Category: Truxton History

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Malinda Powell- 71 N St NW

The timeline on this one will be short, because the subject, Malinda Powell, a 66 year old Afro-American woman who lived at 71 N St NW during the 1920 census, died in 1925. But let’s explore what we can.

Normally, I pick the name of a Black home owner from the 1920 census who lived in Truxton Circle, and try to track their life in this DC neighborhood.  In the case of the Powells, I’ll be doing more of a mini-genealogy.
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Malinda Orange was born in 1855 in Petersburg, VA to Patrick Orange and Mary Cooley. She married David Powell May 10, 1881 in Alexandria, VA. She was listed as a widow but after searching Ancestry, I found an Alexandria county divorce. It appears David Powell sought the June 24, 1918 divorce and claimed ‘desertion’. I’m figuring that Mr. Powell was the one who left his wife, as Malinda Powell was at 71 N St in 1910, prior to the divorce. They were married 37 years and had 5 children.

In 1900 the Powell family rented a home at 223 3rd St NE. David J. Powell was a hotel porter. He lived in that house with Malinda and their 5 children, Mary B., Gladys H., James C., Samuel M., and Lillian B, along with his mother in law Mary Orange.

In 1910 the Powell family was living at 71 N St NW, as renters and without David J. as the head. James C. Powell was no longer living at home and understandably neither was Malinda’s mother. When we get to the 1920 census, James returned to living with his mother and his siblings had married. Mary became Mrs. Rhambeau, Gladys became Mrs. Jacob L. Reid and Samuel was married to Daisy, who was not living on N St. Their sister Lillian was not living at 71 N St either. Lillian B. Branch eventually lived in Tom’s River, NJ.

I want to note that Malinda is described as a widow in the 1920 census.  And to remind the reader, David her husband divorced her in 1918, two years before. Divorce, 100 years ago, was seen as a very shameful affair. It would have been reasonable, given her age (64 in 1920) to proclaim herself a widow.

There aren’t a lot of land records. The available online land records start around 1921 and the earliest for this address is a release from August 28, 1944.  Normally the releases are documents acknowledging the payment of a debt, but in this case it appears to be a transfer, between James C. Powell’s siblings and his widow Lucille B. Powell.

The next record is a January 27, 1959 deed. This is a genealogical info dump so forgive me. And it is proof that you should just name one person to inherit your property, not a slew of family members. So Samuel Powell, his wife Daisy W. Powell, Miss Clara Reid Willis (their niece I guess), Miriam Reid Felder (another niece?), and her husband Allie C. Felder Jr., who all were heirs of Malinda and James C. Powell, Gladys Powell Reid, Mary Powell Rhambeau and Lillian Powell Branch, sold the property to Arline M. Neal and Ruth Malone.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: John and Cecelia Pinkett – 208 N St NW

UPDATE 8/20/2021: I usually keep my eyes on the main owners and everyone else are extras. I want to thank Betsy McDaniel for pointing out that one of those extras, Flaxie Pinkett, was a notable Bloomingdale person. Her Wikipedia page mentions John R. Pinkett Inc., also mentioned in passing below.

From the 1920 census I take the names of African American home owners, and do some very basic research. I have both the husband and wife because she was listed first in the census as the head of household.

Ancestry has a family tree for John Pallard Pinkett, Jr. born in 1862 to John Pollard “Park” Pinkett Jr (say that 10 times fast) and Elizabeth Ann Maria Scott in Virginia. The family lived in Falls Church according to the 1870 & 1880 census. He was enlisted in 1886 in the U.S. Army, and his occupation was that of a barber. He was discharged in 1891. He married Cecelia Beckley in 1887. They had three children, John Randolph, Rosco Dewitt, and Roberta Maude (later Muse?). In 1920 only one (adult) child was living with them, and he was Rosco. I have my doubts about the existence of Roberta as she’s logically would be in the 1920 census if born in 1913. There is a VA birth certificate with her name and John’s name (mother’s name is missing), and her daughter’s death certificate but very few other documents about her.

In 1910 the Pinketts were still in Virginia.

In the 1930 census they are still on N St NW. John P. does not show up in the 1940 census, but his wife was listed as a widow.
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In the 1935 city directory, John P. Pinkett, married to Cecelia, is listed as a reverend. Right under it are several lines for John R. Pinkett, married to Flaxie H, living at 122 V St NW, was the president of John R. Pinkett Inc., which I think was a real estate company working out of 1302 New Jersey Ave NW.  John R. Pinkett Jr of 122 V St NW, was also a laborer for the Evening Star.

The on-line land records begin around 1921 so the first document for this property is from 1923. It was a release, meaning they paid off a 1914 debt associated with the property, for Cecelia B. and John P. Pinkett with the Washington Loan and Trust Company. And…….. then nothing for 30 years. The land document is a deed from 1953. The Pinkett sons and their wives, sold the property to Boyd B. Middleton. Notably, Roberta’s name is nowhere to be found.

 

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Robert E. Coleman – 210 N St NW

Another day, another Black male head of household owning a home in 1920s America. More specifically, 1920s Washington, DC.

In 1920, Robert Edward Coleman, born in Spottsylvania, VA, lived alone with his wife Elizabeth. He worked as a Pressman for the government. A few years before that he referred to his position as a ‘Helper’ working at the Government Printing Office on his WWI draft card. Also on this card from 1917-1918, it lists his address as 210 N St NW.

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In 1910 Robert E. Coleman and his wife Elizabeth or Lizzie J. (formerly Lizzie J. Lewis) who he married in 1908, lived as lodgers at 1716 4th St NW. This was also in Truxton Circle. His landlord was Robert P. Chandler, who was a bar tender who was a renter as well. Robert worked as a clerk for the government.

By the 1930 census the Colemans had moved on to 1217 Kenyon St. NW, where they once again lived alone, with each other. It appears they did not sell their N Street home until 1935.But there was an earlier deed transferring the property and something must have happened. In December 1927 the Colemans seemed to have sold the house to Mary and Randolph B. Carter. The Carters signed papers to borrow $4000 at 6.5%. There is a trustee’s deed in 1931, and it appears the Carters defaulted and possession fell back to the Colemans some how. This is my best guessing here. In 1935 it gets sold to Edith M. and James W. Smith.

When the draft for the second World War rolled around he was 60 years old, bald, and still living on Kenyon and working for the GPO, which is where we will leave him.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Albert A. Poole – 214 N St NW

This should be a quick one, as Albert A. Poole died in 1934 around about the age of 53 (born 9/9/1881). But his family held on to the property up into the 1970s.

Hello, if you are new to my blog, I regularly take the names of Black home owners from the 1920 census and write about them.

Prior to living at 214 N St NW Albert Ambrose Poole lived at 412 U St NW in LeDroit Park according to the 1909 to 1911 city directories. He worked as an elevator operator and a messenger. In the 1910 census Poole was living with his wife’s, Estella Poole, brother, Ferdinand A. Bradley, a hotel bellman who owned the home. The 1914 city directory has him on N St so we can guess that was the time he purchased the Mt. Vernon Sq/Truxton Circle home.

He lived at 214 N St NW with his wife since 1900, Estella, also mentioned as Stella and their children Albert Bradley Poole and Ruth Louise (later Ruth Carson and Ruth Hall). The online land records start in 1921/1922 the earliest we have for the Pooles is a 1929 trust with the Washington Loan and Trust Company, borrowing $19,000, possibly (I could be misreading it).
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There is plenty of borrowing and repayment, with the Washington Loan and Trust Company, with the Equitable Co-Operative Building Association, and the Perpetual Building Association. I’m going to focus on the deeds since I want to zoom to the end of the Poole family’s ownership of the property.

The first deeds are from January 1931 and are those odd deeds where the owners transfer the property to a party who immediately transfers the property back to the previous owners. The next deed is from 1939 where the deaths of Albert A. and Stella are mentioned, transferring the property to the adult children Ruth and Albert B.. Albert A. died February 14, 1934 and Stella departed this world January 8, 1939. The 1939 deed also includes Albert B.’s wife Minnie Taylor Poole. That same day, in another deed, Ruth Hall transfers the property to her brother and sister-in-law, who become the legal owners of 214 N St NW.

In the 1940 census Albert B. was listed as the owner. He lived there with wife Minnie, who worked as a maid, his unemployed sister in law Mary Wynn, Mary’s 8 year old daughter (?) Patricia, and two unrelated lodgers working as maids. His 1940 job was that of a messenger for a private company. In his WWII draft card his employer was the Diplomat Cab Company on Georgia Ave.

The next deed after the 1939 transfer comes in 1975. Minnie Taylor Poole or Minnie M. Poole died in 1968. The executors of her will appear to be Barbara G. Williams and Barbara’s husband Russell B. Williams. They sell the property to Alrose Investments Inc. on September 23, 1975.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Emmett Woodfork 234 O St NW

Once again, another address that no longer exists, 234 O St NW, because it eventually got absorbed by the Dunbar campus. This post looks at Emmett Woodfork, a Black chauffeur working for the US government, who, according to the 1920 census, lived at 234 O Street NW with his wife Mattie J. , and newborn son Willis (Emmett Willis Woodfork, Jr). It appears they were the landlords for the Coleman family (parents Howard & Anne, with daughters Sophia and Blanche) who are listed living at the same address.

Emmitt Woodfork
Emmett Woodfork 1897-1962 Credit: FIREGRUNT2000 originally shared this on 04 Sep 2018 on Ancestry.com

The available land records start in 1921/1922 so his first land record is a trust from August 1922, where Emmett and Mattie borrowed $1,500, from the Perpetual Building Association, which they were released from (paid) in 1923. The next land record was a release for a 1919 debt managed by trustees. In 1923, they borrowed $1,800 via the Perpetual Building Association, again. They borrowed and repaid money until 1925. The Perpetual Building Association was one of the lenders or facilitators, so was the United States Savings Bank. In 1926 the Woodforks sold the property to Martha G. Baylor.

To see where the Woodforks went after 1926 we must turn back to the genealogical records. The reason being, they owned four other DC properties and the genealogical records show which ones were investments and which were homes. In 1930 they lived in what looks to be Adams Morgan at 2472 Ontario Road NW. Their family had grown from one son to 6 children. When all was said and done they had 10 children. They were at the same house in the 1940 census, and Emmett was working as a chauffeur for the US War Department.

George Basiliko Keeps Showing Up in My Truxton Circle Property Searches Pt 2

When we last left I was looking at an Evening Star article in 1959 about George B. Basiliko’s plans to rehabilitate several Truxton Circle homes. The thing that caught my eye was that these homes were the subject of a post-Home Rule later rehabilitation project that was to take place in the Marion Barry years.

I decided to expand my research to the Washington Post and the Post calls Basiliko a slum lord. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back to 1959 and what the Evening Star said.

The October 3, 1959 article, Basiliko, with the help of of the Perpetual Building Association was supposed to rehabilitate 125 units. Several of those units in Truxton Circle. His target areas were specifically the 100 block of O St NW, the 100-200 blocks of Q and Bates Streets NW, the 200 block of P St and outside of the TC but in Shaw the 400 block of Warner. Despite the press, he did Jack.

The more I got into the Washington Post and Evening Star, I don’t know if disgusted or overwhelmed would describe it. Because it opened up a Pandora’s box relating to greater Shaw’s slum history. He profited off it. His target renters were African Americans. When he was found guilty of 8,000 housing violations, Basiliko and the city hashed out a deal. The Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) bought many of his Shaw properties. And as far as I could tell he avoided jail time.

The Truxton Circle houses he sold to RLA were 47 row houses on Bates Street, 8 on P St, 9 on Q, and 8 on 3rd. He also sold one house on French Street and 33 properties on the block bounded by 8th, 9th, S and T Streets, in Shaw. It appears the money RLA used came from HUD.

One of those P street houses was probably 229 P St NW. It was featured in an article about the 8,000 housing violations. There were holes in the ceiling and the walls. There was defective wiring, plumbing, rotted stairs and missing doorknobs.

The RLA paid Basiliko $1.1 million in 1970 for 106 Shaw properties. What RLA did or didn’t do, is another story for another time.

 

Black Homeowners of Truxton Circle: Edward Coleman 230 O St NW

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.

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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.

George Basiliko Keeps Showing Up in My Truxton Circle Property Searches Pt 1

So I as I go through the Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle series, I keep running across the name George Basiliko in the transactions. Him and his wife Sophia. He has shown up with with Harry Brown, Arthur B. McKinney and John Robinson in real estate transactions.

So who was George Basile Basiliko? He was born in Washington, DC to Basil (Basile) Stergin Basiliko a Greek immigrant, and Calliope Papazoglis (Papasoglou) Basiliko a Greek-Turkish immigrant on January 14, 1917.

In 1929 it appears the family lived at 50 Randolph Place NW in Bloomingdale. The father Basil was a contractor with a business address at 600 E St NW. In 1930, Basil was a merchant and owner of a cigar business and the family lived at 54 P St NE in NE Truxton Circle (some times I acknowledge that part of the TC).

He graduated Langley Junior High in 1933. Married Sophia Cokenias, also a child of Greek immigrants, in June 1947.

At the age of 26, he and his brother Nick Basiliko were charged with operating a “disorderly house” in April 1943. The house in question being the Logan Hotel at 912 N St NW. He received his real estate license, using 912 N St NW as an office in July of 1943. The Basiliko brothers were cleared of charges in the disorderly house case in September of that year by a municipal judge and the Evening Star said the hotel was at 13th and Logan Circle. December 1943, the United States Attorney’s Office kept pursuing the case because the house raid involved 100 police officers. The Evening Star restated the location of the hotel at 13th and Logan Circle, and George’s address being on the 6200 block of 8th St NW. In a 1944 Evening Star article, the police raid was reported as being on September 1942 and only 70 police involved.

After that brush with the law, his appearances in the Evening Star were classified ads advertising commercial real estate and trust notes. At some time in the 1950s he moved his office to 1113 Eye (I) Street NW. But staying out of trouble didn’t last long.

The Basiliko name popped up again regarding an investigation and court case regarding Route 240 and the claim of defrauding the Maryland State Roads Commission in 1953. Several Basiliko family members were named, including George, and a man named Ben Du Pre, who was the main target. Looking at Basiliko v State, this thing dragged on through the late 1950s.

In the Home and Real Estate section (B section) of the October 3, 1959 issue of the Evening Star, there is an article about rehabilitating properties in Truxton Circle, particularly Bates Street, in an article, “Some Plain Words About City Decay” by Robert J. Lewis. The article noted how George Basiliko “bought a lot of rundown properties” and was in the process of rehabbing them with assistance of the Perpetual Building Association, another familiar name to the Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle series.

I want to dig into this article a bit more so I will do that in part 2, as it deals with so many TC homes.

Sources: Continue reading George Basiliko Keeps Showing Up in My Truxton Circle Property Searches Pt 1

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: John Robinson

Going back to the 1920 Census our next Black American home owner is John Robinson, a 34 year old cook who lived at 1417 New Jersey Avenue NW.  He lived there with his wife Annie B., their 7 year old daughter Dorothy M., his brother Sam, and his widowed aunt-in-law Belle Pryor.

John W Robinson
Credit: JKROBIN3571 originally shared this on 30 Nov 2010 via Ancestry.com

Because of the amazingness of Ancestry.com, we have a photo of Mr. Robinson. This is a nice reminder that these people who I write about were real people who lived in Truxton Circle and who are our neighbors from the past.

On March 14, 1885 John Robinson was (probably) born in King William County, Virginia to John B. Robinson and Oney Smith. He was still in Virginia, as a school boy in 1900. By the 1910 census he appears in Washington, DC living as a lodger with J Walker Robinson at 1222 4th St NW and working as a cook in a cafe.

In 1911 Continue reading Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: John Robinson

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: The Garretts of 1408 3rd St NW ver.2.0

I posted before about the Garretts, but I wasn’t as familiar with the land records and Ancestry has improved a bit.

In my last post about the Garretts, I wrote:

John W. Garrett of 1408 3rd Street NW (SSL:W0553-0810) who was listed as a mulatto (African American)  Engineer and head of household. In 1920, Mr. Garrett was a 70 year old West Virginia native living with his 2 daughters Beatrice E. Garrett and Armetia M. Johnson and 7 year old granddaughter Marjorie Johnson. By the 1930 Census Mr. Garrett had died, Armeta/Armetia was listed as the head and her 1920 sister was now her partner? (head tilt) Both Beatrice and Armeta were dressmakers, probably self employed dressmakers. They could have been in business with each other. In 1940 the inhabitants of 1408 3rd are listed as renters, including Beatrice Jarrott, which sounds awfully like Beatrice Garrett. They could be the same person, but the ages don’t line up. She could have lied about her age, adding on 10 years in the 1940 census.

Looking at the land records there isn’t much. But I understand it. In the 1920 census the house was listed as being owned free and clear, and they kept it that way. Under the Garretts there are no trusts (mortgages). We don’t see anything until 1951 when the daughter Beatrice Garrett and granddaughter Marjorie Ellen Rand sell the house to Violet M. Barbour, who took out a loan for $4,500 at 6% interest.

photo of propertyNow back to John W. Garrett. He was impressive in the census. For the 1910 census he claimed to be a fireman Continue reading Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: The Garretts of 1408 3rd St NW ver.2.0