asbury M.E. church. Her husband John R. Holland died in 1919 and his funeral was at the same church. She was a member of a couple of women’s fraternal organizations who attended her funeral.

It seems Thelma married Thomas O. Henderson, which explains all the Hendersons who were in charge of her estate. They were her children. Thelma died in 1956 and like her parents, her funeral was held at Asbury M.E. Church.

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 129 Bates Street NW

Let’s see what happens with 129 Bates St NW:

Well. When I look at lot 822 I don’t see anything that goes back to the 1950s. When I look at a 1919 map and see that it is lot 803. I don’t see anything past 1931.

The name associated with the property in 1931 are Beatrice W. and Leon S. Oppenheimer and Elmer B. Young. They sold it to General Realties Inc. And they sold it to the Washington Loan and Trust Company on behalf of the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC). WSIC then sold to Evans, Levin and Taube.

I see sales of 1/4 of lots 819 and 820, which is lot 805, now 822. But I can’t narrow So let’s go backwards. Start with lot 822 and trace it to Delores S. McDaniels who was the first person to own lot 822 in the system. Her ownership ranges from 1981-2006 and the records show lots 25, 820, and 822. In 1981 she got the property from the Bates Street Associates Limited Partnership. That hints that it may have been owned by slum landlord George Basiliko and maybe the DC RLA.

So let’s look back at lots 819 and 820. A 1971 condemnation order has those combined lots for 129 Bates St NW. The problem I have associating those combined lots with 129 Bates is that I see 1/4th portions, which makes sense for 125 Bates Street which is currently the four unit Truxton Condominium. Also 125 Bates is in the right spot, west of 123 Bates which is lot 818.

The titles are too messy for me to do a decent tracking for this address. I give up.

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 121 Bates Street NW

Let’s see what happens with 121 Bates St NW:

April 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 121 Bates NW to Horace R. and Mary F. Jones.
April 1951 the Jones borrowed $1,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
April 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 121 Bates St NW to Arthur and Elizabeth Little.
April 1951 the Littles borrowed $1,900 at 6% interest from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
March 1953 the Littles of 121A Bates got a rare 2nd mortgage from trustees Roland Brown Jr and Jacob Sandler for $1,038.97 to pay Consolidated Eng. & Dist. Co. Inc.
July 1954 the Jones lost their half to foreclosure. Evans, Levin, and Taube regained possession of the property via an auction.
June 1959 as part of a larger property package, new owner Badt, Evans, Taube, their wives and Levin’s survivors sold the foreclosed half of 121 Bates St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
September 1967 the Littles were released from their mortgage with Levin and Weightman.
June 1974 the Littles sold their half to George Basiliko.
August 1978 Sophia and George Basiliko sold 121 Bates to Bates Street Ventures Partnership.

I’ll end this with 1978. There was one foreclosure and it wound up in the hands of Basiliko but not the DC RLA.

WSIC-1950 Sell Off-119 Bates Street NW

Let’s see what happens with 119 Bates St NW:

December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 119 Bates St NW to Mazine W. and William N. Jackson.
December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Jacksons borrowed $2,150 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 119 Bates St NW to Lois L. and Lorenzo Hobbs.
December 1950 Mr. & Mrs. Hobbs borrowed $2,150 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
April 1953 the Hobbs lost their half to foreclosure. Evans, Levin and Taube got the property back via an auction.
April 1953 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosed property to Bernice R. and Romus Smith.
April 1953 the Smiths borrowed $2,672.55 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
August 1953 the Jacksons lost their half of the house to foreclosure. Evans, Levin and Taube got the property back via an auction.
August 1953 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosure to Ellen N. and Stuart G. Johnson.
August 1953 the Johnsons borrowed $2,918.26 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
May 1955 the Johnsons lost their half of the house to foreclosure. And once again Evans, Levin and Taube get it back via an auction.
November 1961, as part of a larger property package, new owner Harry A. Badt, Evan, Taube, their wives, and Nathan Levin’s survivors sold part of the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
June 1971 the Smiths sold their half to George Basiliko.
Between 1971 and 1978 the property was transferred to the Bates Street Ventures Partnership from Basiliko.

I am not sure if there is any relationship between the Bates Street Ventures and Bates Street Associates. Anywho, there were several foreclosures and it wound up the the hands of Basiliko.

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 123 Bates Street NW

Let’s see what happens with 123 Bates St NW:

April 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 123 Bates St NW to Clark E. and Mattie E. Otey.
April 1951 the Oteys borrowed $1,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
April 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 123 Bates St NW to Joseph B. and Lucille Robinson.
April 1951 the Robinsons borrowed $1,900 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
October 1954 the Robinsons sold the property back to Colonial Investments’ owners.
August 1958 the Oteys lost their half of the property to foreclosure. New Colonial Investment Co. new partner (Levin died) Harry A. Badt, Evans, and Taube regained ownership via an auction.
March 1959 the Colonial Investment Co partners and the Levin survivors, in a larger property package, sold their interest in the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
1971-1978? or sometime before, as I cannot locate a document, Basiliko sold 123 Bates to DC RLA.
July 1978 DC RLA had a contract with the Bates Street Associates for many Truxton Circle properties.

The story of the Bates Street Associates is a whole other post on its own. So there is one foreclosure and then the usual story with Basiliko and the DC RLA.

Sometime I’ll put up some biographies of the owners if their name was unusual enough (no Smiths, or Jones or Johnsons). In this case I’m looking at Clark Ellis Otey who lost half of 123 Bates to foreclosure. He was born April 25, 1913 in Bedford, VA. In 1939 he married Mattie Ethel Penn and in 1940 lived in Bedford where he was a waiter and she worked as a cook. In 1948 they lived at 752 Euclid NW in DC and Clark was working as a clerk for the government. They managed to avoid the 1950 census. Looking at the DC Recorder of Deeds, they did not buy any other DC properties.

It appears they moved back to Bedford. Clark died in 1986 at the age of 72 in Bedford. Mattie also died in Bedford in May of 2005. It appears they did not have any children.