Category: Buildings

At first I was busy looking for Edwin Coleman but thankfully the land records set me straight, his name was Edward. Sadly this post is not as rich as the previous post, and will be very basic.

Whatever was at 230 O Street NW, got torn down for Dunbar High School’s needs. From the 1920 census, Edward Coleman was a self-employed African American messenger. He lived at 230 with his wife Josephine, his brother Walter and a roomer, Walter Miles. In 1880 the Coleman brothers lived at 131 R St NW, with their father Jesse (listed as a begger, could be bagger) , their mother Laura, a servant, and their sister Henrietta. And in 1910, Edward, then a porter, and Josephine rented 1518 3rd St NW. All in Truxton Circle.

Edward S. Coleman first appears in the land records, which start in 1921/1922, in a 1922 where he and Josephine E. Coleman borrow $2000 at 7% from the National Savings and Trust Company. a few days later there is a deed, which looks like it is acting as a release for a debt from 1919, managed by trustees. In 1925, the Colemans sell the property to the District of Columbia for $4000. They get a release from the National Savings and Trust and that is the end of their ownership on that block.

I did a name search for Josephine Coleman and it looks as if she and Edward moved to another part of Truxton Circle buying 1628 3rd St NW in 1925. On November 21, 1925 they bought the property from Marietta V. Scarborough. The deed history of that property is ‘interesting’. In 1924, Patrick J. Daly sells/transfers it to Thomas F. and Irene Harper. There is a trust indebiting the Harpers to Daly for the sum of $4000 for the delayed purchase of the property. In addition to a debt of $3000 delayed purchase money to Daly and a Thomas Walsh as trustees. In 1925, the Harpers transfer/sell the property to Christina A. Mack, who was another former O St resident, who agreed to pay the money owed to Daly and Walsh. Mack must have defaulted on $7,500 owed, because the property was auctioned to Ms. Scarborough, who sold it to the Colemans.

Something must have happened between 1925 and 1935 because Josephine’s name is removed from the 1628 3rd St NW property and replaced by Bertha Coleman. In a 1935 deed of trust Josephine E. Coleman is referred to as Edward Coleman’s former wife and Bertha as his current wife. But when I looked at earlier trusts, I see that Josephine died. Going by the land records, it looks like she died sometime between 1928 and 1930.

There is a fair amount of borrowing and other land records but I peaked into 1966. In 1966, Edward Coleman is dead and Bertha is a widow. Via a trustee named J. George Gately, Chester C. Lee is added to the deed. Who the flip is Chester C. Lee? Whoever he was, I’d probably have to search court records to locate him, because the next land record is from 1976. In that deed, Chester C. Lee is removed from the property, and his wife Marie C. Lee is the surviving sole owner. He also died but there is a line reading, “CHESTER C. LEE who was seized by operation of the law…” There’s a bit more to this rabbit hole but I’m stopping here.

Looking at the 1920 Census our next African American Truxton Circle home owner is James W. Aiken. Aiken was a 25 year old waiter from North Carolina living at 1429 3rd St NW. He lived there with his wife Isabelle, daughter Mignon (like the filet), and son James W. Aiken Jr.

The land records are confusing, as usual. The first record is from October 1925 and it is a trust, which means money was being borrowed, between J. Wills Aiken et ux and Baltz & Owens Trustees. It appears the Aikens borrowed $2,400.00. Then in November 1925, are two deeds between the Aikens and Wilber C. Wiley. The deeds are right after each other, Aikens transfer to Wiley then Wiley transfers it back to the Aikens, on the same day. I’m not sure what that was about.

Then there is another document, a release, which means whatever loan has been paid off or fulfilled,  also from 1925 where J. Wills Aikens pays off the debt of James R. Clarke and his wife Mary M. Clarke. Those names sounded familiar and they were Black TC home owners from an earlier post. James Clark/e was a waiter too. I’m not sure what that’s about either.

The Aikens borrow and pay off several loans from 1926 to 1946. But in 1949, Isabelle Aiken took out a loan for $4,500 with the Perpetual Building Association, alone. But that same day J. Wills and Isabelle transfer the property to Anna Pararas, who then transfers it back to Isabelle Aiken. In 1970, Isabelle pays off a loan, alone.

The genealogical record shows the Aikens lived at 1429 3rd Street NW for a good long while. But that’s not the most interesting thing. James Willis Aiken, or Wells J. Aiken, or J. Wills Aiken was born in Brevard, Transylvania, North Carolina April 17, 1891 to Mary Pardon Aiken and James P. Aiken. He had 1 or 2 half siblings and 13-16 full siblings one of whom was Loretta “Jackie Moms Mabley” Aiken , if the family tree is to be believed. If you are unfamiliar with Moms Mabley, you obviously didn’t watch the last season of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Anyway here she is:

I wonder if she stopped by to see her brother when she was performing at the Howard Theater? Maybe not. My half sister didn’t even bother to say hi to me when she came up from Florida for Obama’s first inauguration.

Anyway, back to boring old James Aiken. Waiter. As I wrote, they were there for a while. A World War II draft card has James at 1429 3rd St NW as an unemployed waiter. In the 1930 Census James is, Wells J Aiken, hotel waiter and Isabelle a federal government employee.  In 1940 they were on 3rd St, living with their 24 year old son. James was back to being James W. Aiken and a waiter, and Isabelle a clerk at the Government Printing Office. James died in September of 1971. Isabelle died in December of 1974. Their children sold the house in the mid-1970s after their mother’s death.

Edited 8/24/22- Original video removed because it was made private. Paragraph edited.