Property Owners of Truxton Circle- The Keysers and Ms. Harriet Crowell

Next on the list, as I go down it, is Sq. 551 and lot 850. Sigh, lot 850 is part of old lot 19, so this is going to be confusing. I’m just going to start with the land records and see where that takes me.

Searching for just lot 850, only two documents appear. The first is from 1947 between a Charles F. Wilson, trustee in Civil Action case file 38-115, and Embassy Dairy. The other is in 1948 for an easement/ right of way between the DC government and the Office of the Surveyor.

Another search with lot 0019 drags up the Leviovs, and Ms. Carrie Walker. The first document regarding the Kaysers is a deed from 1927 regarding the execution of the will of Esther A. Kayser by Caroline E.T. Knox and Elhanan Winchester Keyser. There are other relatives such as Harriet Esther Kayser Crowell, mentioned in the deed but it is oh so confusing with Kaysers and Keysers. To Ancestry! Continue reading Property Owners of Truxton Circle- The Keysers and Ms. Harriet Crowell

Property Owners of Truxton Circle- Carrie G. Walker

My first question with this was, is Carrie Walker a man or woman. I need to know because it makes the searching in Ancestry easier. The property records has Carrie G. Walker, the daughter getting the land from Carrie Walker. The 1920 census, sigh, has Carrie Walker as the female head and Carrie G. Walker as the wife.

This is a misstatement.  A few fields over, the senior Carrie is listed as a widow and the junior Carrie as single. Looking at the 1900 and 1910 Census shows John Walker as the male head, Carrie senior as the wife and Carrie G. junior as the daughter. Okay, a reminder that the Census screws things up time to time.

Also from the census, I see the Walkers are African American resident owners (mullato/negro) living on R St NW. Later I could re-do this as Black Homeowners of Truxton Circle. They were at 216 R St NW in 1900 and Mr. Walker was the owner. In the later 1910 and 1920, the Walker family lived at 146 R St NW, square and lot 0551-0847. Did the address change or did they move? No idea.

The earliest land record I can see is from 1924 between Carrie G. Walker (the younger) and Needham C. Turnage to borrow $280.00 with 146 R NW as security. Then there are a series of loans she takes out using the property as collateral. So loan #1- 1924 Needham Turnage $280.00. Released (paid) 1938. #2-1926,  Kahn and Coleman/ Leo Kahn & E. Coleman, $375.00. Released 1927. #3- 1936, James B. Evans & Claude W. Owen, $372.00. Released 1938. #4- 1938, Washington Loan and Trust Company, $800.00. Released 1950. In 1951, she sells the land to Lawrence C. and Rosa A. Diggs.

Side note, a Carrie E. Walker buys 112 Florida Avenue NW (SSI: 0551-0178) in April 1934 from William H. Coates and Mamie D. Coates. A search for Carrie E. Walker in Ancestry is not particularly fruitful. The name does not change for the brief moment Carrie E. owns it, as she sells it 2 months later in June to Mary E. Baker.

Find Your Own Owners of Where Ever DC

Let’s call this an SOP, standard operating procedure, for what I’m doing. And what am I doing? I’m doing some neighborhood history, but more along the lines of neighborhood historical fact gathering. History is about a story to be told. The problem is that I get another piece of information and it kinda throws a monkey wrench into the narrative. Here I gather the info, then try to tell a tale.

For this series- Property Owners of Truxton Circle, which could later apply to Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle, there are a couple of resources I use to find out about the owners. Continue reading Find Your Own Owners of Where Ever DC

Property Owners of Truxton Circle- Michael J. McInerney

Image not foundSo in our last entry regarding the Brungers there was the issue of Sq. 551 Lot 17, which was also lots 844 and 845. Sometimes, I imagine that I will make a corresponding spreadsheet of addresses by also linking them to their SSL (square and lot) numbers, but then I have to deal with this problem of lot numbers changing. It happens now too with condos. The owner I’m looking at today is Michael Joseph McInerney Sr., owner of lot 845, which appears to be 208 R St NW. And for those of you just joining in this series, this house no longer exists.

Another issue I keep coming across are landowning dead people. The source that I am using is the Washington City General Assessment 1933-1934 for a section of Square 551. So these were the names the city went after to pay property taxes. And like my aunt in SE who’s been dead for about 10 years, she’s still paying property taxes. Well, her estate is, but her name is still on the property, just like Michael McInerney in 1934, who died in 1925. Continue reading Property Owners of Truxton Circle- Michael J. McInerney