Okay this is a very quick one. In the 1933-1934 General Assessment Edward D. Coleman (1901-1942) was listed as the owner of Square 551 lot 852. He and his wife Florence sold the lot in 1936 to Lillard (that’s an interesting name) Fields. This was another Reeves Alley property so I can’t really get a good address.
In the 1940 census Edward D. Coleman was a white 38 year old self-employed Real Estate Agent from Illinois. He lived at 1634 Monroe St NE with is wife and their 3 minor children.
The problem with the Census is that sometimes the street isn’t clear. For a moment I thought the Martz family lived in Truxton Circle on R Street. However, looking at adjoining pages I figured out what Ancestry.com decided was a R in R St was actually K. The other thing was that I found the owner of Square 0551 lot 0851 (a wood structure in Reeves Alley) in the 1933-34 General Assessment was a family tree that did not know he had children.
Looking at the land records Robert William Martz bought the property, listed as old lot 19 in 1932 from John W. Hile. Then in 1935 he died in Clarendon, VA at the age of 46. His widow, Ethel Marie Lewis Martz (1895-1977) appears to have sold the property in 1942 to Paul J. Bower, who then sold the property to Embassy Dairy in 1947.
Square 551 (bounded by R, Florida, 1st, Q and 3rd Streets) was a mix of residential and commercial properties. In the 1930s Robert W. Martz was a coal and ice man running his own business. Since this property was in Reeves Alley as far as I can tell this could have been used for commercial reasons related to his business.
He did live at times in Washington, DC but not in Truxton or the Shaw areas.
I mentioned I wish I could amend or add to the family tree that left the Martz’ childless. Robert Martz (1889-1935) was survived by 3 children at the time of his death, Robert Jr. (1918-1999), Marie Ethel (later Marie Graham 1920-1990), and Catherine Elizabeth (later Thorpe, 1922-2009).
Next on the list, as I go down it, is Sq. 551 and lot 850. Sigh, lot 850 is part of old lot 19, so this is going to be confusing. I’m just going to start with the land records and see where that takes me.
Searching for just lot 850, only two documents appear. The first is from 1947 between a Charles F. Wilson, trustee in Civil Action case file 38-115, and Embassy Dairy. The other is in 1948 for an easement/ right of way between the DC government and the Office of the Surveyor.
Another search with lot 0019 drags up the Leviovs, and Ms. Carrie Walker. The first document regarding the Kaysers is a deed from 1927 regarding the execution of the will of Esther A. Kayser by Caroline E.T. Knox and Elhanan Winchester Keyser. There are other relatives such as Harriet Esther Kayser Crowell, mentioned in the deed but it is oh so confusing with Kaysers and Keysers. To Ancestry! Continue reading Property Owners of Truxton Circle- The Keysers and Ms. Harriet Crowell
My first question with this was, is Carrie Walker a man or woman. I need to know because it makes the searching in Ancestry easier. The property records has Carrie G. Walker, the daughter getting the land from Carrie Walker. The 1920 census, sigh, has Carrie Walker as the female head and Carrie G. Walker as the wife.
This is a misstatement. A few fields over, the senior Carrie is listed as a widow and the junior Carrie as single. Looking at the 1900 and 1910 Census shows John Walker as the male head, Carrie senior as the wife and Carrie G. junior as the daughter. Okay, a reminder that the Census screws things up time to time.
Also from the census, I see the Walkers are African American resident owners (mullato/negro) living on R St NW. Later I could re-do this as Black Homeowners of Truxton Circle. They were at 216 R St NW in 1900 and Mr. Walker was the owner. In the later 1910 and 1920, the Walker family lived at 146 R St NW, square and lot 0551-0847. Did the address change or did they move? No idea.
The earliest land record I can see is from 1924 between Carrie G. Walker (the younger) and Needham C. Turnage to borrow $280.00 with 146 R NW as security. Then there are a series of loans she takes out using the property as collateral. So loan #1- 1924 Needham Turnage $280.00. Released (paid) 1938. #2-1926, Kahn and Coleman/ Leo Kahn & E. Coleman, $375.00. Released 1927. #3- 1936, James B. Evans & Claude W. Owen, $372.00. Released 1938. #4- 1938, Washington Loan and Trust Company, $800.00. Released 1950. In 1951, she sells the land to Lawrence C. and Rosa A. Diggs.
Side note, a Carrie E. Walker buys 112 Florida Avenue NW (SSI: 0551-0178) in April 1934 from William H. Coates and Mamie D. Coates. A search for Carrie E. Walker in Ancestry is not particularly fruitful. The name does not change for the brief moment Carrie E. owns it, as she sells it 2 months later in June to Mary E. Baker.
Let’s call this an SOP, standard operating procedure, for what I’m doing. And what am I doing? I’m doing some neighborhood history, but more along the lines of neighborhood historical fact gathering. History is about a story to be told. The problem is that I get another piece of information and it kinda throws a monkey wrench into the narrative. Here I gather the info, then try to tell a tale.
For this series- Property Owners of Truxton Circle, which could later apply to Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle, there are a couple of resources I use to find out about the owners. Continue reading Find Your Own Owners of Where Ever DC
So in our last entry regarding the Brungers there was the issue of Sq. 551 Lot 17, which was also lots 844 and 845. Sometimes, I imagine that I will make a corresponding spreadsheet of addresses by also linking them to their SSL (square and lot) numbers, but then I have to deal with this problem of lot numbers changing. It happens now too with condos. The owner I’m looking at today is Michael Joseph McInerney Sr., owner of lot 845, which appears to be 208 R St NW. And for those of you just joining in this series, this house no longer exists.
Another issue I keep coming across are landowning dead people. The source that I am using is the Washington City General Assessment 1933-1934 for a section of Square 551. So these were the names the city went after to pay property taxes. And like my aunt in SE who’s been dead for about 10 years, she’s still paying property taxes. Well, her estate is, but her name is still on the property, just like Michael McInerney in 1934, who died in 1925. Continue reading Property Owners of Truxton Circle- Michael J. McInerney
I’ve jumped around and I think I have all the multi-lot owners and the surnames that appear several times. Now we come to William C. and Annie C. Brunger, owners of lot 844 on Square 551, 210 R Street NW.
Since the Ancestry search (available via the awesome DC Public Library) gave me the right info straight out of the gate, I’ll start there first. Ancestry has these family tree things and the Brungers show up in the Reynolds-Smith family tree. The English born carpenter (later foreman), William Charles Brunger (1865- 1928) was married to Annie Caroline Wright (1865-1926), and they had 3 children (Berton William Brunger was born 1889 in DC – died in 1970 in FL; Lillian R Brunger – Leonberger 1893–1967 – also in FL; and Charles A Brunger 1894–1921). In his will he left his daughter Lillian (aka Mrs. F.J. Leonberger) 11 Kennedy Street NE. Berton was bequeathed 210 R St NW, in Truxton Circle. His son Charles was already dead and apparently childless, so nothing for him.
The 1900 Census has the Brunger family living on Sq. 551, but not at 210 R St NW. They are at 1637 3rd St NW in 1910 and 1920. I have discovered they are not on the TruxtonCircle.org Excel sheet for 1900. According to a city directory he lived at 11 Kennedy Street NE in 1926.
Continue reading Property Owners of Truxton Circle- The Brungers
Okay, now that figured out the deeds and trusts and other property document stuff let’s dive in with Ernst Hauser, owner of lots C, D, & E. In 1939, the survivors of Ernest/Ernst Hauser sold the lots to E.M. Aiken Inc.
The lots C-E appear to be what is now Mt. Sinai’s rear parking lot. On the Baist map shown here, the addresses appear to be 233-237 Q Street NW.
The deed has helpful information. The first person mentioned is William E. Hauser (aka William Hauser) and we are told he’s single. After Ernest F. Hauser (who is married to Lottie E. Hauser) we get another single guy Harry Louis Hauser. Then we learn Ernest Hauser is dead. And Sophia E. Hauser, a life tenant, died March 26, 1935.
Continue reading Property Owners of Truxton Circle- Ernst Hauser
It’s amazing how many George S. Duncans were in the world. And when I thought this Duncan was a reverend, there are a couple of Rev. George S. Duncans of Scottish decent. Thankfully the land records gave away his middle name and named his wife so that helped narrow things down.
George Stewart Duncan (3/2/1860-1946) and his wife Florence W. Duncan (1872-1949) owned several lots on Square 551. They owned Lot 16, which appears to include Lots 838 to 843, and Lots 30, 31, 32 and 840. They lived at 2900 7th St NE, not in Truxton Circle. His main profession was that of a minister and later he became an instructor at American University in Tenleytown. If I have the right Rev. George S. Duncan he is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery.
I’ve gone through an abnormal name change, so it could be karma should some future historian try to follow me. George S. seems to also be a George L. Duncan, as he has the same birthday. He’s gone through more than one wife as he is married to both a Florence and a Georgie Dennison both of New York state. Georgie was about 6-7 years older than George, and Florence was a younger model by 12 years. And they all lived on 7th Street NE.
Lot 32 went through an address change. According to Document #1936027307 it used to be 1619 3rd Street NW, and became 1633 3rd Street NW. It seems when the Duncans bought the property in 1924 it was 1619. By the time they did something (I am unsure how to interpret these documents) in 1936 with Mrs. John R. Hall (Martha K. Perry Hall) the address had changed to 1633 3rd St NW. With Square 511 having a different layout after the 1970s, this hints to trying to tie lots with addresses, difficult. It appears that they sell it (all the lots) in 1941.
I guess the reason why I am confused by the property documents are how they line up, or don’t, with the census records. So in 1930 the previously mentioned John and Martha Hall lived at 1633 3rd St NW and were listed as owners. But in the 1933-1934 Real Property Assessment (click on the image to see a larger sized item) has Rev. Duncan as the assessed party or owner. The documents between the white Duncans and the African American Halls range from 1924 to 1941. What was going on? I have no idea.
In my previous posts, I looked at the surnames that appeared more than once on the above snippet of an image from the 1933-1934 property assessment for Square 551. The first post was for the Bundys, particularly James Bundy, a notable African American attorney. Next were the Russian immigrant Levitovs. I was pretty excited to find photographs of Max and Rose. But the next family, the Rosenthals were a little bit more of a challenge.
Normally, I assume the owners are local. I know that it isn’t a given, and in the case of the line Wilhelm & Gunther Rosenthal, owners of SSL:551-0843, they were not in DC. Thankfully, the records from the Recorder of Deeds points us to Berks County, Pennsylvania.
There were 3 documents for the Rosenthals, Document #1937000812, #1941037098, and #1942003233. They state that Minna L. Rosenthal was acting on behalf Sarah J. Rosenthal. I wasn’t sure what was Minna’s relationship to Gunther, Wilhelm or Sarah. Other Rosenthals mentioned in the documents were Elise, and Elise L.D. (sometimes D.L. in other docs). No mention of Wilhelm.
Those documents relate to lots 66,67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72 and 75, parts of old Lot 17. These probably were 208 to 214 R St NW. In 1900 a widowed landlady Amanda Rosenthal owned and lived at 214 R St NW. Amanda was born in Pennsylvania, but I wouldn’t have assumed to look for family there. Continue reading Property Owners of Truxton Circle- The Rosenthals of PA
