We have touched upon Mrs. Freeman in Truxton Resident- Benjamin Freeman 1893-1977- 1st, 3rd, R Sts NW as the mother of Ben Freeman. This post focuses on Ella Freeman.
Ella/Ellen Wheeler was born in Virginia around 1860-1861, around about the time of the American Civil War. It is not clear if her parents were free Blacks or not. The 1870 census showed the family living in Washington, DC with 43 year old Henry Wheeler, a laborer, as the head and his 37 year old wife (Ella’s assumed mother) at home with Ella (9) and sister Mary (12).
By the next census Ella had more sisters. In 1880, the census where addresses start to be recorded, her family lived on the 1000 block of 4th St NW, outside of Truxton. Henry & Louisa were the parents of 6 daughters. Ella and Mary were in their 20s, and their sisters were elementary aged. There was an eleven year gap between Ella (20) and Minnette (9), and an eighteen year gap between Ella and the youngest, two year old Lillie L.
In 1881 she married Charles Freeman.
She and her husband first appear in Truxton Circle in the 1910 census living at 1609 4th St NW. At this point she was 50 years old and this census asked how many children had she had and how many survived. She had eight children and only five survived. The house was full. She lived with her husband Charles, who worked as a messenger, 17 year old son Benjamin, 15 yo son Earle, along with her married daughter’s family, her 6 yo grandson, and a “lodger” Estelle Wheeler, who may have been her sister or other relative.
The 1920 census had the family at 1609 3rd St NW. The house was less crowded with Ella and Charles, 29 yo daughter Anna Williams, her 16 year old grandson, and a 33 year old lodger, Dr. A.J. Bacote. The good Dr. was working as a Pullman porter.
The next census doesn’t provide any clue if they actually moved from 1609 4th to 1609 3rd, because they were at 1623 3rd St NW. In 1930 Ella lived with just 3 other family members. Her husband Charles was still a messenger at 67 years old. The two other family members were her daughter Anna Williams and grandson Robert Williams.
From all the census records, it appears that Ella did not work outside of the home. However the census is spotty with 1890 missing and she not appearing in the 1900 census. She was not recorded in the same house as husband Charles who was living with family outside of the TC on the 1000 block of 4th St NW. It’s possible she may have held a job elsewhere at points in her life.
She died June 30, 1936 at her home at 131 T St NW. She was survived by her husband, two sons Alfonso and Benjamin. Her son Earl died in 1929, at the time of his death he lived with his parents and was a widower. Daughter Anna Williams died in 1933. Ella’s funeral was celebrated at the Third Baptist Church and she was buried at Harmony Cemetery.
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.