Category: Truxton History

Black Homeowners of TC- Frank and Earlene H. Fowler -131 Bates Street NW

I already did the foreclosure story and now I am looking at the other owners, who did not face foreclosure, Frank and Earlene H. Fowler of 131 Bates Street NW.

I’m going to start with Earlene. She was born Agnes Earline Hailstork November 4, 1915 in Virginia. Her mother was an 18 year old housekeeper and her father unknown. In 1946 she married Frank Fowler. In the 1950 census she worked as a clerical worker for the V.A. and lived with her husband Frank, a laborer, and their 3 sons, all under the age of 3 on the 2100 block of 18th St NW.

There was another Black Frank Fowler in the area, and I don’t trust the family tree, so this is the end. I will say one of their sons, Larry, kept close.

WSIC Foreclosure story- James C. Gordon of 131 Bates Street NW

See the original post WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 131 Bates Street NW to see the house history of the location. I noticed something when I looked at some of the people who were foreclosed upon with the WSIC houses. Some of them were old and they died and there was no point of keeping up with the mortgage payments for a property with limited value. Other times, people had other homes and let the WSIC go.

This is very short. James C. Gordon does not appear as a Black man in the 1950 census. So the genealogy route came up blank.

Neither is he in the DC Recorder of Deeds beyond the house on Bates Street.

But he does show up in the newspapers for driving poorly and hitting an electrical pole. According to the April 14, 1952 issue of the Washington Evening Star, he and his wife Sophia* were driving from Culpepper, VA and Mr. Gordon started dozing off. When he awoke, he saw a traffic light, hit the breaks and swerved into a pole. He was thrown from the car and a live wire landed very close to him. He was sent to Arlington Hospital and later booked for reckless driving.

Later in 1952 Florie’s name was taken off the property. I suspect the accident may have strained the marriage. The November deed, where Florie’s signature can be seen, also has Colonial Mortgage Corp officer Abraham Levin as the notary.

*That was the name given and the address was 131 Bates Street. So either she went by another name (more likely) or he got a new wife or Florie was a family member.

WSIC- The Black Unit Block of O St NW

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) had a lot of rental units in Truxton Circle, but they were segregated. The White tenants were on Bates St (unit to 200 block), 3rd St, 200 block of P Street and the 100-200 block of Q Street NW. The Black tenants were segregated way over on the unit block of O Street, where their White renters would not see them.

I haven’t gathered the info for the 1950 census for Truxton Circle, but I have started. While collecting information about the sale of WSIC homes to African Americans in the TC, I took a look at the Black units to see if any of the Black tenants decided to buy. I’ve already did a post about the Edmunstons who bought their unit.

The Burtons also purchased their unit at 40 O St NW. Nellie and John R. Burton lived there as far back as the 1930 census.  In the 1930s the father John A. Burton was a barber, Nellie, the mother was at home and John R. was a student. Nellie died in May 1956 and two years later their half was foreclosed upon. During the 1950 census John R. was the head working as a clerk for the US government. He was at 40 O St with his wife Mary L. who was a stenographer, their 6 year old son and mother Nellie who was at home. It appears Nellie dealt with child care, freeing Mary to work outside of the home.

A few months after purchasing 40 O Street NW with his mother, he and his wife Mary Louise Burton, purchased 116 53rd St SE in Marshall Heights. This house had two mortgages. The first was $3,250 with a lender and the second was $6,600 with Riggs Bank.  In 1956 John and Mary bought 5212 East Capitol St NE. This also came with two mortgages, the first being $3,500 and the second $2,000 with the same lender.

There were a few who purchased WSIC units, just not theirs.

Ethel and Malvern F. Jackson purchased half of 24 O St NW, but lived in 18 O St NW when the 1950 census was taken.  In the 1950 census Ethel was a 58 year old widow living with her son Malvern, daughter Nathelma and son-in-law William Ewell. At that time Malvern and Nathelma were the only adults working. He was worked at the post office as a postal clerk. She was a printer’s assistant at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In 1954 the Jacksons sold their half of 24 O St NW back to the sellers. That same month Malvern purchased 631 Gallatin St NW with his wife Genevieve. They were able to borrow $9,000 from the Jefferson Savings and Loan/ Lincoln National Bank and $3,950 from other trustees.

Ethel’s daughter and son-in-law purchased half of 30 O St NW. Like her brother, Nathelma and William Ewell sold the house back to the sellers in September 1954. There was no evidence the couple purchased anything in the District of Columbia. At one point in time Nathelma lived in Silver Spring.

Roxie A. Jackson was a 40 year old widow who lived with her 20 year old son and 78 year old uncle at 46 O Street NW and working as a charwoman. Her son Mark worked for a dry cleaner. When the WSIC units came up for sale, she bought 32 O St NW. In 1952 Mrs. Jackson sold her half to Ruth and Charles Rodgers Hawkins, who then sold it to Mrs. Helena Isabel Ash. The Jackson loan got paid off and all was well. She disappears from record after that.

 

 

WSIC- Robert G. Weightman of Colonial Mortgage Corp.

I think I have most of the major players who were involved with the sell of the WSIC houses, except Robert Weightman.

Colonial Investment Co. was headed by president Nathan Levin. The VP was Nathaniel J. Taube, who also served as the president of Colonial Mortgage Corp. and the treasurer was James B. Evans. Abraham H. Levin was the legal advisor and general manager of both Colonial Mortgage and Investment, as well as Nathan’s brother. Harry A. Badt was appears in the records after Nathan Levin’s death in 1956. Prior to that Badt was the treasurer in charge of building inspection for Colonial Mortgage.

Abraham Levin and Robert G. Weightman’s names appear in the loan records for the WSIC homes sold to Black home buyers, as well as the foreclosure documents. So three paragraphs in, who was Robert G. Weightman?

Robert Gillain Weightman was born 12/11/1906 in Philadelphia to Helen Hoskin and Robert G. Weightman (1877-1909). He was baptized in the Episcopal church in 1908. In 1930 he was 23 years old, married to wife Eleanore and working as a credit clerk for a gas station in Camden, NJ. In the 1940 census he was living at 800 Talyor St NE, with wife Eleanore and 8 year old son James. At that time he worked as an accountant for a finance company. During WWII he remained at 800 Taylor St NE working for Security Finance Co.

Looking at the 1950 census the family had moved out to Chillium, MD in PG county. He was working as an accountant but for a real estate company. We can guess the company was Colonial Mortgage Corp.

Weightman only appeared in the local papers with Abraham Levin for foreclosures.

Weightman moved back to Pennsylvania and there he died in 1994.

 

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Edmonston- 14 O St NW- Rent to Own

I’m sort of restarting the Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle series again, but with a WSIC mix. In 1950 the WSIC were sold to real estate investors who resold the White rental units to African American home buyers. The renters were forced to leave. However, the set of WSIC houses on O Street that were set aside for Black renters. I wanted to see if the renters became owners.

In the 1950 census for Census Tract 46, ED 70 page 1 there were two households living at 14 O St NW, the Edmonstons and the Jeffersons. The Edmonstons, who lived in the 1st floor unit, bought their unit in 1951 from the Colonial Investment Company in the form of three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans.

Vincent Julius Edmondson was born March 5, 1915 in Washington, DC to Samuel H. Edmondson and Millie F. Wilson. At some point he married his wife Marguerite L., whom Ancestry has determined, without any evidence I could find, as being born Marguerite L. White, also of Washington, DC. They had 4 children, Vincent Jr., Marguerite E., Warren and Julius. When the children were under 5 years old in 1940, Marguerite was a housewife.

In 1940 he lived at 14 O St NW and worked as a carrier for the US government. By 1950, Marguerite was a file clerk for the government. The children by this time were between 9 and 14 years old.

The family held on to their unit until 1956 when they sold their half to Mary Dyson Lane. Unfortunately something happened and that unit was foreclosed upon in 1960. In 1956 the Edmonstons bought 5208 13th St NW. Sometime around or before 1964, Marguerite died and Vincent was an unmarried widow when he took out an $8,000 loan with the Perpetual Building Association. So the O St foreclosure appeared not to have hurt them and their ability to continue to be homeowners. The 13th St house was transferred/sold by Vincent’s estate, as it appeared he died around 1989, to a Micheal Edmondson, a possible grandson.

The Edmonstons did provide generational wealth in that assets from one generation was able to go to another generation. In this case, down to a grandson. However, it wasn’t the O Street home that provided the wealth. That may have introduced the idea of home ownership and when a better opportunity presented itself.

Truxton Circle Population by Race 1880-2020

This is an updated post from an older one that ended with the 2010 Census. The population increased, but was lower than what was in Census district 46 in 1990. Truxton Circle is still, by this measurement, a majority minority neighborhood. As the population fluctuated, the Black population continued to decrease and since the lowest number in 1970, the non-Black population has increased.

 

Truxton Circle Population 1880-2020
Year Total Black White Other/Asian Note
1880 1511 678 832 0
1900 4723 2438 2281 4
1910 6801 2232 4565 4
1920 7234 3008 4221 6 4-Chinese
1- Japanese
1- White/Chinese
1930 6175 4455 1712 6 All Chinese
1940 8244 6519 1718 4 Note: 3 Japanese
1 Chinese
Total also 8244
1950 7720 6186 1511 23
1960 6789 6716 58 15
1970 5830 5768 21 41 2 yrs post riot
1980 3349 3249 61 39
1990 3623 3347 189 87
2000 2997 2713 103 181
2010 3028 1964 816 248
2020 3543 1530 1462 551 Note: 177 Asians and 260 bi-racial

Source: US Census; DC Office of Planning Table 9: Census 2020 Population, Voting Age, Race, Hispanic Origin, Housing Data – District of Columbia: Census Tracts

 

Memory Lane: 37 Bates Street NW 2007

37 A & B Bates Street NW. Taken May 28, 2007.

This is a Washington Sanitary Improvement Company home, so I’ve written about it before. It’s one of the few that has kept the two flat set up. Many WSIC homes, when eventually coming under the ownership of one household, was renovated into one residence.

20 years ago- Ethnic Divides in an 1880 DC Neighborhood

There are things I wish I had done. Like write a date on my paper “Ethnic Divides in an 1880 DC Neighborhood“. Apparently, I wrote in in 2005.

I was looking around my October 2005 posts and spotted the ‘Come and listen to the world’s most boring history paper‘ where I was going to present at the DC History Conference.

I seriously did not know when I wrote this paper. I had copies of copies and different versions on my computer, so I did not know when I wrote it.

Now I know, and you know.

For Sale: Original 1919 Baist Neighborhood Map $350

I’m doing some cleaning around the house and I have this map.

It’s from 1919. I believe it has a cloth backing. It’s been professionally framed and I just can’t find a wall in my current house to hang it. I’m an archivist, and I can’t put it anywhere that I think will harm this 126 year old map. I have too many windows in the house. But this might be great in your townhouse.

The detail is amazing and I have used it to look for lots when the Library of Congress website has been uncooperative. This map is the same as the LC’s 1919 map.

Accepting that I’m not going to hang it up, I figured I should sell this bit of history. Free shipping (I’d just put it in an Uber) for anyone between Beltsville, MD and Logan Circle, DC.

If interested, submit a comment.

Sq. 519 and the Glorius family 1922-1944

I was curious, and wondered when the Glorius family disappeared from Truxton Circle. At one point, the patriarch, George Glorius owned the whole block that was the 1700 block of 4th and 3td Streets.

The first question is who are all the Glori. Let’s start with George (1824-1909) and his wife Margaret/Mary (1823-1917), they had eight children, George Glorius Jr., Sophia Glorius, Mary C. Glorius, Andrew Glorius, Andrew G. Glorius, Barbara E. Glorius, Ignatius Glorius, and Ignatius George Glorius. When you see a double name, the first died young. And several of those children had children who were Bernard A. Glorious; George T. Glorious; Edwin G. Glorius; Frederick C. Glorius; Phillip J. Glorius; Bernard J. Glorius; Harry Andrew Glorius; Annie M. Glorius; Blance M. Glorius Torrillo; Ellanora R Glorius; Margerite E. Glorius; Francis J. Glorius; Mary R. Glorius O’Meara; and Gertrude Glorius.

Around the time George Glorius Sr. died their property was being developed by Harry Wardman. The DC Recorder of Deeds online records don’t really start until 1921, so that’s where I’ll start.

  • 7/10/1922 Mary C. Glorius transferred/sold lot 47 to Phillip I. Glorius.
  • 11/19/1923 Mary C. Glorius sold lot 46 to Harry and Nannie E. Smallwood.
  • 10/1931 Phillip and wife Katherine Glorius transferred/sold lot 47 back to Mary C. Glorius.
  • 04/1937 the executors of Mary C. Glorius’ estate sold lot 47 to Barrington and O Mae Henry.
  • 03/1940 Leo and wife Louise F. Glorius sold/transferred lots 9, 26, 45, 67 and 68 to Louise Townsend, who immediately sold/transferred the properties to Minnie Louise C. Glorius.
  • 06/1942 Bernard(Mabel E.), George T(Mabel S.), Minnie Louise C. Glorius, Margaret/Marguerite C. Klugh/Kluh, Elizabeth Gertrude Yetter, and Mary R. O’Meara sold lot 68 to Eleanore and William N. Thompkins.
  • 12/1942 devisees under George Glorius Jr’s will Bernard(Mabel E.), George T(Mabel S.), Minnie Louise C. Glorius, Margaret/Marguerite C. Klugh/Kluh, Elizabeth Gertrude Yetter, and Mary R. O’Meara sold lot 67 to Alice C. Harris.
  • 10/1944 heirs in-law of Frances Josephine Glorius, Bernard A.(Mabel E.), George T.(Mabel S.), Minnie Louise C. (Leo V.-divorced 1926) Glorius, Marguerite C. Kluh, Elizabeth Gertrude Yetter, and Mary R. O’Meara sold lot 26 to Jacob and Sadie B. Feldman.

And that’s the end of the Glorius.
Lot 9 might have been 309 R St NW
Lot 26 might’ve been 316 FL Ave NW
Lot 45 was 315 R St NW
Lot 47 is 319 R St NW
Lot 67 is 312 Florida Ave NW
Lot 68 is 310 Florida Ave NW

Looking at the census, the Glorius seemed to have left by the 1930 census. I don’t have anyone in 319 R St in 1930. 315 R St NW in 1930 had Black renters and someone claiming to be an owner. 310 & 312 FL Ave NW also had Black renters.