This Arthur McKenny lived at 1401 1st St NW with his wife Ellen and adult daughter Minnie in 1920. In 1870 he was a farm laborer in Falmouth, Virginia. In 1900 he was living at 424 Washington St, which seems to be around the corner of the 700 block of 4th St NW. In the 1900 Census, he was living with his 60 year old mother Annie Coach (Minnie Thompson in the family tree), his wife and daughters Minnie and Mary Ellen.
The problem with Square 616, is that there are old lot numbers and newer lot numbers and they all seem to get jumbled together. But let’s try to do this. Looking at the Recorder of Deeds the earliest document is a deed where Arthur and Ellen sell lot 813 (also lot 11, just to confuse people), which appears to be 83 O St NW, in 1922 to David L. and Mary Ellen Cooper. Mary Ellen….. huh. Continue reading Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Arthur McKenny
Today’s African American Truxton Circle resident from the 1920 Census who owned their home is a thirty-three year old express man named Ernest H. Saulter. He lived at 30 P St NW with his wife Ethel Willie. No children. No boarders. Just those two. The property no longer exists, and the Mundo Verde Public Charter School sits there. When it did exist, it sat across from the space between Langston and Slater schools. Prior to 30 P St NW, Ernest Howard Saulter lived at 433 Rhode Island Ave NW, and 309 I St NW, which also does not exist anymore.
A 1922 city directory shows Mr. Saulter’s business address as 30-32 P St NW. On his 1917 draft card, when he was on Rhode Island, he listed himself as being self-employed. When looking at the Recorder of Deed records the Saulters owned lots 21, 90, and 832. On the 1919 Baist map above, lot 21 and 832 are pretty much the same lot. In 1921 Clarence M. DeVeile (not Cruella DeVille) sold the property on lot 90 to the Saulters. DeVeile had bought the property a month earlier from Henrietta Finnegan. In order to purchase it, DeVeile borrowed $1250.00 from what looked to be the Washington Six Percent Permanent Building Association. In November of 1923, the Saulters sold lot 90 to the District of Columbia government.
Lot 21 is confusing. In the old map, it is the old number, it’s part of lot 832 and there is another lot 21 facing North Capitol Street. It’s very hard to tell what’s going on with that, so I will just look at the transactions involving the Saulters. It appears they bought the P St facing lot in 1923 from the estate of Jane Steward formerly Jane Scott. But then it appears that a month or so later they sell it to the DC government.
Looking at other Recorder of Deeds documents, Ernest owned property elsewhere too. In 1924 Ernest and Ethel purchased what could have been 609 Rhode Island Ave NW. There is a vacant lot in that space which is Sq. 442 lot 3. That same year they brought 147 Rhode Island Avenue NW (sq. 3108, lot 0003) which does still exist. The Saulters stop showing up in the Recorder of Deeds records after 1937 with a trustees deed between the Saulters and the Homeowner’s Loan Corporation. That same year the Homeowner’s Loan Corporation sell the 147 Rhode Island Ave NW to Marie H. Malvan and Mildred R. Schey for $4,750.
The last record of Ernest Saulter is in a World War II draft card. The card dates from around 1942. At that time Mr. Saulter is 56 years old. He is living at 805 O St NW, about where the Giant parking garage sits. The contact he has listed is a woman named Estelle Johnson, at the same address. This brings to question, where is Ethel? Mr. Saulter is listed as self-employed but having “defective eyes”.
So here is another chapter in the series of African American home owners in the DC neighborhood of Truxton Circle from the 1920 Census. I will try to avoid making dick jokes.
In the 1920 Census Walter W. Dick lived at 70 P St NW (Sq. 616, lot 830) with his wife Eva Dick, daughters Jessie Mae and Estelle S. Dick, and a roomer T Emmett Saunders of Texas. There was another Dick at 70 P St NW, Arthur Dick who lived with his step-son Louyico Holmes. The house still exists and is currently 1380 square feet. Okay, I’m done.
William Walter Dick was born June 22nd in 1877 in North Carolina, one of four children of William R. Dick and Antoinette Pharr Dick. January 1906, in Mecklenburg, NC married Eva Irenee Caldwell. Sometime that year their first daughter Jessie was born. Two years later, Estelle was born. Then two years after the birth of Estelle, Walter was a railway porter for the family was living in DC, at 1312 G St NE.
Another view of the Dick family at 70 P St NW was with a World War I draft card. He was working for Southern Rail as a brakeman in 1917 or 1918. He last appears in the 1930 Census. Estelle is gone but they have a 4 year old daughter, along with the 23 year old Jessie, named Edna Elaine. In 1932, they borrowed $150 from an individual investor, using lots 830 and 831 as collateral. They paid it back the following year. I assumed when I checked the land records, when the property was sold in 1957 to …. Robert Weiner. Okay, the universe just want to tell dick jokes, you let the universe tell dick jokes. Anyway, as I was saying when I saw that the property was sold in 1957, I assumed Walter Dick had died. According to the deed, he was the surviving joint tenant to Eva.
Some pages of the 1920 Census are too pale to read. There was a man we have in the TruxtonCircle.org spreadsheet listed as Louis Bauer. Since the Ancestry page for this man are too pale, I will assume, we pulled the data from a photocopy fro, the microfilm.
So who we believe to be Louis Bauer lived at 1405 3rd St NW (Sq. 553, lot 834) , another address that no longer exists, with his wife “TP” and their granddaughter. I have to guess it was a two flat property as there was another household at the address, but the state of the Census doesn’t provide any surname for them.
Looking at the Recorder of Deeds records, the earliest owner attached to that property was Mary F.P. Bruce, not Bauer. The initials FP are close enough to TP, as a F could look like a T, that I think the family name was Bruce and not Bauer.
There were some agreements between Mary F.P. Bruce (1854-1943), the mother, Mattie F. Tignor and a woman named Phoebe E. Tyrrell, with 3 different deeds between 1940 and 1950. There are a few more deeds and Mattie F. Tignor’s name remained on the property with another widow, Gladys F. Morse until 1961 when they sold it to Jackson Avirom, who the same day transferred it to Esther Band and her husband Robert Band. In 1963 the Bands sold the property to the DC government.
Because of the confusion with the names it is a bit hard to find information about the Bruces. In the 1920 census Louis Bruce is 72, his wife, 66 and both without occupations. However, we can find Mary FP Bruce in the 1910 city directory as a hairdresser, living at 1405 3rd St NW. A Mattie Bruce, that same year is living in NE DC as a domestic. Just looking at the other Bruces in that city directory, there is an Alex Bruce at 1405, who is a janitor. In the 1915 city director, Mary FP is still at 1405, but none of the Alexes for that year are, but Sandy the janitor is.
There are too many inconsistent items for a good search.
No comment about my last post? Nada? Okay, let’s get back to boring old Black Home Owners or Mari searches Ancestry and the Recorder of Deeds and maybe some old Washington Post/Washington Star articles.
Today’s subject is Allen Colbert the contractor, not to be confused with his son, Allen A. Colbert, the driver. In 1920 he lived at 78 P St NW (Sq. 616 lot 51). The current house on that was built in 1929, according to its real estate listing, and this Colbert family does not appear in the 1930 Census for the area. Besides, the senior Allen Colbert was 60 years old in 1920, so for this time period it is too much to expect him to survive to 70. Looking at the land records, it appears that Allen and his wife Mary or Marrietta were both dead by 1924.
In a loan document from 1924, the Colbert children, Allen A., James E. Colbert and Mary Colbert Brown paid off the debt on the property to the Northern Liberty Building Association. The Colbert’s had another daughter, Julia, but she does not appear in this transaction. I’m not sure what happened in 1925, but Orwin E. Howe was tasked with auctioning off the property for no less than $2,300. I’m not sure if this was to pay off more debts or if the property was just being liquidated. Then there is nothing until 1956 after Orwin E. Howe dies (1854-1935) and according to his will the property is transferred the property to the Dr. O E Howe Home for Unfortunate Girls. *start humming Poor Unfortunate Souls from the Little Mermaid.
Prior to 1920, Allen and Mary Colbert may have lived over on Cook’s Court between 3rd, 1st, R/FL and Q Streets, NW. In that 1900 Census, their surname was transcribed as Calvert and they had two minor daughters living with them. All the children in the 1920 Census hadn’t been born yet. In the 1909, under the name Colbert, Allen and Mary are at 1626 Cooksey Place NW. The similarities hint that this is the same family. In 1907, an Allen was at 118 Q St NW. Part of me is thinking the addresses probably moved around as much as he did.
Source: “Doctor’s Kin Gets $267,000 Estate: Provision made to Start Home for Girls.” 1935.The Washington Post (1923-1954), Dec 04, 15. https://search-proquest-com.dclibrary.idm.oclc.org/historical-newspapers/doctors-kin-gets-267-000-estate/docview/150595557/se-2?accountid=46320.
Today’s African American Truxton Circle resident from the 1920 Census who owned their home is the widowed Susan E. Brown of 237 O St NW (Sq. 553, lot 58). This address no longer exists, and is currently an empty lot behind the Friendship-Armstrong Charter School. In 1920 she lived there with her son William J. Brown and her daughter Alethya’s family, the Williams.
In the Recorder of Deeds’ records Mrs. Brown was also Susan E. Berry (b. 1865). She died in 1927 and according to her will, left 237 and 239 O St NW to her married daughter Alethya H. Williams, who used the property to borrow money from the American Security and Trust Company in 1934 and 1949. In 1966, Alethya sold the property to the District of Columbia.
A little thing about the will. One of the witnesses was named Ethel Witkowska, a very Polish sounding name. She lived at 21 Tea (T) St NE. She appears in the 1930 census as a 24 year old bookkeeper. According to the Social Security Death Index Ethel Witkowska was born March 1905 and died in 1974, so she was just 20 when she witnessed the will in 1925. Her name just stood out.
Another little thing about her will, is that she may have owned property in her native South Carolina. The property was in Sumter county. Since no town was mentioned, I’ll assume it was rural land.
Anywho, Susan Brown only appears in the 1920 census at that address. Susan E. Berry appears at 237 O St NW in the 1900 Census, living with her husband Hilyard/ Hilliard, a hotel porter, their sons Hilyard Jr (aka James Hilliard) and William and daughter Althea. A faulty family tree (there are a few errors) claims her maiden name was Ruffin.
Since I’m looking at the census for 1920 and her family owned the neighboring lot, let’s look at 239 O St NW. It was lot 819 or old lot 11 on Sq. 553. Susan Berry’s will had named both Alethya and Hilliard Jr. as beneficiaries for 239 O St. NW. And it is Hilliard Berry and his wife Jessie Gordon Berry mentioned in the land records, not Alethya. They borrowed several times from the Washington Loan and Trust Company and individually named lenders, in 1929, 1930, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1950 and 1953. The widow Jessie Berry sold the property in 1965 to Sylvia H. Miller, who then turned around and sold the property in 1966 to the DC government.
The Clarkes and the Stewarts lived at 239 O Street as renters. In total there were 11 people living at 239. Like their landlords, they too were African-American. The head of the Clarke family was Henry who was listed as being an Assistant Engineer. I should note that William Berry or Brown’s occupation in 1920 was that of an Engineer. William’s brother, Hilliard, in the city directory is some sort of Engineer in the DC Public Schools. According to a WWII draft card, Hilliard worked at Dunbar High School. I wonder if Henry Clarke and the Berry/Brown brothers worked together?
Gee, his name may as well be John Smith. Last post was Fannie Moore and I discovered there were a bunch of ladies with that name. I suspect I’ll have to weed through several Harry Browns.
In the 1920 Census then renter Harry Brown lived at 240 R St NW with his wife Rosetta and their 5 year old, Madaline. By the 1930 Census they are owners. There was a Harry Franklin Brown at 224 R St NW who filled out the draft card for World War I in 1917/1918. Since they were both barbers, I will assume they are the same person. I did not find Harry Brown in the Recorder of Deed records, but I did find Rosa E. Brown.
The address is on Sq. 551, which has been completely redone, so none of the houses on that block remain. The Library of Congress Baist map is of little help since it does not show 240 as a house number. But I can guess that it was lot L or 837 as it was the last house facing R St after 222 R St NW. This means it could have just as well been 224 R St NW. The owner for that lot was solely Rosa E. Brown. Harry, her husband appears nowhere on the paperwork. When she sells the property in 1959 to George Basiliko and his wife, she is listed as an unmarried widow. Rosa and Rosetta are the same person. Rosa Brown appears in city directories as the wife of Harry F. Brown at 240 R St NW.
From a family tree on Ancestry we find a fuller picture of Mr. Brown. He was born on July 19, 1889 in Baltimore, MD. His father was Maltimore Brown (1856-1924) and Helen (nee Cooper) Brown (1858-??) and he had a dozen brothers and sisters. Not in the family tree is the marriage in DC to Rossetta Blackwell in 1911. But an interesting thing in the family tree which creates a mystery. One of his many siblings is his sister Mary A. (1879-1970), who around 1902 married James Boardley. In 1910 the couple lived with a then single Harry, their parents and several other siblings at 1417 3rd St NW. In the 1940 Census, Harry is living with the Boardleys. No Rosa in sight. But according to the family tree, Harry died in 1937, which makes it hard to be in the 1940 Census. Rosa Brown was living back at 240 R St NW with daughter Madeline S. Brown, widowed and working as a maid. Why were Mr. & Mrs. living several blocks apart, if he was alive at all?
I decided to make my life a little easier and just look at the 1920 census for African American home owners. That’s because the Recorder of Deeds starts around 1920/1921 and looking at 1900-1910 property and landowners is harder.
Fannie Moore is listed as living at 53 O St NW in the 1920 census. Sadly, for me, 53 O St NW does not exist anymore. Google map puts it at an alley. Looking at a Library of Congress Baist map from 1919, 53 O St NW is on Sq. 616 lot 58. However, I have to take that with a grain of salt, because sometimes these address matches are a little off. The Recorder of Deeds record #1938036439, the only record for lot 58, confirms Fannie L. Moore as the owner. In 1938, it appears she sold the land to the DC government for $3,750.
It may seem odd, but Fannie or Fanny Moore was a common enough name that several show up, living in Washington DC in the early 20th century. And it didn’t help that her birth year was inconsistent. In the 1920 and 1930 census her birth year is estimated to be 1882. But in the 1900 census, when she was a 23 year old laundress, living with her mother and siblings at 51 O St NW, her birth year was 1877. With the city directory her address jumps around. In 1928 she is at 54 O St NW and in 1906 at 51 O St NW. So I do believe I have the same woman. But around the same time period is a Mrs. Fannie L. Moore married to a Thomas A. Moore and another one married to a C.E. Moore. Our Fannie Moore was a single lady.
The O St Fannie Moore may have started her career as a laundress, a common occupation for Black women at the time, but later found work with the US government. In city directories, at least by 1906, she had found a job with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. At one point she was a shaker then moved up to become an operator, whatever those positions are.
Once she sells her property in 1938, she all but disappears. If I wanted to spend the money, as a federal employee I could research her personnel file. That would probably tell me when she departed this earth and if she ever retired or married (thus making it harder to find her). When she sold the property, she would have been around 61 years old.
My last post ran long and I felt I buried the lede. I’m just going to rehash it with a clique beatty title.
1909 Baist Map of Sq. 520
In 1905 the Miller ladies owned several lots on a city block in Washington DC. The square being Sq. 520, which sits between 3rd and 4th, R and Q Streets NW. The Miller ladies being Katharine Miller and her daughters Catherine, Agnes, and Anna. They were white women. According to the 1905-1906 General Assessment they owned under the names Katharine/ Katharina Miller, Catherine A. Miller, Anna B. Gaegler, and Agnes C. Sullivan lots 57-62, 65, 68, 74, 76-78, 86-88, 90-95, 102-106. Using the Library of Congress’ Baist map and Property Quest and trying to match addresses to lots with numbers that may or may not line up with current lot numbers, I think they owned 1603-1611 and 1629 4th, 1635 4th, 1641 4th, 1646 3rd, 1638-1642 3rd (empty lots), 1618-1622 3rd, 1602/4?? 3rd (empty lot 95), 1604-1614 3rd, and 304-312 R St NW.
Map from 1892
A lot of houses in DC say they were built in 1900. They weren’t. Several of these were. The map to the right is a Hopkins map from 1892. There are structures at the corner of 4th and Q and 3rd and R Streets that pre-date 1900. When looking at the 1900 census for residents in these Miller owned properties, they are all African American renters. Those older homes, 1603-1611 4th St NW, were owned by Millers but rented by the Turners, the Smallwoods, Motens, Dotts and others. They were Black laborers and domestics. But they also owned newer housing that did not exist in 1892 but did in 1900. These newer homes were 1629, 1635, and 1641 4th St NW.
Thomas Jenkins, a porter born in 1850, lived at 1629 4th St NW with his wife, 4 sons and three daughters. He and his wife Rachael were both born in Maryland. Their children were born in the District. His adult son William was a porter like his father. The second son Charles was a teacher. The third, Harry, was a bellman. The youngest, Thomas, was 10. His daughters appear to have been at home, unemployed.
There were 3 households at 1635 4th St NW. The first was a widow woman Cornelia E Madden. She is listed with a 2 year old daughter and a 17 year old son. The second is Sandford Madden, a 23 year old waiter. I don’t know if he was related to Mrs. Cornelia Madden. He is listed with his wife and their infant son, They also had two ‘boarders’ ages 3 and 4 in their home. Lastly there was William Washington, another young waiter in his early 20s. He lived at 1635 with his wife and their two year old son. Today the house boasts of having about 1500 sq feet.
1641 4th St NW also had three households listed as residents. First, there was 65 year old widow Ann Bowie with her 40 year old daughter Ella. Then there was 50 year old widow Louisa Brooks, a servant, with her 16 year old son Adolphus, a porter. Balancing out the widow women was Benjamin Stiles, a day laborer, He lived with his wife, Sarah, a washer woman and their 3 year old daughter. They had a male boarder, Richard Neale, a hod carrier.
I would examine their White renters from 1910 to see if they were crammed in as much as their Black neighbors, but this post is long enough.
The Recorder of Deeds website was being unhelpful. So this is mostly from Ancestry and the Historic Washington Post. Genealogy is hard. I refuse to do my dad’s side of the family because most of it could be summed up in the phrase, “Grandpa James shoulda kept it in his pants.” There are two James, two Roberts and two Johns. Families seem to like to recycle names, which makes things confusing and I was, and probably still am, confused by the Kat Millers of Sq. 520.
I mentioned Kat Miller, as I will call them, in an earlier post, Rando thoughts ending in a music video. For 1905-1906, on Square 520, which is bounded by R St, 3rd and 4th Sts, and Q Street NW, I saw a lot of Kat Millers as the owner of many lots. Katharine Miller owned lots 57-59, 62, 76-78, 88-86, and 90-91. Katharina Miller owned lot 92. Catherine A. Miller owned lots 60, 93-94, and 102-106. There was another lady Miller, Agnes R. Miller who owned lots 61, 65 and 95.
Katharina Nau Miller (1839-1916) Credit Ann Gaegler. Ancestry.com
Like my family, they reused the names. Katharina/ Katrina Elizabeth Nau Miller (1839-1916) was the mother. She was married to a John Miller and they used to live at 452 H St NW. They were members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. They had three daughters, Catherine Appollonia (1871-1944), Agnes Rose (1878-1930), and Anna Barbara (1876-1950).
The Recorder of Deeds site (when working) helped with something that is very hard when looking up women, married names. Apparently Katharina had a will. I haven’t seen it but I’ve seen evidence of it. But according to land records there was a will and Catherine Appollonia Miller became Catherine Ruppert. She and her husband John Anton Ruppert (1861-1939) were the executors of Katharina’s will. In her will she left property to the surviving children of Agnes Rose Sullivan (lots 57, 78, 88, and 90) along with lots on Sq. 509 (maybe 509E?). In the September 16, 1916 Washington Post (p. 3) she left property and money to Catherine Ruppert, Agnes’ kids, and Anna Barbara Gaegler. Mrs. Gaegler owned lots 68 and 74 in 1905.
I’m not sure who John F. Shea is, but he was the surviving trustee of Catherine Ruppert’s estate.
1909 Baist Map of Sq. 520
Okay. Let’s see who these ladies were landladies for. I’m ignoring all the lots owned by Sullivans, who could be relatives of Agnes Rose. So let’s look at lots 57-62, 65, 68, 74, 76-78, 86-88, 90-95, 102-106. Not all the old lot numbers line up with the current lot numbers, and the Baist addresses can be wrong, so bear with me. 1603-1611 and 1629 4th, 1635 4th, 1641 4th, 1646 3rd, 1638-1642 3rd (empty lots), 1618-1622 3rd, 1602/4?? 3rd (empty lot 95), 1604-1614 3rd, and 304-312 R St NW.
In 1900 the residents of 1603-1611 and 1629 4th St NW were all African American. Basically everyone on Square 520 in 1900 was Black and renting and on 4th St NW. Unless I have another hole in my data (and I probably do), these white ladies had black tenants in fairly, newish houses. I live on the even side of the 1600 block of 4th St NW and the houses on the odd side are way bigger than the even side. They have room for parking. We don’t, for most of us.
Moving to 1910, I see I probably have a hole in my 1900 data because, I see White people. In 1910 the Miller ladies rented to African American and White families. Fourth St remains African American, but the R Street and 3rd Street houses are rented to White families. I have one odd-ball I need to check. A White man named Anthony A. Ryles of 1646 3rd St NW claimed to own the property in the census. 1646 is currently Mt. Sinai’s education center and the original lot 74, Anna Barbara’s lot, no longer exists. People lie, he could have bought it, or there is another logical explanation.
Okay. That’s enough researching for now.
Redlining vs Urban Renewal
I’m seeing the term redlining popping up more and more. Some of my relatives mentioned it during our Christmas Zoom gathering. It seemed new to the Festivus-like list of grievances that get trotted out by particular relatives, and it seemed to be short-hand for something else. I’m going to go with the simple definition of redlining being the denial of government backed mortgages to non-whites based on geography. Yes, redlining was bad, but urban renewal was much worse.
I’m tacking this on the end of the Kat Miller post because, I see that the landladies were interested in green, as they rented to both Black and White. Poking around the property and census records I see loans get made and a lot of people rent. In cities, you’re more apt to rent than own.
Urban renewal impacts both homeowners and renters, more so renters. It it easier to level a quadrant like Southwest when the majority of landowners don’t live there. The Northwest and later the Shaw School Urban Renewal Area plans were to knock out whole blocks, which would have displaced thousands of residents. In the plan, I-395 was supposed to continue up and meet up with U St, destroying what was to become my house in the process. The homes destroyed to make the freeways, the public parks and the low-income housing aren’t coming back. The scars of urban renewal are forever on the landscape.
Sources: Must login to DC Library's various database accounts-
https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/150627590/person/180246330315/Gallery?_phtarg=Kyj110
https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/150627590/person/180246330336/facts
https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/150627590/person/180246330337/facts
https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/120179064/person/222225869459/facts
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The problem with Square 616, is that there are old lot numbers and newer lot numbers and they all seem to get jumbled together. But let’s try to do this. Looking at the Recorder of Deeds the earliest document is a deed where Arthur and Ellen sell lot 813 (also lot 11, just to confuse people), which appears to be 83 O St NW, in 1922 to David L. and Mary Ellen Cooper. Mary Ellen….. huh. Continue reading Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Arthur McKenny
So who we believe to be Louis Bauer lived at 1405 3rd St NW (Sq. 553, lot 834) , another address that no longer exists, with his wife “TP” and their granddaughter. I have to guess it was a two flat property as there was another household at the address, but the state of the Census doesn’t provide any surname for them.
Fannie Moore is listed as living at 53 O St NW in the 1920 census. Sadly, for me, 53 O St NW does not exist anymore. Google map puts it at an alley. Looking at a Library of Congress Baist map from 1919, 53 O St NW is on Sq. 616 lot 58. However, I have to take that with a grain of salt, because sometimes these address matches are a little off. The Recorder of Deeds record #1938036439, the only record for lot 58, confirms Fannie L. Moore as the owner. In 1938, it appears she sold the land to the DC government for $3,750.
