Truxton Is In Shaw – Page 39

1900 Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Solomon Basey- 1603 1/2 3rd St NW

I have a template for my Black home owners series. Since I am dealing with the Sq. 551 3rd St owners, and Solomon Basey was Black, here we are.

When I looked for Solomon Basey in the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America site, which allows me to search the Evening Star and other DC newspapers (for free). I found this ad:

I gather that Solomon Basey who was an African American shoemaker who lived at 1603 1/2 3rd St NW was feeling the end was near and sold his earthy possessions to his step daughter. In the 1900 census Mr. Basey was only 48 years old. It was harder to be older 100 years ago.

In the 1900 census he was a widower and lived with his sister Julia Washington. He had married Ellen Carey in 1896. It appears she died (or quietly divorced).

Flipping through various DC city directories between 1878-1906 Solomon Basey shows up at 406 Franklin St NW, 1603 1/2 3rd St NW, and 510 O St NW. The O St address may have been his shoe and boot shop.

Happy Accident-1900 Home Owner- 1603 3rd St NW- William Saunders 1822-1900

I honestly meant to to get resident home owners of sq. 552, for the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company. Because I had incorrect info in my own spreadsheet, which I need to clean up, I wound up researching people who were not on Sq. 552 (3rd, Q, 1st, Bates, and P St) but 551. It also means that the spreadsheet on TruxtonCircle.org is incorrect too.

I discovered my accident when looking at the 1902/1903 General Assessment for Sq. 552 for a William Saunders. I found William’s wife, Martha Saunders over on Sq. 551, (where Mt. Sinai, the NW Co-op and FL Ave Park sit). She had two lots. She owned, 551 009-Background, and 551 00G.

Then it dawned on me that the 1600 block was up one block.

William Saunders was a TC resident, and he has a Wikipedia page (my 3rd TC resident with a wiki) so we have a new blog post.

William Saunders lived at 1603 3rd St NW. According to the 1880 census, he lived there with his wife Martha, and his adult children George W. and Belle. By the 1900 census, it was still him and Martha, and Belle, along with four adult grandchildren with the surname Reeves.

According to his Wikipedia page he “was a botanist, nurseryman, landscape gardener, landscape designer, and horticulturist.” He was the United States’ chief experimental horticulturalist and Continue reading Happy Accident-1900 Home Owner- 1603 3rd St NW- William Saunders 1822-1900

Ads on InShaw

I’m trying something.

And I have no idea of what I’m doing.

I’ve been approved to add Google ads to the site. I’m trying to figure out how to not put them all over the place and be obnoxious. If you don’t see anything, good. If you see one or two ads, good. If they are all over the friggin place, not good, and tell me.

1900 Resident Owners of Sq. 551 of 3rd St NW

So I started off writing this blog post to look for residents of Sq. 552 (the block south of the NW Co-op) for the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company. But I didn’t discover until I took a deeper look at one owner, that I had the wrong block. I have written and researched and so I’m not going to throw away that work.

I thought I had nine resident homeowners for Sq. 552. The seven 3rd Street people were incorrect. So lets look at them. The two on Sq. 552, I will deal with in the following post.

I don’t know how far I can get with researching the nine home owners, because all I have to confirm ownership is the 1902/1903 General Assessment, which is not always correct (dead owners), nor does it provide the minute info that is enlightening as the Recorder of Deeds records.

1603 3rd St NW – William Saunders, 77 year old Scottish immigrant and horticulturist.
1603 1/2 3rd St NW– Solomon Basey, 48 year old Black widower.
1615 3rd St NW– Frank P. Glorius. Not sure if he’s related to George Glorius of Sq. 519. He was a 44 year old German cabinetmaker.
1625 3rd St NW-Albert G. Stevens, a 51 year old white carpenter.
1629A 3rd St NW– Frederic Ane (?), a 37 year old German born salesman.
1631 3rd St NW– Perry E. Medford, a 28 year old white teacher.
1633 3rd St NW– Frank D. Amrein, a 36 year old German-American salesman.

So a few will get their own posts.

1930 Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Mary J. Poole- 138 R St NW

I’m going to peck at 1930 Black home owners in Truxton Circle. There will probably be a lot of 1920 overlap, so I won’t go at this too hard. It’s something to do between Washington Sanitary Imp. Co. posts.

In the 1930 census Mary J. Poole was a 54 year old single woman and African American seamstress. She lived at 138 R St NW with her widowed sister Maria Young, 25 year old niece Alma P. Smith, three Hardy boys ages 3 to 8 listed as boarders, and three adults listed as lodgers.

Looking one census back to the 1920 census, Mary Jane Poole was living at 1807 12th St NW. She was listed as the sister-in-law of William Smith, who we will see later in this post. She lived with William and his daughter Alma Smith. They were in the same house (current building has an English basement) as Charles and Maria Young. So at some point, the ladies Mary, Maria, and Alma moved on over to 138 R St NW.

The land records start in 1921 and the owner in 1922 was widower named William R. Smith. In November of 1922 William Smith married Corine A. Ashton. She appeared on a 1923 trust as Corine A. Smith where they borrowed $7000 from the Oriental Building Association. Did this new wife have anything to do with Mary, Maria and Alma’s moving? There are more documents but later in 1923 the Smiths transfer the property to Fritz and Florence Alexander, who then immediately transfer the property to William R. Smith, Maria/Marie A. Young, and Mary Jane Poole in September 1923. That same day this group and Corrine, borrow money twice.

In October 1926 something happened and the court and a sale was forced and Mary Jane Poole purchased the property from Maria A. Young in a trustees deed. It’s not good for too many people owning a piece of property. But the rest of the documents following this it appears that William R. Smith quietly disappeared after this and does not appear in any following documents.

July 8, 1950 she transferred the property to Elsie Taylor Jefferson who immediately transferred it to Alma S. Cornish (formerly Alma Smith?), Henry A. Cornish and Ms. Poole. Once again, too many people owning the property. Well it didn’t last long because Mary Jane Poole died the next year on December 9, 1951.

In 1972 Alma and Henry sold the property to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency for $19,800. And now it is part of the Florida Avenue park.

WSIC- Owner of Sq. 552- Lycurgus and Sallie Adams

After writing about wealthy out of state owners with the name Eustis, I didn’t want to try to hunt down the other owners. But one owner had an unusual enough name that I figured why not. Lycurgus and Sallie Adams owned a part of lot 26 on Sq. 552. Lot 26, according to the 1902/1903 General Assessment lot 26 was in 4 parts. Lycurgus and Sallie owned a western lot. George W. Adams owned a portion of the lot with a structure on it. Levi Adams owned an eastern section. Edmund G. Hines owned a portion along the alley.

552-LC-1903

Lycurgus, also Licurits/ Lycurkus Adams was born around 1842-1844 and died in March 1922 in Prince George’s County, MD. He was an African American born to Josaiah and Elizabeth Adams in Maryland. He was drafted, but it doesn’t look like he served in the Civil War.

It appears that he was born and raised in Bladensburg, MD and he lived there and died there. He did wander into Washington, DC to get married to Sallie Nash (Mash?) in June 1887. He was a farmer, who owned his own land and lived on River Road.

His last will and testament, gives a sense of who another Adams was who also owned parts of lot 26. Levi Adams was his brother. His will directs that his DC property be sold upon his death. According to a search of the Evening Star, his executor Marion Duckett, did that the following year of his death in September in a public auction. Of a side note the farm he left his son, Joseph E. Beaman Adams of 907 Westminster St NW advertised to sell those 18 acres in October 1923. Lycurgus’ lot was sold to William Adams at auction. It is unclear how William was related, if at all.

WSIC- Owners of Sq 552-Marie Clarice Eustis and Louise Eustis Hitchcock

In all honesty, I have zero to negative interest in these two women, so let me just get through this.

At some point in time between 1903 and 1909 the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) purchased lots from these women so they could add Sq 552 to their project. Mary Clarice Eustis owned lots 15-23, and Louis Eustis Hitchcock owned lots 9-14 and 24. I’m going to guess these were nothing more than investment properties for them.

552-LC-1903

Who was Marie Clarice Eustis? Marie Clarice Eustis Hofmann was born Marie Clarice Eustis in New Orleans in 1866, if I have the right woman. She was the daughter of Senator George Biddle Eustis and Ellen Buckner Eustis. In 1887 she married her 1st cousin (ewwww) George Peabody Eustis Corcoran, the brother of Louis Eustis Hitchcock. They divorced and in 1905 she married Polish pianist, composer, and inventor Josef Hofmann. They divorced in 1924. She eventually died in 1956 at the age of 90 in Aiken, SC.

Louise Hitchcock Image 1 Her cousin Louise Marie Eustis was born in Cannes, France in 1867 to George Eustis and Louise Morris Corcoran Eustis (daughter of WW Corcoran of the famous Corcoran Gallery). She married polo player Thomas Hitchcock Jr in 1891. They both loved horses. They had four children Celestine E. Hitchcock Peabody (1892 –1935), Helen Louise Eustis Hitchcock Clark (1898–1979), Thomas Hitchcock (1900–1944) and Frank Center Eustis Hitchcock (1908–1957). She died in an accident in 1934 in Aiken, SC at the age of 66.

WSIC- Property Owner of Sq. 552- William R. Riley

When looking at the General Assessment for 1902/1903 one of the biggest property owner for the block bounded by 3rd, Q, 1st and P St NW, Sq. 552, Wm. R. Riley, not the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC). WSIC’s time will come later.

William R. Riley owned lots 1-2, 4-6, and 29-32.

552-LC-1903

Who was William Robinson Smith Riley? He was born July 19, 1817 in Appomattox County, VA and died in DC on January 15, 1893.

According to his obituary published in the Evening star. January 16, 1893, page 6:

William R. Riley Dead
A Well-Known Citizen Expires After a Short Illness

In the death of Mr. Wm. R. Riley this city loses one of its substantial citizens. His death occurred yesterday at his late residence, No. 7 Iowa Circle [Now Logan Circle]. Mr. Riley had reached the advanced age of seventy-five years. He was, however, a man of active habits, and while not exactly vigorous, yet he was seldom ill. His last sickness lasted only six days. On Monday just a week ago he was taken sick in his office in the Riley building, 9th and E streets. He was removed to his residence and by Thursday pneumonia developed which resulted in his death at 1 o’clock yesterday.
He had planned to leave for Florida today where his wife was staying. Mrs. Riley was at once informed of the illness of her husband and reached home Saturday morning. Mr. Riley had spent practically all his life in this city. He came here with his father from his birthplace in Accomac, Va., when only four years of age. When quite young he entered a dry-goods’ house as a clerk, and when still a young man he became the owner of the store in which he had started in life as a clerk.
The same business ability which marked his early career enabled him to amass a considerable fortune. He was identified with a number of the substantial business enterprises of the city.
He was the founder of the Arlington Fire Insurance Company, and a director in that company at the time of his death. For a number of years he was one of the directors of the Washington Gas Light Company. He established the West End Bank and until recently was the president.
He was a member of the old city council, was connected with Columbia Lodge of Odd Fellows, and was an active member of Ascension Church.
Six children survive him, two sons and four daughters.
The funeral services will be held at the Church of the Ascension Wednesday morning at 11 o’clock, and Rev. John H. Elliot will officiate. The interment will be in the family lot in Congressional cemetery. Continue reading WSIC- Property Owner of Sq. 552- William R. Riley

MLK- Make the ghetto go away, and work together

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I will post a few words from a speech he gave while visiting the Shaw neighborhood back in 1967.

Of course, we all recognize that if we are ultimately to improve psychological and physical conditions for minorities there must be total elimination of ghettoes and the establishment of a truly integrated society. In the meantime, however, all those working for economic and social justice are forced to address themselves to interim programs which, while not totally changing the situation, will nevertheless bring about improvement in the lives of those forced to live in ghettoes. And so, whiel [sic] many of those steps may lead to limited integration, those which do not must clearly be seen as interim steps until the objective situation makes a more fundamental approach.

and later

… Labor, Housing and the Office of Economic Opportunity, ought to work with the people of Shaw in developing, coordinating and concentrating their various programs upon social and economic problems of this area.

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at a March 13, 1967 rally for Shaw

I hope that reading this one can see the importance of integration. Segregating off into little ethnic and racial neighborhoods separate from other residents is not good for us as a whole. We need to unite and work together for the good.

WSIC- Owners of Sq. 552 in 1902

In my last post about the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company I noticed that the WSIC owned Sq 615 but not 552, yet. By 1909, it looked like they took 552 over, with a few holdouts. In 1903, there were 32 lots.

In the 1880 census there were about 11 households on the whole block. Then in 1900 there were about 25 households, nine of those were home owners.

552-LC-1903

Lot                Owners
1                 William R. Riley
2                 William R. Riley
3                 Jos. E & Sallie B. Roach
4                 William R. Riley
5                 William R. Riley
6                 William R. Riley
7                  Mary E. Hess
8                  Baptist Home of D.C.
9                  Louise Eustis Hitchcock
10                Louise Eustis Hitchcock
11                Louise Eustis Hitchcock
12                Louise Eustis Hitchcock
13                Louise Eustis Hitchcock
14                Louise Eustis Hitchcock
15                Marie Clarice Eustis
16                Marie Clarice Eustis
17                Marie Clarice Eustis
18                Marie Clarice Eustis
19                Marie Clarice Eustis
20                Marie Clarice Eustis
21                Marie Clarice Eustis
22                Marie Clarice Eustis
23                Marie Clarice Eustis
24                Louise Eustis Hitchcock
25                Revere R. Gurley/DeWitt C. Chadwick/ Mollie Phillips/ Alice L. Wyckoff Trust/ Phoebe Hamilton
26                 Lycurgus & Sally Adams/ George Adams/ Levi Adams/ Edmund G. Hines
27               Frederick B. Jones/ Jas. B. Nourse & C.M. Jones Trustees
28               Robert A. Golden
29                William R. Riley
30                William R. Riley
31                William R. Riley
32                William R. Riley

It appears the main owners were William R. Riley, Louise Eustis Hitchcock, Marie Clarice Eustis, and the Adams family. Other owners of interest are the owners of lots 3 and 28, the last lots to be divided and developed. We’ll look at these people and see if there is any connection with the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company, the organization that will eventually own their land.