Welcome to my Memory Lane posts, where I look at old photos of the neighborhood and remember. Today is the BFM- Bloomingdale Farmers Market. Yes, it is in another neighborhood, technically. But it’s right on the border with Truxton Circle and felt like a neighborhood amenity.
These were taken in 2007, so those were the early days of the BFM. I have a zillion more photos of the BFM. But let’s just start with these.
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.
In the 1920 census the 1731 NJ Ave NW was occupied by George MacIntosh and his family. George Williamson MacIntosh was a DC born White 37 year old ice cream truck driver. He lived there with wife, Mary Ida (nee Taylor) and their four of their eventual 12 children.
George was born July 15, 1882 to Ida Virginia (nee True) and Charles Richard MacIntosh in DC. In 1900 he was a 17 year old living with his mother Ida at 3101 K St NW and a boarder.
I could not locate George’s location for 1910. So I looked for Ida. I found Ida in 1910 under another name. Ida Posey, who’d been married for 9 years but living with her parents at 1053 31st St NW with her 6 year old son and 1 year old daughter Agnes. Her father’s name looked familiar and I swore I’d seen James F. Taylor before. Then I looked at who else was in the house, 20 year old John Miller. There was a John Miller living next door in 1920 at 1733 NJ Ave, who also drove an ice cream truck. Were they some how related? Dunno. Not going down that rabbit hole.
1731 NJ Ave NW (Sq. 507, lot 25) sold to Salvadora E. Smith by M. Harvey Chiswell September 10, 1920. She used a loan from Chiswell’s brother W. Wallace Chiswell and developer Harry A. Kite, which Smith paid off in May 2023. July 2023 Ms. Smith took out a $2,300 loan from the Washington Loan and Trust Company. It appears she refinanced in 1931, talking out at $2,500 loan, then again in 1932 for $1000, and again in 1941 for $2,500 with Washington Loan and Trust. The home was sold after her death by her will’s administrator James P. Donovan.
So who was Salvadora Elizabeth Smith? According to the 1900 census she was an African American public school teacher who was born around 1863. She grew up at 440 Massachusetts Ave NW, in downtown DC. With the exception of their father, USCT Civil War veteran Moses Smith Sr, everyone was identified as ‘mullato’ in the household. Her father worked as a printer at the Government Printing Office and her mother was a homemaker. She attended Howard University, graduating from the Normal School in 1883 (PDF).
Looking up her background, it appears she purchased 1731 as a rental or investment property. In the 1930 census she was not there, instead there were renters. Nor was she on NJ Ave in 1940. When the Evening Star announced her death in May of 1942 it said she died at her residence at 460 Massachusetts Ave NW.
She is not getting the “Black Homeowners of TC” tag as I cannot prove she lived at 1731 New Jersey Avenue.
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.
At this point, I’m just seeing who lived there, where did they go, where did they live before, and who were the African American buyers who purchased the property and where did they live before.
There were two white households living at 1733 New Jersey Ave NW in 1920. The Tidmeyers (actually Widmire), headed by 47 year old plasterer Charles, and the Millers headed by 30 year old driver John. Neither household had children in their households at the time.
I can’t give a history for the Millers because there was another John Miller in DC, living on Wisconsin Ave NW, married to a Florence. Their birthyears are around about the same time. But the John Miller at 1733 was married to Flossie and drove an ice cream wagon. I need to note his neighbor at 1731 also drove an ice cream wagon.
Ancestry confuses Charles F. Widmeyer who was also married to an Elizabeth with Charles A. Widmire married to Bessie (a variant of Elizabeth). The tip off was that Chas. F’s wife died in 1907. So I am not 100% sure I picking a Chuck based off my best guess.
Charles was born in Washington, DC around 1870 to German parents. He married Bessie around 1890. Bessie brought 3 sons (Eugene, John J. and Frank Convoy) into the marriage and together had daughter Helen. In 1900 and 1910 the family lived at 520 R St NW. 1920 was not a good year for Charles. In the Evening Star he brought a complaint to the Rent Commission in March 1920. It appears the commission made their decision late in the year after M. Chiswell sold the property. The new owners, the Whiteheads could up the rent to $40. Charles died March 18, 1949 at 1227 6th St NW, and was predeceased by his wife.
1733 NJ Ave NW (Sq. 507, lot 26) based on a July 1926 release from a loan with W. Wallace Chiswell, Harry A. Kite, James A. and Coralie Whitehead purchased the property November 1, 1920.
James Arthur Whitehead was born Continue reading 1920 to 1930- White to Black- 1733 New Jersey Avenue
Memory lane is the series where I go through my old photos of the Truxton Circle (or Shaw) neighborhood and reflect.
The John Cook School is the building that Mundo Verde PCS now occupies. When the photos were taken in 2007, I believe the school had recently closed, but the city kept the lights on.
I’d been quite busy with preparing for the DC History Conference and while writing up my presentation I discovered redlining in Truxton Circle.
I had previously thought red lining did not apply to Truxton Circle. Black homeowners bought and sold homes and used institutional and private lenders to get mortgages. The definition I had heard was the complete lack of financial sources.
As I was rewriting my script for the conference, I put two separate ideas together and the scales fell from my eyes. I saw it as clear as day. Which then meant I had to rewrite my whole pitch.
I do plan to share this revelation but it needs to be a several part series. This is my teaser.
There was a great turn out for the Neighborhood History and Housing session for the DC History Conference at the MLK Library. I ran into the amazing Scott Roberts. I had a handout, I’m not sure he got a copy. And for those of you who want to know what resources you can tap into to do similar histories take a look below:
DC Public Library– https://www.dclibrary.org/
Under Research & Learn (DCPL library card required)
Ancestry (AncestryLibrary)- https://www.dclibrary.org/research-and-learn/ancestry-library-edition
Historical Washington Post (ProQuest)- https://www.dclibrary.org/research-and-learn/washington-post
Library of Congress– https://www.loc.gov/
Chronicling America/ Evening Star – https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for DC (volume 2)- https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn01227_003/
DC Recorder of Deeds (online land records)- https://countyfusion4.kofiletech.us/countyweb/loginDisplay.action?countyname=WashingtonDC
Find A Grave– https://www.findagrave.com/
National Archives & Records Administration– https://www.archives.gov
Map No. 2 Neighborhood Convenience Stores; Records Relating to Urban Renewal, 1934–1998, entry A1 13, Records of the National Capital Planning Commission Record Group 328, National Archives Building, Washington, DC. (NAID 784266)
Map of the Metropolitan District of Washington DC, 1936; file Housing Market Analysis Washington, D.C. July 1937; Records Relating to Housing Market Analyses, 1940–1942, entry A1-6; Records of the Federal Housing Administration, Record Group 31; National Archives Building, College Park, MD. (NAID 122213881)
..and I managed to leave this one off- also from the National Archives. AND I gave the wrong citation. oops.
General Assessment 1902-1903, Volume I, Squares 459 to 555, Page 320; General Land Assessment Files, 1902–1938; Records of the Government of the District of Columbia Record Group 351; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. (NAID 145723973)
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.
At this point, I’m just seeing who lived there, where did they go, where did they live before, and who were the African American buyers who purchased the property and where did they live before.
There were two White families recorded as living at 1737 NJ Ave NW in the 1920 census. The first family was 36 year old piano polisher Alfred Fowler and his 46 year old wife Mary E. Fowler. The second family were the Sissons (spelled Sison in the 1920 census). William Sisson was 35 year old father and husband working as a machinist at the Navy Yard. He lived with 25 year old wife Mary A. (nee Noyes) and 1 month old son William L. Continue reading 1920 to 1930- White to Black- 1737 New Jersey Avenue
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.
Let’s see what happens with 134 Q St NW:
This was a successful story. Most Black buyers of these homes wind up getting foreclosed upon. Also many who buy the whole property tend to get into a situation where they have to sell half. Not so here with the Taylors.
Malachi Henry Taylor Jr. was born September 30, 1909 in Washington, DC to Ida Gibson and Malachi Taylor. He married Fern Waddy March 13, 1934 in Leesburg, VA. Fern was born August 18, 1905 in DC to Elizabeth Baker and John Waddy. In 1935, Malachi Sr. died. It appears Malachi Jr. was involved in a numbers running venture and was arrested in 1959 and was living on the 1900 block of 9th St NW.
I could not locate either Fern nor Malachi in the 1940 census. Malachi served in the Navy from 1943-1946. However we were not inolved in WW2 in 1940, so I don’t know why they don’t show up. In the 1950 census they were living at 2202 13th St and it appears Malachi was not working. Fern seemed to have a job as an elevator operator for a government building. Their niece, Fannie Waddy was living with them and she was a 27 year old clerk typist for the Veterans department. From what I could tell, the two had no children.
The Taylors seemed to own a few properties in DC and elsewhere. In addition to 134 Q St NW, they owned 1201-1203 Euclid Street NW in Columbia Heights, and another that no longer exists in the U St area between W, 13th and 14th Streets NW and Florida Avenue. I located a September 1993 (after both had died) tax lien sale for property in Atlantic City, NJ.
This is a close up of the old firehouse at 219 M Street NW, but it could just as well be on New York Avenue NW. Twenty years ago neighborhood had a lot of great historical assets that were being neglected or not kept up. This was one of them.
Currently the firehouse is a fitness gym called Flex, and this is their DC location. I think prior to that it was a parkour gym.
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.
Let’s see what happens with 138 Q St NW:
Well.
That didn’t take long. Doing these WSIC-1950 Sell Off histories I am getting the impression that Black buyers were set up for failure. The number of foreclosures that keep popping up with these histories are just depressing. When I was just doing Black Homeowners of Truxton Circle (remember I’ll be presenting on this topic April 6th at the DC History Conference), foreclosures did not pop up often. It happened. But more often property was purchased, then sold or inherited then sold.
Duvall Tyler was born November 25, 1907 in Amherst, VA. He married Marion Robinson who was born around 1905 in Washington, DC. At the start of WWII Duvall worked for Dr. Overholt at St. Elizabeth Hospital. In the 1950 census he worked as a cook at a hospital. In the 1950 Duvall was the head of the family living at 1760 Bruce Place. Wife Marion was home keeping house. Eighteen and 17 year old sons Duvall Jr. and Morris D. were kitchen helpers at the hospital. Five year old Joseph B. was obviously unemployed.
I dunno. Unfortunately, she was separated when purchasing her half of 138 Q St NW. So there is no other name I can attach her to in order to pull her data from all the other Thelma Harris in DC.
