Month: July 2026

Truxton Resident- Calvin B. Lucas (1880-1954) 206A Q St NW

Calvin Bower Lucas was born in Pennsylvania in 1880 but lived in Truxton Circle from ca. 1887 to 1932. When he was born on February 22, 1880 to Nelson Allen Lucas and Ellen Waddle Myers in Colesville, PA his father was a constable or law enforcement officer.

When the family of parents and four living children (they had 7-8 children in total) lived at 1612 1st St NW the father worked as a government clerk. Clifford Lucas, an adult child lived at the same address, but different household with wife Carrie Allen. Of the other adult Lucas children, daughter Carrie J., then 22 and Calvin, aged 20 had jobs. Calvin worked as an apprentice plumber. The father owned the home.

Not too longer after, Calvin enlisted in the Marine Corp in December 1901 and was stationed at the Marine Barracks, in Bremerton, WA. He was stationed at a Naval hospital in 1905 in Yokohama, Japan. That same year, in December, he was discharged.

According to an Ancestry family tree, he married Anna Marie Horn in 1907. Mary Horn, was the Baltimorian daughter of German immigrants and worked as a tailoress, prior to her marriage to Calvin.

When Calvin was 30, he had already become a plumber with his own shop. The couple, Calvin and Anna Marie, were tenants at  206A Q St NW, a Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) rental for working class Whites. When the draft for WWI came around, in 1918, he described himself as a self-employed plumber with light blue eyes.

During their time in unit A from 1910 to 1930, it seems the couple was childless. With the exception of their nephew Lawrence Jehu Kirwan staying with them in 1920, while the young 22 year old worked as a piano tuner, they lived alone.

Calvin served on the board of trustees for the Memorial Church of the United Brethren in Christ since the late 1800s. The church was located at 1712 North Capitol Street NW in Bloomingdale, the church building was later occupied by the Metropolitan Wesley AME Church.

In 1932 Calvin and his wife left Truxton Circle for Columbia Heights. They purchased 1425 Parkwood Place NW for about $4000. They borrowed $2,600 of it from the Saratoga Building and Land Corp.  According to Redfin it is currently a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,386 sq. ft. home.

Evening Star

He died in 1954. According to his obituary he had worked for the GSA since 1925 rising to the rank of supervisor. He was very involved in veterans and masonic groups.

Thousands of people have lived in the Truxton Circle neighborhood for over 100 years and they have thousands of stories. The goal of the Truxton Circle History Project is to find every man, woman, and child who lived in the neighborhood using every available source. The Project uses the 1880-1950 censuses, the power of Ancestry and every other online resource to discover and uncover neighborhood history.

Truxton Resident- Albert I. Chew (1890-1945) Hanover Pl NW

Albert Chew was born September 14, 1890 in Washington, DC to Daniel Chew and Rebecca/Betty Parker. If his middle name was Ivan or Irving is a mystery as he used both. Chew lived on Hanover St in Truxton Circle from circa 1920 to 1945.

In his pre-Truxton census info, Albert was a Black/mullato and lived with his widowed mother. When he was about nine in 1900, his mother worked as a servant and his brothers, Daniel and James, worked as a bell boy and porter. He was still living with his mother and siblings in 1910. He worked as a driver for a department store.

By 1917 Albert was married with a child and living at 46 Hanover St NW. He had married Cecelia Mae Corbin and their first child, Irene/Aretha, was born in 1915.

He was still a driver in the 1920 census, but for a private family. But he was in a different house, 40 Hanover St NW. The property may have been a two flat house as there was another household at the address. He supported his wife, young son and daughter with his work.

Still a driver in 1930, his family moved a few doors down to 38 1/2 Hanover St NW. He was still supporting his family being the only employed adult in a family of six.

He was across the street from where he started in Truxton Circle, 45 Hanover St NW, by the 1940 census. This would be his last census. He was 49 and was a driver by trade, working for the federal government. The WWII draft revealed it was for the War Department, specifically, Ft. Meyer. The house must have been a bi crowded. Along with his wife Cecila, they lived with eldest daughter Aretha and her husband Bobby Williams, son William (20), and minor daughters Thelma (14) and Audrey (8). The son-in-law worked as a carrier. William was a new worker.

May 16, 1945 Albert Chew died. According to his obituary, his wife had already passed away. He was survived by daughters Thelma and Audrey Chew, Aretha Williams, Helen Beason and son William. Seeing that Audrey was a minor orphan with both parents dead, she was taken in by her sister Aretha and her husband on Rock Creek Church Rd NW.

Albert was a renter and we can see this in his movements. There must have been something about Hanover that kept him on that street. And why he bounced around from one house to the next is also a mystery.

Thousands of people have lived in the Truxton Circle neighborhood for over 100 years and they have thousands of stories. The goal of the Truxton Circle History Project is to find every man, woman, and child who lived in the neighborhood using every available source. The Project uses the 1880-1950 censuses, the power of Ancestry and every other online resource to discover and uncover neighborhood history.

Truxton Resident- Malcolm S. Beaton (1915-1967) 39A and 54 Bates St NW

Thousands of people have lived in the Truxton Circle neighborhood for over 100 years and they have thousands of stories.

Malcolm Stuart Beaton was born in Rocky Mount. NC either in 1913 or 1915.  Regardless, of the birth year, he shows up in Truxton Circle in the 1920 living with his unmarried aunt, Teresa E Andre, He was 4 and she was 59 and they lived at 54 Bates Street, a WSIC rental unit for White working class tenants. 

In this story, there are three Malcolm S. Bentons who are all connected to Miss Teresa E. Andre of 54 Bates Street NW. I need to start with Malcolm S. Beaton born in 1852 Scotland. This Malcolm married Teresa’s sister. He appears to have been the father of Malcolm S. Beaton born in 1895 born in Washington, DC. Then we have Malcolm S. Benton born 1915 or thereabouts in NC.

The first Malcolm married tailoress Lillie Emma Andre in 1880 in Washington, DC.  They had a son in 1881 named Malcolm Roy Benton, but that child died. They had an unnamed child in 1895 in DC when he worked as an electrician. It is very likely this was the 1895 Malcolm S. Benton.

When he was 15, 1895 Malcolm S. Beaton, lived with the Andre family in 1910, after the death of his parents. The home at 54 Bates St NW was headed by his aunt Teresa Andre, who then worked as a dressmaker. Living there were her father William, 86, and niece Nellie Andre, 26.

1915 Malcolm S. Beaton was a motherless and a fatherless child. He could not have been the child of 1852 Malcolm as he died in 1897 and his wife Lillie in 1900. The 1915 city directory had 1895 Malcolm living with Aunt Teresa at 54 Bates and working as a messenger. 1895 Malcolm was single in 1917 when he registered for the draft and was living with his Aunt Teresa at 54 Bates. He stated he had an aunt to support. He does not mention a child, who would have been 2 or 5 at that point. When 1915 Malcolm first appeared in the 1920 census as a four year old at 54 Bates. He and his Aunt Teresa were the only occupants in their unit. Over at 51 Bates St NW lived 1895 Malcolm and his wife Bernice Irene Jackson from Virginia. Bernice and 1895 Malcolm were assumed married in 1919 when their daughter Marjorie Louise Beaton, who only lived a few days, died. On her death certificate, they listed 54 Bates as their home address.

The 1920 census had 1915 Malcolm with a father born in DC and a mother from South Carolina. The 1930 census claimed his father was Scottish and mother from DC, the same as 1895 Malcolm. The following census did not track parents’ place of birth. It does not appear that Bernice was his mother and besides his name, there is nothing proving 1895 Malcolm is his father.

Both the 1895 and 1915 Malcolms, appear together in the 1930 census living with Aunt Teresa at 54 Bates. The senior Beaton was a salesman for a radio store and the the younger was 14. Probably in school.

June 20, 1938 Aunt Teresa died. Her obituary mentioned her nephew 1895 Malcolm, and her great-nephew 1915 Malcolm. However, her address was 3720 Upton St NW. She had left Truxton Circle prior to her death. In July of 1940, 1895 Malcolm died at Gallinger Hospital at the age of 45.

In 1934, 1915 Malcolm married Anne Shockency of 39 Bates Street NW, a WSIC tenant, while he was living on Todd St NE. By 1940 he was back on Bates with his wife at 39A Bates. There were 4 people in the unit. Mr. and Mrs. Beaton, their 3 year old son Kenneth S. Beaton and Malcolm’s aunt-in-law, Helen C. Sullivan. When 39 Bates St NW was up for sale in 2014, it was a 2 flat structure with a total of 1,976 square feet. A smidge less than 1000 sq. ft. per unit.

When World War II began drafting its young men, Malcolm, the remaining Malcolm, provided information about his birth. The draft card shows that he was still in Truxton Circle.

When 1950 rolled around the family had moved to SE DC living on Minnesota Ave.  Malcolm was unable to work, so Ann worked as a key punch operator. In 1954, young Kenneth attended Anacostia High, a White school.

Eventually the last Malcolm S. Beaton died in 1967. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery with this wife Anna. He served in the United States Marine Corps and fought in World War II.

The goal of the Truxton Circle History Project is to find every man, woman, and child who lived in the neighborhood using every available source. The Project uses the 1880-1950 censuses, the power of Ancestry and every other online resource to discover and uncover neighborhood history.

Truxton Resident- William Chew (1918-1987) 38, 40, 45 Hanover St NW

This is a short biography of former Truxton Circle resident, William C. Chew.

William Corbin Chew was born December 7, 1918 to Albert I. Chew, an African American chauffeur and Cecelia Mae Corbin in Washington, DC. In 1920 he lived at 40 Hanover St NW. He lived there with his older sister Irene, who was 4 in 1920.

They had moved over to 38 1/2 Hanover by the 1930 census, His father was still a driver, but working for the Ft. Meyer Laundry. The family had expanded and William was the one son among three daughters.

In the last census where we find William C. Chew he resided at 45 Hanover St NW in 1940. He was 21, single, living with his parents and three sisters, along with a brother in law. His father was still a driver, aged 49 and working for the US government. William was a “new worker”. When he registered for the draft for WWII he worked at the Palais Royal Department Store.

At some point in time he married Nelline Elizabeth McPherson. She was born in 1923 in Gainesville, VA with an unknown father on her birth certificate. She is located at 51 1/2 Hanover St as Nelline Chew, living with her aunt and uncle Ethel and Percy H. Nichens, their adult children, minor child, and granddaughter. William is nowhere to be found.

Everything else until his death is a mystery. He died in March 1987 and his last known address was in Silver Spring, MD. Hopefully that is the correct Bill Chew, as a William B. Chew also died in March 1987 but he lived near/in Baltimore and had a different set of parents.

The goal of the Truxton Circle History Project is to find every man, woman, and child who lived in the neighborhood using every available source. The Project uses the 1880-1950 censuses, the power of Ancestry and every other online resource to discover and uncover neighborhood history.

Truxton Resident- Mary Holloran (1860-1919) 224 O St NW

There’s a new tag on the InShaw blog, “women”. There are hundreds of stories of women who have lived, worked or owned property in Truxton Circle. The tag hopefully will make their stories easier to locate.

When looking at Margaret Holloran Killmeyer (1900-1953) there was an aunt who appeared in the Holloran house when Margaret’s mother died. Aunt Mary did not have a listed occupation, so one could assume she was there to care for the children and assist her brother Tom. Because of Maggie’s Uncle John, who lived with her in 1930, a little background check showed that he lived with Aunt Mary who had an occupation and may have been a female Truxton Circle homeowner.

It’s hard to pin down when Mary Holloran was born. A 1900 census has her birth month and year as August 1960. But other documents place her birth year around 1857 or 1859. Whatever year she was born, she was born in Washington, DC to Irish immigrants, Margaret Sullivan and John Holloran. She appeared in the 1870 census as a 14 year old domestic servant living with her parents and siblings, Annie (16), Thomas(12) and John Joseph (10). Her older sister Annie was also a domestic servant.

Mary’s father died and in the 1880 census the adult Holloran children lived with their widowed mother. They resided in what became the family home 224 O St NW in Truxton Circle. Annie had married in 1874 so it was Mary and the others. Mary did not have a listed job and kept house with her 44 year old mother. Her brother Thomas was a 22 year old brick mason and brother John, 19, was a messenger.

In the 1895 city directory, Mary G. Holloran, the first time a middle name had been hinted at, lived at 224 O Street NW.  Her brother Thomas the brick layer wasn’t far, over in the NE section of Truxton Circle at 35 P St NE. She did not have a job listed with her name.

According to the 1900 census Mary was 39 and owned 224 O Street free and clear. Her father John had purchased the house in 1863. Unfortunately, he was illiterate and his named was misspelled on the paperwork. So the family just maintained their tenancy after his death in 1881. Mary worked as a seamstress and lived with her brother John, 34, and their niece, 17 year old Madge E. Luckett. The Luckett family lived over in PG County with four boys ranging from 21 to 6 years old in the house. One can take guesses as to why the young lady chose to live with her maternal aunt and uncle. Possibly to be closer to her job, or job opportunities in general.

However, Mary’s sister in law died in 1906 and it seems by 1908 her widower brother Thomas and his four children moved into 224 O St NW. Their residence in the Holloran family home appeared in the 1910 census.

On November 30, 1919, at the age of 60, Mary died after a battle with cancer. According to the Washington Times Herald, she died at her sister Anne’s house at 646 6th St NE. Her niece Mrs. Margaret Luckett Diggory provided the information for her death certificate. She was buried at Mt. Olivet cemetery.

After her death the family home was sold in 1923 with the Lucketts laying claim to it. The family sold it to the District of Columbia, which eventually used it for the Dunbar High School campus.

As an observer, it appears the Hollorans were a very close knit family. They stayed together. If not in the same house, a few blocks away.

The goal of the Truxton Circle History Project is to find every man, woman, and child who lived in the neighborhood using every available source. The Project uses the 1880-1950 censuses, the power of Ancestry and every other online resource to discover and uncover neighborhood history.

Truxton Resident- Margaret Holloran Killmeyer (1900-1953) Bates, O, and P Streets NW

Thousands of people have lived in the Truxton Circle neighborhood for over 100 years and they have thousands of stories.

Margaret Mary Holloran was born in January 5, 1900 in Washington, DC, to Thomas Holloran, aged 39, and  Ellen O’Conner, 29. She appeared in the 1900 census in the NE part of Truxton Circle that I typically ignore, 7 P St NE. Her father was a Irish-American bricklayer born in DC and her mother, was of a similar background, having Irish parents and being a DC native. So a White family.

Her mother died in 1906 so in the 1910 census, Tom Holloran was a widower raising four minor children between the ages of 16 and 10, with the help of his spinster sister, 31 year old Mary. They lived in the part of the TC I don’t ignore, 224 O St NW. The house was owned by Mary, so not only was she helping her brother with her nieces and nephews, she provided them a place to live.

In 1919, at the age of 19, Margaret married Leopold John Killmeyer in Baltimore. But for reasons (?), she was living with her father and adult siblings at 210A Bates Street NW in 1920.  The family had been at 210A Bates for a few years, at least since the draft for World War I. Eventually she was reunited with her husband and they lived at 63 Bates Street NW in unit A in 1930.

Currently, 210 Bates is one single house. The renovated home, according to Redfin is 2118 square feet. In 1920 it was two separate units, about 2 bedrooms per unit, around 1000 square feet, so pretty cramped for 5 adults. But that was where she lived.

From Kober, George “The history and development of the housing movement in the city of Washington, D.C” 1907

When her father Thomas died in 1933, 63 Bates was listed as her residence. She was the only family member mentioned in the very brief death notice.

In 1930 the Killmeyer household consisted of Leo, aged 31, a painter by trade, Margaret a homemaker, their 10 year old daughter Blanche and “lodger” John J. Holloran, her uncle. Uncle John was living with his sister, Mary Hollaran, the spinster aunt who helped out Tom in 1910. In 1900, the Hollaran siblings lived at 224 O St NW with their 17 year old niece Madge Luckett. Mary was a seamstress, John a plasterer, and Madge a government clerk. Anyway, back to Maggie H. Killmeyer.

Margaret was still keeping house in 1940, as her husband Leo still worked as a painter, and her then 20 year old daughter worked as a physician’s receptionist. They were still at 63A Bates up until 1950. The last time they appeared in the census in Truxton Circle, her husband had retired and it was just the two of them. Later that year, their unit would be sold.

The couple relocated to 1110 Kingwood Drive in Tacoma Park, MD. Margaret died April 22, 1953. Leo joined her in death November 1956.

The goal of the Truxton Circle History Project is to find every man, woman, and child who lived in the neighborhood using every available source. The Project uses the 1880-1950 censuses, the power of Ancestry and every other online resource to discover and uncover neighborhood history.

Truxton Resident-Charles H. Aldridge (1891-1938) 214 Q St NW

Charles Henry Aldridge was born in New York City December 14, 1891 to William Frederick Aldridge and Mary Ellen Daly, to English and Irish-American parents. In 1900 his father was a painter and Charles as an 8 year old he lived with older sister Lucy (10) and baby brother William (1).

He had relocated to Truxton Circle at 214 Q St NW by 1917 when he filled out his WWI draft card. He was living with his wife and child and worked as a clerk for the War Department. He had married German-American Margaretha Geider in 1914 in New York City.  In the 1920 census he was a government stenographer supporting his wife and two boys, Ralph (4) and Frank (1).

214 Q St NW. Taken 6/28/2004

They remained in 214 Q St NW, a Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) home, through to the 1930 census. Since there is not a letter behind the number, they may have rented the whole property and it was not divided into two units. Charles died in 1938. He was the victim of a car accident three years prior and developed health problems as a result. He was the a section chief in the Adjutant General’s Office.

His widow remained at 214 Q St NW until it was sold off.

Thousands of people have lived in the Truxton Circle neighborhood for over 100 years and they have thousands of stories. The goal of the Truxton Circle History Project is to find every man, woman, and child who lived in the neighborhood using every available source. The Project uses the 1880-1950 censuses, the power of Ancestry and every other online resource to discover and uncover neighborhood history.

Truxton Resident- Several John Johnsons (1876- ) Reeves and P St

Thousands of people have lived in the Truxton Circle neighborhood for over 100 years and they have thousands of stories.

John Johnson. I don’t have much hope with a name that common, but let’s see what pops up. A John Johnson shows up in my Truxton Circle Census spreadsheet.

The first John Johnson shows up in the 1900 census as a boarder of Warner Snowden at 113 Reeves Street, which was an alley where the Co-op exists today. He was a 24 year old Black male born January 1876 in Virginia and worked as a day laborer. This John Johnson possibly died on October 6, 1911. The 1911 John Johnson was 35, so about the right age.

He couldn’t have been the John Johnson who lived at 6 P Street NW in 1920, because 1920 John Johnson was White and a DC native. 1920 John Johnson was a married journeyman carpenter who lived with his widowed mother. His parents were immigrants. His father was from Holland and his mother from Germany. His mother Rosa B. Johnson previously was listed as a homeowner in the 1910 census.

The last John Johnson, 1940s John Johnson is the ghost of 1900 John Johnson because he’s living on Reeves Court, on the same block where the Northwest Co-op sits. 1940 John Johnson was a Black 64 year old Virginian lodger who worked as a laborer for the W.P.A. making about $640 a year. The 1940 John Johnson was married to a 38 year old Mabel.

I don’t think these are the same guys, but I could be wrong about 1900 and 1940 John Johnsons.

The goal of the Truxton Circle History Project is to find every man, woman, and child who lived in the neighborhood using every available source. The Project uses the 1880-1950 censuses, the power of Ancestry and every other online resource to discover and uncover neighborhood history.