Housing – Truxton Is In Shaw

1920 to 1930- White to Black- 1711 New Jersey Avenue

1700 Block NJ Ave NW, 1930. Brown= AfAm residents; White= No data

In this series of looking at the odd numbered side of the 1700 block of New Jersey Ave NW from 1920 to 1930, I decided to look at the other end of the block. The change from 1920 to 1930 for most of the block was from white renters to black home owners. My post The sell off of the 1700 block of New Jersey Ave NW pretty much explains the why.

White Renters

In 1920 the Talbot family rented 1711 NJ Ave NW. It was headed by Samuel C. Talbert, then a bookkeeper, he lived with his wife Mary, and their adult daughters Helen and Edith.

Samuel was born Dec 1863 in Washington, DC to George and Elizabeth Talbert. He married Mary Harriet Tucker (born 1868) in 1889 and they had three daughters: Edith E. (1891), Marie A. (1898), and Helen Louise (1899). in 1900 the family lived at 1617 6th St NW and Samuel was a bookkeeper. In 1910 the family lived at 436 Q St NW and Samuel worked as a manager at an insurance company.

After the Talberts left New Jersey Avenue in 1920, the Talberts were at 712 N St NW. At this point, Samuel was a 66 year old bookkeeper for an ice cream company. He lived with Mary, their adult daughter Edith and her husband, Merle D. Cardd. Mr. & Mrs. Talbert remained renters on N St NW through to the 1940 census. The only difference was that their daughter Edith remained with them after her divorce.

Black Homeowner

October 1920 the ‘developer’ Ms. M. Harvey Chiswell sold 1711 New Jersey Ave NW to Ms. Maria Jones. Jones got a mortgage from trustees W. Wallace Chiswell (M.’s brother) and real estate developer Harry A. Kite. Jones was released from the mortgage August 1926. March 1934 Jones sold the home to Adeline Stokes Naylor.

I don’t like researching women and with a name like Jones…. nope. There were several African American Maria Jones in Washington DC in 1920. She wasn’t even living at 1711 NJ Av NW in 1930, but renting the house out. So I don’t have any biographical information to work with.

WSIC Related- 130 Bates Street NW

Well this is not a Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) house. But I’m going to give it the WSIC treatment because our fav Greek slum landlord, Geo. Basiliko shows up, as does the Bates Street Associates.

photo of property

Let’s see what happens with 130 Bates St NW, starting with the 1st DC Recorder of Deeds doc:

August 1937 Martha E. Aue borrowed $2,700 from the Metropolitian Building Association (trustees Melvin F. Bergmann and Edmund M. Emmerich).
August 1937 Aue was released from a 1920 mortgage with trustees Patrick J. Welshe and Charles Schafer.
June 1951 Aue sold the home to Mary A. Furnary.
June 1951 Furnary borrowed $4,500 from the Liberty Building Association (trustees Louis C. Dismer, Julius A. Maedel, and John H. Stadtler).
July 1951 Aue was released from her 1937 mortgage.
May 1952 Furnary sold the property to Donald Quarles.
Quarles borrowed $4,415 from trustees Howard F. and Robert A. Humphries at 6% interest. Half of the amount was for Furnary and the other half for Rebecca M. Smith.
July 1952 Quarles and his wife Earline, transferred the property to Robert A. Humphries, who in the next doc transferred it back to them.
March 1962 the June 1951 Furnary loan was foreclosed upon and for $5,600 George Basiliko was the winner of the auction.
March 1962 Sophia and George Basiliko borrowed $4,800 from the Perpetual Building Association (trustees Junior F. Crowell and Samuel Scriverner Jr.)
July 1970 the Basilikos were released from the 1962 loan.
October 1980 the Bates Street Associates Limited Partnership, with Haley-Makielski Associates, George Holmes Jr. and Jack W. White sold the property to Delores W. Manning and her daughter Lawanna Manning.

I will leave the property history there. So let’s look at the people involved ending with the Basilikos.

Mrs. Martha E. Aue shows up in the 1936 DC City directory at 130 Bates (Ancestry says 30 Bates). Martha Rollins married William Aue in 1898. The 1950 census showed that she was a white widowed 74 year old female living with her 47 year old son Raymond Henry Aue and a roomer. Both she and her son were listed as unable to work. On his WW2 draft card he was listed as being blind. Raymond died that year and Martha died in 1958.

Mary A. Furnary was a bookkeeper at a Real Estate Firm according to the 1950 census. She lived with her parents who were Italian immigrants.

Unfortunately, there were two Donald Quarles in DC in the 1950s. One white, one black, and neither one I can connect to Earline.

This is not a WSIC house. It was not owned by anyone associated with WSIC nor the Colonial Investment Co, which purchased the WSIC rentals.

1920 to 1930- White to Black- 1709 New Jersey Avenue

Looking at a previous post I wrote:

1709 NJ Ave NW (Sq. 507, lot 14) sold to Julia G. Holland by M. Harvey Chiswell around September 1920. She also had a loan/ deed of trust between her W. Wallace Chiswell, H.A. Kite for $2,800 at 6%, secured by M. Harvey Chiswell.

It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so this is the pattern: I look at the white renters then the black homeowners.

White Renters

There was only one household mentioned in the 1920 census for 1709 NJ Ave NW, the Nolan family. The head was a 47 year old Irish-American bricklayer named James Joseph Nolan. Julia (nee Woolridge), his wife, his 84 year old mother Mary M. Nolan, and their two sons Victor (17) and Fredrick (9). Victor worked as a mechanic at the Navy Yard.

The family was at the house for the 1910 census. Then it was headed by 73 year old, retired contractor, James Francis Nolan. Mary, James J., Julia, grandsons Victor and James F. Jr. Little James F. could be Fredrick.

When Mary M. Nolan died in 1924 the Washington Times reported that she lived at 1223 8th St NW. The family was at 1252 10th St NW for the 1930 census. They were still renters and a multi-generational household. Victor was married and in the home with his wife Cornelia and daughters Miriam(5) and Margaret (3). James and Victor were working as bricklayers and James F. a stacker? at the Patent Office. Julia died in 1936 and their address was 1543 3rd St NW. and her funeral was at Immaculate Conception. In 1940 the Nolan family were listed as homeowners. But this time Victor was the head, working as a clerk at the Post Office supporting his wife, two daughters and his father.

James died in 1947. At that point he was living at 9505 Biltmore Dr, Silver Spring, MD.

Black Homeowner

Julia C. Holland purchased the home at 1709 New Jersey Ave NW. In the 1930 census she lived at the property with her daughter Thelma Holland and four lodgers. Also in 1930 she took out a loan with trustees EK Coleman and Leo Kahn. The next loan, which was taken out in 1941, noted that Julia had died. For a 1965 loan, the paperwork noted that Thelma had died and her estate had passed to Julia A. Henderson. Julia A. Henderson was already dead or incapacitated and her estate run by Thomas O., Carl O., and John E. Henderson. This ends with the 1966 sale by successor guardian Preston H. Harris to Harry W. and Max. M. Goldberg.

Julia C. Holland was renting a place with her daughter Thelma at 1519 11st St. (NW?) with her mother Laura Clark and mother in law Agnes Holland in the 1920 census. In 1920 she worked as a charwoman for the US government. The two older women worked as laundresses.

It appears that Julia Clarke Holland died in April of 1933 and her funeral was held at Asbury M.E. church. Her husband John R. Holland died in 1919 and his funeral was at the same church. She was a member of a couple of women’s fraternal organizations who attended her funeral.

It seems Thelma married Thomas O. Henderson, which explains all the Hendersons who were in charge of her estate. They were her children. Thelma died in 1956 and like her parents, her funeral was held at Asbury M.E. Church.

Comparative White DC Home Owner- Georgetown- George Thomas- 1505 33rd St NW

It’s been a while since I have written up one of these comparative histories.

Although the African American home owners of Truxton Circle are my focus, I am looking at a few other blocks in Washington, DC to compare them to. So I looked at the census for blocks in the city that were in the F1 or red-lined category, but happened to be 90%-100% white. I included Georgetown, and this is the story of one household.

George W. Thomas was born in DC on November 15, 1870. His father was a carpenter and also named George W. and in 1880 the family lived in Georgetown. He was one of 10 children. In 1893 he married Elizabeth Schlosser. In 1900 he shows up twice in the census. He’s at 3042 P St NW with his wife and a family of boarders (Enumeration Dist 25 page 8). And he’s at his father’s on S or T St NW (Enumeration Dist 19 page 17) in Georgetown, with his siblings minus his wife.

Prior to the George W. and his wife Elizabeth moving to 1505 33rd St NW, they lived about a block over, renting 3042 P St NW in the 1900-1910 census. In the 1920 census they rented space in Dupont Circle at 2150 P St NW. George had been a carpenter, like his father, but then moved into cement mixing. It appears they had no children.

Looking at the land records the first few documents for the Thomas household are from 1923 and the lot numbers are (0163-0164) where Irene and William Ballenger sold the two lots to Nellie G. Stees. In the next numbered document, on that same day, sold it to Elizabeth and George W. Thomas. In the following document the Thomas borrowed $2000 at 7% from the trustees of the Northwest Savings Bank and $1000 for a 2nd mortgage from trustees R.E.L. Yellott and Raymond Read. A month later the Thomas’ were named in the release of the Ballenger’s 1920 mortgage. December 1923 George & Elizabeth took out a $3000 mortgage with the Home Building Association of the District of Columbia. It appears they used the money to pay off the Northwest Savings Bank.

In 1935 George and Elizabeth sold the home to Joseph A. Jr. and Edith Corinne Gargiulo.

So in the 1940 census they had moved out to the Palisades living at 5517 Carolina Place NW. At that point he was 69 years old and still in the concrete business. According to the social security office he died in 1952.

The difference I see between this White household and the Black households of Truxton Circle is the Northwest Savings Bank. I haven’t seen that bank operating in the TC.

Memory Lane: 1227 First Street NW

When I posted this back in 2007 it was a vacant house. It has been renovated and brought back to the land of the living.

Looking at the land records there was a lot of…. it looks very confusing and it appears to be an issue with the title in 2009. So from 5 minutes of poking around it appears in 2003 the city condemned the property and the owner did something to cancel that. From 2007-2009 there was a lien on the property, for back taxes. In 2008 Maryland B. Jackson sold her interest in the property to Read Investment Corp. for $160K. I am guessing Read Investment renovated the property because in 2009 they sold the property to Mark Beavers for $409K. And looking at Google Street view from 2008 and 2009 there is a change from a shell of a house to a house with the permits in the window.

It was last sold in 2015. Redfin says that the house is now worth $843,948.

Vacant house next to occupied homes. — 1223-1227 1st Street NW. Taken around December 20, 2007.

2007 post below

Okay, once again because all the cool kids are doing it, another vacant house. This also has been bought this year, so the pitiful state that it is in *might* not the new owner, Ms. M. B. Jackson’s fault. Ms. Jackson of McClean, VA acquired the house in May 2007 for an unknown amount. The unknown makes me wonder if it was a transfer, tax sale foreclosure, or something else. According to the DC.Gov tax assessment site, the place is assessed at $248,570, for 2007, and will go up to $296,570. The $570.00 at the end of both prices make me wonder if the assessor just decided, “OK, add $48K, viola!” Anywho, there is an interesting “Special Assessment” dated 7/30/2004 and 12/13/2007 for $62,213.03. I wonder what that’s all about.
It was built sometime during the turn of the century, as the DC government lists it as being built in 1900, which means they have no clue. My census of 1900 notes aren’t revealing any residents of the 1200 block of 1st, and my maps (which I admit neglects the Hanover/MVSQ crossover area of the TC) don’t show anything, so I have no clue either.

Memory Lane: 1555 4th St NW

1555 4th St NW. Photo taken December 15, 2007.

What do I want to say about this house?

Well for most of my tenure living on the 1600 block of 4th St, it was a rental home. In the last handful of years I was on the street, the tenants were well meaning nice people with jobs. They unfortunately had a front view of the rear of the commercial block that was the 1500 block of New Jersey Ave NW. If it weren’t the screamy teenagers hanging out behind the commercial block, it was the old guys who sold heroin hanging out. The nice thing about the old guys who sold heroin was that they tended to call it a night most nights….. well that was until they had members who hung out who decided every other day was bring your kid to work day.

It couldn’t have been easy there.

1920 to 1930- White to Black- 1725 New Jersey Avenue

1920 White Renters

There were two households living at 1725 NJ Ave NW in 1920. The first was Thomas Errington (spelled Ewrington in the 1920 census), a Michigan born laborer and his family. The second, was Ernest L. McDowell, a Printer who worked at the Government Printing Office.

The Errington household consisted of 42 year old Thomas, his 51 year old wife Ida (previously Crutchfield) and their 5 year old adopted daughter, Mary Callahan. In the previous 1910 census, the couple lived at 505 Q St NW. He was a house porter and she worked as a dressmaker. Ida died after they moved from New Jersey Ave in 1921. In the 1930 census, Thomas had a new wife and family with stepdaughter and step-granddaughter in Baltimore. I could not locate Mary.

The McDowells consisted of 29 year old Ernest Linwood McDowell, his wife 24 year old Eunice (formerly Eunice Ruth Townsend) and 1 year old daughter Dorothy. Ernest was a printer at the GPO and had just married Eunice Ruth Townsend in 1917 in their hometown of Richmond, VA.

After they left New Jersey Ave NW they lived at 2207 Otis St NE and owned the home. By 1930, Ernest moved up to Proofreader at the GPO and he and Eunice had another daughter. They lived on Otis through to the 1950 census. Ernest died in 1963.

1930s Black Owners

According to the land records the owner in 1926 were Alice and George B. Oliver where in a deed they transfer the property to Henning C. Nelms who in the next document transferred it to Alice. A few months later the mortgage with W. Wallace Chiswell and Harry A. Kite was paid off or released. Alice owned the house until her death and the house was sold by her heirs in 1976.

Unfortunately, I could not find out much about the brother and sister George Bruce James Oliver and Alice Oliver prior to their time. They were both Black and born in Virginia. I was able to find George’s draft card to discover he was born in Danville, VA in 1898 and get his two middle names. That lead to finding his 1947 funeral notice where it mentions his wife Ruth, who does not show up in the 1940 census.

Speaking of the census. in 1930 George is listed as Alice’s brother. In 1940 he is listed as a lodger.