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. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. 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.
Let’s see what happens with 31 Bates St NW:
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 31 Bates St NW to divorcée Helen L. Campbell.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 1951) Campbell borrowed $2,525 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 31 Bates St NW to Rosa Abbitt.
- Dec 1950 Abbitt borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- March 1961 Campbell was released from her mortgage.
- September 1961 Abbitt was released from her mortgage.
- November 1, 1963 Abbitt died.
- May 1962 Susie Monroe Williams, Abbitt’s sole heir, sold her half to Orson L. and Vera D. Huntsman.
- February 1971 the Huntsmans sold their half to George Basiliko.
- December 1971 there was a “Notice of Lien” placed on Campbell’s half where her heir Irene C. Gregg was named by the DC Department of Public Welfare. From what I can tell, Ms Gregg was receiving assistance from the city and the city made a claim on her house.
- October 1974 Gregg sold her half to George Basiliko and now he owned the whole property.
- February 1975 the DC Department of Human Services, Social Service Administration. Examination and Compliance Division released the lien.
- August 1978 Basiliko sold 31 Bates St to the Bates Street Ventures Partnership.
No foreclosures. The original buyers paid off their mortgages. It was fine until the property was sold to George Basiliko.
Abbitt was mentioned as a widow in the land records. She was a divorcée. I located a Virginia divorce record for 1963. Rosa Williams Abbott of 11A Bates Street NW (why not 31?) divorced George Elbert Abbott. The record said they had been separated since April 1942. For his WW2 draft card, he was living with his wife at 318 New Jersey Ave NW, Apt 4. They were both from Prince Edward County, Virginia. In the 1950 census she lived alone at 1131 D St NE. She worked as a charwoman at the US General Services Agency.