Truxton History – Page 2 – Truxton Is In Shaw

Behind the foreclosure of the Hall-Stitt house at 42 O St NW- A WSIC story

Nope we’re not done with the WSIC. There are plenty of stories to milk out of of the WSIC saga and this is one.

Typically, if the buyer paid off the loan it would take about 10 years to do so. The buyers at 42 O Street NW faltered so close to the finish line. The first foreclosure for this house came in 1959. The second was from a family who bought the house in February 1951 losing the house to foreclosure in April 1960, about a year or so away from being released from their mortgage.

That last family was Mrs. Mildred Stitt and her parents William and Eva Hall. The 1950 census showed that the Halls lived at 42 O Street NW before the WSIC sell off. Since Colonial Investments was selling units exclusively to African American buyers, the Halls had options the White tenants did not. The WSIC rentals on the unit block of O St were for Black renters and the rest were for White renters.

When they bought the downstairs half of 42 O Street William was about 75 years old and his wife 70. Mildred is a bit harder to pin down. She married James Samuel Stitt in 1938 in Arlington , VA and I can’t seem to find them living in the same house. She wasn’t at 42 O St NW in 1950, but she was on the 1951 deed.

William died July 13, 1955. Eva followed later in 1960 and that gives a clue as to why their unit fell into foreclosure.

They had three daughters, one being Mildred Stitt. I have my doubts that Mildred ever lived with them. Once Eva died there may have been no reason to keep paying mortgage payments. But they were so close to the end.

I have no idea what Mildred was doing during the period of her parents’ deaths. It seems that she was separated from James S. Stitt. There was another James S. Stitt, could have been the same one, who married an Anne Hall and lived in Mecklenberg, NC. But I know she eventually moved to 3827 Hamilton St in Hyattsville and lived there. She died August 15, 1998.

WSIC data clean up- 1529, 1533, 1541 and 1545 3rd St NW

Yes, another filler post. This is just answering the question were these properties ever under the control of the Bates Street Associates (BSA)?

1529 3rd St NW (lot 49)- No. I gather Basiliko missed the prime window to off load properties to the DC Redevelopment Agency (RLA).

1533 3rd St NW (lot 51)- Yes. The property went from Basiliko to the DC RLA (doc #1970011877), then from the DC RLA to BSA Limited Partnership with a deed (doc #8000020294) and a contract ( doc #8000020221).

1541 3rd St NW (lot 55)- No.

1545 3rd St NW (lot 57)- Yes. Same story as 1533 3rd St it went from Basiliko, to DC RLA then to BSA with all the same documents.

WSIC data clean up- 132, 136, 210, 214, 218, 220 and 226 Q St NW

This is a filler post. Feel free to ignore this. I am just cleaning up the data answering the question were these properties ever under the control of the Bates Street Associates (BSA)?

132 Q St NW (lot 100)- Yes. There does not appear to be a deed transferring the property from George Basiliko to the DC Redevelopment Agency (RLA) which happened sometime around 1970-1972. There is a contract between the DC RLA and the BSA (document #7800024140) recorded in 1978. Usually there is a deed paired with this contract, but It doesn’t appear in the search. Just to clarify that the contract is not accidental, there is a deed (doc #8000029035) transferring the property from the Bates Street Associates, Incorporated to Bates Street Associates Limited Partnership.

136 Q St NW (lot 98)- Yes. Once again, no deeds located for the transfers from Basiliko to DC RLA and from DC RLA to BSA, but there is a contract (doc #7800024140). BSA did own it and there is a 1980 deed where BSA sold the property to Delois Fields.

210 Q St NW (lot 71)- Yes, and this one is better documented. There is a 1970 deed transferring the property from Basiliko to the DC RLA (doc #1970011877), and a 1979 deed transferring it from DC RLA to the Bates Street Associates, Inc. (doc #7900028039). That deed was sort of paired with the contract (doc #7800024140).

214 Q St NW (lot 69)- Yes. DC RLA gained ownership from deed # 1972001370. Like 210 Q St NW, documents #7900028039 and #7800024140 are the deed and contract transferring the property from DC RLA to BSA Inc.

218 Q St NW (lot 67)- Yes. In 1970 there is a deed transferring the property from Basiliko to DC RLA (doc #1970011877). Then there is a deed (doc #8000020294) and contract ( doc #8000020221) transferring it from the DC RLA to BSA Limited Partnership.

220 Q St NW (lot 66)- Yes. Deed from Basiliko to DC RLA (doc #1970011877), then deed and contract from DC RLA to Bates Street Associates Inc. (docs #8000020294 and #8000020221)

226 Q St NW (lot 63)- Umm, No. There is a deed (doc #8000029035) transferring it from Bates Street Associates Inc to Bates Street Limited Partnership. I think it is a mistake as it includes a lot of former Washington Sanitary Improvement Co houses. The property belonged to Robert W. Ayers.

WSIC data clean up- 139, 141, 206, 208 Bates Street NW

Silly me, I thought I was done, and then I scrolled up. This post is just more data clean up to answer the question of if the BSA, the Bates Street Associates (BSA) owned the property. I’m going to work with clusters.

139 Bates Street NW (lot 34)- Yes. DC Redevelopment Agency (RLA) transferred ownership in a deed (doc #8000020294) and a contract (doc #8000020294) in June of 1980 to the BSA Limited Partnership.

141 Bates Street NW (lot 35)-Yes. I cannot locate a deed but there is a contract between DC RLA and Bates Street Associates Incorporated (doc #7800024140) recorded in July 1978.

206 Bates Street NW (lot 144)-Yes. I cannot locate a deed nor a contract between Basiliko selling the property to DC RLA in 1972 and the BSA Limited Partnership taking out two loans on the property in 1980. It’s safe to assume DC RLA transferred it to BSA.

208 Bates Street NW (lot 143)- No. George Basiliko sold the property to the Urban Rehabilitation Corporation in December 1970.

WSIC data clean up-14, 25, 30 and 57 Bates Street NW

I am procrastinating. One of the goals of this year is to write an article and try to pitch it somewhere on the data gathered from this huge research project on the WSIC houses. I think there is something valuable there.

It seems odd but I hate writing. Well for something other than a blog. I have written an article for a publication and it was a learning experience. It’s a different skill set.

Anyway, instead of writing up 14 Bates St NW, 25 Bates Street NW, 30 Bates Street NW and 57 Bates Street NW, I’m just going to mention what I find in answering the question. The question being did Bates Street Associates own any of these properties?

For 14 Bates St NW, Basiliko sold it to DC Redevelopment Agency in document 1971025715 in 1971. Then there was a contract between DC RLA and BSA document #7800024140 recorded in 1978. No deed that I could find.

25 Bates Street NW, yes. Document 8000020294 recorded 6/30/1980 has a deed transferring ownership from the DC Redevelopment Agency (DC RLA) to the BSA Limited Partnership. BSA is the Bates Street Associates. There is a contract that went with this, Document 8000020221 recorded on 6/27/1980, between DC RLA and BSA.

30 Bates Street NW, yes. It too is recorded in documents 8000020221 and 8000020294.

57 Bates Street NW, I see no mention of them, so no.

WSIC Redeux- 54 Bates Street NW Missing doc

Looking back I can’t seem to find a deed transferring 54 Bates and other properties on the square from the DC Redevelopment Agency (DC RLA) to the Bates Street Associates (BSA).

Image of 54 Bates St NW from 2004 — 54 Bates Street NW

So when 54 Bates was reviewed earlier this year, it ended with the whole thing sold to George Basiliko. It may have eventually fell into the hands of the DC RLA and then BSA, but as mentioned before, no deed. Instead, there’s a contract. Between 1970-1973 a lot of people on square 615 sold their properties to DC RLA. The DC RLA in turn had a contract with Bates Street Associates. One of those contracts was document # 8000020221. There’s also document 7800024140, but it seems the first couple of pages are missing.

It doesn’t help that 54 Bates is also lot 814 and formerly part of lot 173. It makes tracing the deed, for me, messy. Lot 173 was in the possession of DC RLA, lot 814 was not. But somehow, because I haven’t found the right documents, it goes from Basiliko’s ownership to BSA. Since I’ve seen properties Basiliko sold to BSA directly, I’m going to guess this is what happened.

Pencil in October 2nd for Eloyce Gist Presentation at the National Archives

Edited to correct the date

The National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) Archives Assembly will host a presentation by M Marie Maxwell on African American filmmaker and Truxton Circle Home Owner, Eloyce Gist. It will be on the 2nd, a Thursday, in October at 1PM.

This post is just to put it on your radar.

It will be in College Park though at the Archives II location. No problem, there is a shuttle from the Washington, DC National Archives I location, but it is on a limited schedule. I’ll tell you which shuttle to hop on as we get closer.

Revisit- WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 1521 3rd Street NW

This is to correct some of the data on a previous version of this post. Mainly regarding George Basiliko. I had written, “November 1967, the property was included in a larger package that was sold/transferred to Sophia and George Basiliko.” Since I did not quote the document number, I cannot find the document now. Also it didn’t make sense.

There are loan documents for this lot 130 on Sq 552 for Basiliko. I suspect there were so many properties that people got sloppy, or careless, not checking to see if Basiliko owned each and every one of the properties listed.

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.

photo of property at 1521 3rd St NW

Continue reading Revisit- WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 1521 3rd Street NW

The Scotts of 1717 New Jersey Avenue

I briefly mentioned Ida Dorsey Scott when reviewing 1717 New Jersey Ave NW when it changed from having White residents to Black residents. She owned the house from 1924 to 1951.

The house was foreclosed January 1924 from Mayo and Sarah Scott. Because the first mention of the Scotts is a foreclosure, it does not state the relationship between Mayo and Sarah.

Looking up Mayo J. Scott, because his name is so unusual, I found there were two Mayo Scotts, Sr. and Jr. Neither of them married to a Sarah.

A Mayo Scott appears in the DC Recorder of Deeds for a lease from July 1923 for 1707 New Jersey Avenue. It was between just Mayo J. Scott and William Taylor. There was no William Taylor listed as an owner for that block. The closest I can find was a Grace Taylor who was on the deed with Amelia Green at 1703 New Jersey Avenue.

Looking at the City Directory, I found the link between Mayo and Ida Dorsey Scott. They were apparently married. Ida was married to a man named Arthur C. Dorsey. Arthur died in 1936 and the Rev. Ida Dorsey Scott is mentioned as his divorced survivor.

Going back to Mayo J. Scott, I will assume the elder. He was previously married to Annaca Alberta Jackson, but divorced her in 1923 citing ‘desertion’. They were married in 1901 and had three children, one I will guess was Mayo James Scott Jr, who sometimes switched it up to James M. Scott. I gather he didn’t want to be a sandwich condiment.

Not sure when and legally ‘if’ Mayo married Ida. Twenty-one year old Jr. married Elsie V. Jackson November 1923. Elsie was listed as his wife when he died in 1979. I found this lovely recollection of the younger Mayo Scott from his daughter on the web:

Marie. Dad was born 1903, Mom was born 1900. Her maiden name was Jackson .

Susan. Your dad, his middle name was “Mayo.”

Marie. Yes, James Mayo Scott.

Susan. Mom and Dad—what were they like? What did they do?

Marie. Well, Dad worked for the railroad up here in Bluemont. He had a job there. I guess cleaning and washing, I don’t know. I know he worked at the railroad station. My grandfather worked at the Bluemont hotel, and then later drove Miss Ruth’s car for her. The hotel was a big house up on the side of the road, on Railroad Street. Ruth’s Home bought it from the Beatty’s.

Susan. And Mom, what did she do?

Marie. Mom, she just stayed home and raised the children. But she worked for the Beatty’s also. And she worked for 30 years at Ruth’s Home.

Marie Scott goes on and briefly mentioned her grandparents along with their photos.

Ida D. Scott was the mother of Raymond Dorsey who died in 1952. She was listed as his next of kin. She was also the mother of Mildred Proctor who died at 1717 NJ Ave NW in 1928. But from Mildred’s death certificate we learn Ida’s maiden name was Ida R. Tyler.

Ida Scott had also the title of Reverend. It was mentioned in her own obituary when she passed away in 1956 and in her ex-husband’s obit. However, an Ancestry Family tree has her death in 1971 in Kent, MD. But the 1956 obit mentions brother Jerry Tyler. In the 1934 city directory, she was listed as a ‘Spiritualist’ under the heading of clergymen. So there is the possibility that an ad in the October 1944 Sacramento Daily Union advertising “Psychic readings by appointment,” could have been her. However, I have found a lot of Rev. Ida Scotts all over the US and one who still exists to this day.

Abraham H. Levin- Colonial Mortgage Co.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company houses sold by the Colonial Investment Company, made up of Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans used trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman. Early on, I was not aware of a connection between Nathan and Abraham H. Levin. Currently, I am aware that Nathan and Abraham were brothers.

When Nathan Levin died in 1956, he was replaced by Harry A. Badt in the paperwork for further foreclosures and sales of WSIC Truxton Circle houses. In researching Badt, I found the brotherly connection.

According to a 1946 ad, Colonial Investment Co. was established in 1925. So starting there, I looked for him in the papers. In 1933 Abraham Levin passed the bar. The next year he married Naomi Lillian Bersh. He worked for the Census Bureau. In the 1940s he went into real estate, obtaining his license in 1945.

His brother, Nathan Levin, died while in court in 1956. The May 13, 1956 reported that Abraham was in the room when it happened. Nathan was president of the Colonial Investment Company and executive vice president of the Colonial Mortgage Corporation.

According to Abraham’s obituary he returned to federal service in the 1960s, working for HUD. He died in 1998.

Abraham H. Levin was one of two trustees who issued mortgages to African Americans purchasing Truxton Circle homes from the Colonial Investment Company. His name was on countless foreclosures.