Category: Truxton History

In the 1920 census George W. Turner lived at and owned  218 P St NW (Sq. 553, lot 0089). He was (Culpeper) Virginia born carpenter who lived with his wife Lizzie B.(nee Wallace), his nephew William T. Turner and brother in law Moses J. Woods.

The land records have him purchasing 218 P St NW in 1922 from the survivors of Herbert A. Gill. Then not a whole lot happens. It appears that Turner did not borrow against the house. There is a document in 1922, then the next record is from 1954, when he sells the house to pool hall owner Harvey Washington Banks and his wife Nettie Lee Jackson Banks.

Prior to 218 P St NW he lived at 1026 New Jersey Avenue NW with his wife and nephew William T. Turner in 1910. Before that, according to the 1900 census, he and Lizzie lived in Culpeper, VA with their 11 year old daughter Rosa and brother in laws Major J. and Russell Wood. In May 1898 he married Lizzie in Alexandria, VA.

He was living with his wife and other relatives in the 1920 census. In 1930 he was listed as a widower and was just him and his brother in law, Moses. In 1930 he was 60 years old and like Jesus went from carpentry into ministry. The next census, the 1940 census, he did not list any occupation. His brother in law was replaced by a family of lodgers, the Hensens of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York.

Hey, another waiter from 1920.

James R. Clark was listed in the 1920 census as a widower waiter living at and owning 238 P St NW. But according to land records he didn’t get the property in his name until 1922. The land records are a little confusing.

There a deed from 1922 transferring Sq. 533 lot 0102 from other tenants at that address to Mr. Clark. Document #192206230090 dated June 23, 1922, transferred the property from Alberta Cunningham, Harry F, Dorothy, Marie and Robert C. Kendrick, Blanche and John J. Lynch to Clark. Alberta and her husband Warren Cunningham were also at 238 P St NW in the 1920 Census as renters. Mr. Clark’s roommate was Robert Kendrick.

The land records only go as far back as 1920-1921. There is proof that James Clark lived in the neighborhood before 1920. His 1917/1918 World War I draft registration had him living at 238 P St NW with his wife Mary M. Clark and working at the Harrington Hotel.  The 1914 and 1915 city directories have him at the same address, as a waiter. Prior to that in 1910, he was at 415 U St NW.

His ownership seemed short lived. Later that year in December of 1922, Clark sold the property to William T. Overhall. In the 1930 census, William T. Overhall is listed as the African American owner of 238 P St NW. And like James R. Clark, he too was a waiter.

Currently 244 P St NW is the Phanelson Memorial Apostolic Church. I took a quick look at the 1957 Church Survey and this structure was not a church then. But back in 1920 (or maybe before) it was the home of Frederick B. Turner, an African American waiter, and his family.Looking at Sq. 553, lot 99 records it looks like Frederick Booker Turner and his wife Irene Amelia (nee Malone) borrowed money in 1921, 1924, 1932, and 1947 using their home.

In 1920, Frederick Turner lived at 244 P St NW with his wife, lived with their daughter Geneva V., sons Leon Lovelace and Leonard Frederick, and his brother I Garland Turner. In 1930, the family household included Mr. Turner’s mother Annie Shade Turner, a new son Frederick (Jr?) and daughter Antionette Mae (side note- she wound up marrying 4 times by 1978). By 1930 it appears his brother moved on. Another, very slight change, Mr. Turner went from being a waiter at a hotel to being a waiter at a restaurant.

Mr. Turner died in December of 1966 according to the Social Security death index, somewhere in the 20010 zip code. Mrs. Turner died April 13, 1978. He seems to disappear after the 1930 census. He pops up in 1941, and is still a waiter, but we get the name of the restaurant where he worked.

In 1947, the Turners sold the property to Ernest Clinton Winfield, a Black native Washingtonian, after paying back their debt to the Washington Loan and Trust Company. Mr. Winfield borrowed $7,500.00 from the same institution when he purchased the property.

Sorry for the delay. Stuff happened.

So Garland E. Carr was a co-owner of 1520 1st St NW, with his mother and sister in 1922. The Carrs do not appear in the 1920 nor the 1930 census. They owned the property between 1922 and 1935.

In 1918 Garland was a farmer living in North Carolina when he was placed (not sure if drafted) in the military. In 1919 he returned from France and the answer to how do you keep them on the farm after they’ve seen gay Paris, is you don’t.

On June 11th 1922 Garland did something and was listed as living at 29 Massachusetts Ave NW. So what happened was, Garland Carr, being a vet tried to claim disability. His claim was denied and he was very displeased. So displeased that he returned to the Veterans Bureau office that denied him and (I’m going to quote the Evening Star) “had bored a hole through a window sash and thrust burning paper into the building  because, he said, his claim for disability was not allowed and he could not get no money from the bureau. The fire burned out when the paper was consumed.”

I get why he did it. My mom was a vet and I remember her struggles with the VA. But it was still a crime. He may have spent a year in prison for it.

He may have spent a year in prison. He moved on with his life. During Word War II he was a self-employed contractor.