Black Homeowners of TC – Truxton Is In Shaw

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Blanch and Archie Young- 217 P St NW

Looking at the WSIC home buyers we look at Blanche and Archie Young of 217 P St NW. In WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 217 P Street NW, in December 1950 (recorded February 5, 1951) Colonial Inv. Co. partners Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 217 P St NW to Archie S. and Blanche M. Young. That same month, the Youngs borrowed $3,000 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman. Then in April 1958 the Youngs lost their half of the property to foreclosure and via an auction, the property was returned to Evans, Taube and new Colonial Inv. Co partner Harry A. Badt.

There’s not much on Blanche Marie Adair Young. She was born around about 1927 in the District according to marriage and the 1950 census records.

Archie Sylvester Young was born September 28, 1913 to Etta E Willard and George A. Young in Washington, DC. His mother died in 1934 at Gallinger Hospital, the hospital where he worked as an orderly. Her death left his father, also an orderly, Archie and his brother Maurice Franklin Young. Their father remarried in 1935 to Laura Louise Matthews.

217 P St NW, Washington Dc 2004 — 217 P St NW, Washington DC 2004

He used to have other brothers. In the 1920 census the family lived at 1652 B St NW. The father worked as a porter and mother worked from home as a laundress and they had 4 sons under the age of 8. Percy the eldest, was born in 1913 and died as a 16 year old laborer in 1929. His other brother Charles died at the age of 15, when Charles was shot and killed by a White House policeman August 18, 1932, whilst prowling around the cop’s home. The family lived at 116 16th St NE, and the cop at 214 17th St NE. Charles’ obituary said there were sisters, but no sisters appear in the 1930 census for the family.

In 1940, for the draft of World War II, Archie was a self employed single man. He was working for himself as a painter. 1946 he married Blanche Adair. In the 1950 census the couple was listed as being roomers at 634 M Street NW. Blanche kept house while Archie worked as a painter. But this census claims he was born in South Carolina.

The trail runs cold after 1950. They did not buy another house in DC after the foreclosure. Archie died September 11, 1992 in Maryland.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Helen and Nathaniel Lee- 135 Bates St NW

I’m looking at some of the foreclosure victims of the WSIC house sales and this post features Helen M. and Nathaniel Lee who purchased half of 135 Bates St NW.

photo of property

December 1950 Evans, Levin and Taube sold half of 135 Bates St NW to Helen M. and Nathaniel Lee. They borrowed $2,525 from Colonial Mortgage Corp. trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman. Then in August 1954 they lost the home to foreclosure.

The Lees’ lived at 1613 10th St NW in 1950 before buying part of 135 Bates. That house no longer exists. Nathaniel lived there with his wife, Helen, and their four children (under 5 years old), his sister in law and four lodgers. Nathaniel worked as an awning repair man.

Nathaniel was born January 19, 1923/1924/1925 (the year varies with source material) in Raeford, North Carolina to Ruby Morris and Tom Lee. His father, a farmer, died in April 1931. When he was a teenager in 1940 he lived with his aunt and uncle and a whole mess of other relatives in Raeford, working as a farm hand.

In 1945 Nathaniel married Helen Delouse Moore in Washington, DC. During the Korean War draft he was working as a machinist for the awning company.

After the foreclosure it does not appear that the Lees purchased a home in DC. But from Nathaniel’s December 1985 obituary, it appears the family mostly relocated to Paterson, NJ in 1962 where he ran Lee’s Market in addition to other work. He was survived by four sons and two daughters, his mother, many grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

WSIC Foreclosure story- James C. Gordon of 131 Bates Street NW

See the original post WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 131 Bates Street NW to see the house history of the location. I noticed something when I looked at some of the people who were foreclosed upon with the WSIC houses. Some of them were old and they died and there was no point of keeping up with the mortgage payments for a property with limited value. Other times, people had other homes and let the WSIC go.

This is very short. James C. Gordon does not appear as a Black man in the 1950 census. So the genealogy route came up blank.

Neither is he in the DC Recorder of Deeds beyond the house on Bates Street.

But he does show up in the newspapers for driving poorly and hitting an electrical pole. According to the April 14, 1952 issue of the Washington Evening Star, he and his wife Sophia* were driving from Culpepper, VA and Mr. Gordon started dozing off. When he awoke, he saw a traffic light, hit the breaks and swerved into a pole. He was thrown from the car and a live wire landed very close to him. He was sent to Arlington Hospital and later booked for reckless driving.

Later in 1952 Florie’s name was taken off the property. I suspect the accident may have strained the marriage. The November deed, where Florie’s signature can be seen, also has Colonial Mortgage Corp officer Abraham Levin as the notary.

*That was the name given and the address was 131 Bates Street. So either she went by another name (more likely) or he got a new wife or Florie was a family member.

WSIC- The Black Unit Block of O St NW

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) had a lot of rental units in Truxton Circle, but they were segregated. The White tenants were on Bates St (unit to 200 block), 3rd St, 200 block of P Street and the 100-200 block of Q Street NW. The Black tenants were segregated way over on the unit block of O Street, where their White renters would not see them.

I haven’t gathered the info for the 1950 census for Truxton Circle, but I have started. While collecting information about the sale of WSIC homes to African Americans in the TC, I took a look at the Black units to see if any of the Black tenants decided to buy. I’ve already did a post about the Edmunstons who bought their unit.

The Burtons also purchased their unit at 40 O St NW. Nellie and John R. Burton lived there as far back as the 1930 census. In the 1930s the father John A. Burton was a barber, Nellie, the mother was at home and John R. was a student. Nellie died in May 1956 and two years later their half was foreclosed upon. During the 1950 census John R. was the head working as a clerk for the US government. He was at 40 O St with his wife Mary L. who was a stenographer, their 6 year old son and mother Nellie who was at home. It appears Nellie dealt with child care, freeing Mary to work outside of the home.

A few months after purchasing 40 O Street NW with his mother, he and his wife Mary Louise Burton, purchased 116 53rd St SE in Marshall Heights. This house had two mortgages. The first was $3,250 with a lender and the second was $6,600 with Riggs Bank. In 1956 John and Mary bought 5212 East Capitol St NE. This also came with two mortgages, the first being $3,500 and the second $2,000 with the same lender.

There were a few who purchased WSIC units, just not theirs.

Ethel and Malvern F. Jackson purchased half of 24 O St NW, but lived in 18 O St NW when the 1950 census was taken. In the 1950 census Ethel was a 58 year old widow living with her son Malvern, daughter Nathelma and son-in-law William Ewell. At that time Malvern and Nathelma were the only adults working. He was worked at the post office as a postal clerk. She was a printer’s assistant at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In 1954 the Jacksons sold their half of 24 O St NW back to the sellers. That same month Malvern purchased 631 Gallatin St NW with his wife Genevieve. They were able to borrow $9,000 from the Jefferson Savings and Loan/ Lincoln National Bank and $3,950 from other trustees.

Ethel’s daughter and son-in-law purchased half of 30 O St NW. Like her brother, Nathelma and William Ewell sold the house back to the sellers in September 1954. There was no evidence the couple purchased anything in the District of Columbia. At one point in time Nathelma lived in Silver Spring.

Roxie A. Jackson was a 40 year old widow who lived with her 20 year old son and 78 year old uncle at 46 O Street NW and working as a charwoman. Her son Mark worked for a dry cleaner. When the WSIC units came up for sale, she bought 32 O St NW. In 1952 Mrs. Jackson sold her half to Ruth and Charles Rodgers Hawkins, who then sold it to Mrs. Helena Isabel Ash. The Jackson loan got paid off and all was well. She disappears from record after that.

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Edmonston- 14 O St NW- Rent to Own

I’m sort of restarting the Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle series again, but with a WSIC mix. In 1950 the WSIC were sold to real estate investors who resold the White rental units to African American home buyers. The renters were forced to leave. However, the set of WSIC houses on O Street that were set aside for Black renters. I wanted to see if the renters became owners.

In the 1950 census for Census Tract 46, ED 70 page 1 there were two households living at 14 O St NW, the Edmonstons and the Jeffersons. The Edmonstons, who lived in the 1st floor unit, bought their unit in 1951 from the Colonial Investment Company in the form of three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans.

Vincent Julius Edmondson was born March 5, 1915 in Washington, DC to Samuel H. Edmondson and Millie F. Wilson. At some point he married his wife Marguerite L., whom Ancestry has determined, without any evidence I could find, as being born Marguerite L. White, also of Washington, DC. They had 4 children, Vincent Jr., Marguerite E., Warren and Julius. When the children were under 5 years old in 1940, Marguerite was a housewife.

In 1940 he lived at 14 O St NW and worked as a carrier for the US government. By 1950, Marguerite was a file clerk for the government. The children by this time were between 9 and 14 years old.

The family held on to their unit until 1956 when they sold their half to Mary Dyson Lane. Unfortunately something happened and that unit was foreclosed upon in 1960. In 1956 the Edmonstons bought 5208 13th St NW. Sometime around or before 1964, Marguerite died and Vincent was an unmarried widow when he took out an $8,000 loan with the Perpetual Building Association. So the O St foreclosure appeared not to have hurt them and their ability to continue to be homeowners. The 13th St house was transferred/sold by Vincent’s estate, as it appeared he died around 1989, to a Micheal Edmondson, a possible grandson.

The Edmonstons did provide generational wealth in that assets from one generation was able to go to another generation. In this case, down to a grandson. However, it wasn’t the O Street home that provided the wealth. That may have introduced the idea of home ownership and when a better opportunity presented itself.

National Archives Assembly Presents- Eloyce Gist and the Hellbound Train

The National Archives Assembly, an organization of current and former NARA employees, is sponsoring this presentation on 10/2/25 at 1pm as part of their monthly meeting. Come in person or just view online (Google Meet) a presentation about former Truxton Circle resident, Eloyce Gist. She was a filmmaker in the early 1930s.

NAA Presentation-Eloyce Gist (PDF)

Many thanks to Scott Roberts who pointed out an error that has been corrected.

Behind the foreclosure of the Hall-Stitt house at 42 O St NW- A WSIC story

Nope we’re not done with the WSIC. There are plenty of stories to milk out of of the WSIC saga and this is one.

Typically, if the buyer paid off the loan it would take about 10 years to do so. The buyers at 42 O Street NW faltered so close to the finish line. The first foreclosure for this house came in 1959. The second was from a family who bought the house in February 1951 losing the house to foreclosure in April 1960, about a year or so away from being released from their mortgage.

That last family was Mrs. Mildred Stitt and her parents William and Eva Hall. The 1950 census showed that the Halls lived at 42 O Street NW before the WSIC sell off. Since Colonial Investments was selling units exclusively to African American buyers, the Halls had options the White tenants did not. The WSIC rentals on the unit block of O St were for Black renters and the rest were for White renters.

When they bought the downstairs half of 42 O Street William was about 75 years old and his wife 70. Mildred is a bit harder to pin down. She married James Samuel Stitt in 1938 in Arlington , VA and I can’t seem to find them living in the same house. She wasn’t at 42 O St NW in 1950, but she was on the 1951 deed.

William died July 13, 1955. Eva followed later in 1960 and that gives a clue as to why their unit fell into foreclosure.

They had three daughters, one being Mildred Stitt. I have my doubts that Mildred ever lived with them. Once Eva died there may have been no reason to keep paying mortgage payments. But they were so close to the end.

I have no idea what Mildred was doing during the period of her parents’ deaths. It seems that she was separated from James S. Stitt. There was another James S. Stitt, could have been the same one, who married an Anne Hall and lived in Mecklenberg, NC. But I know she eventually moved to 3827 Hamilton St in Hyattsville and lived there. She died August 15, 1998.

The Scotts of 1717 New Jersey Avenue

I briefly mentioned Ida Dorsey Scott when reviewing 1717 New Jersey Ave NW when it changed from having White residents to Black residents. She owned the house from 1924 to 1951.

The house was foreclosed January 1924 from Mayo and Sarah Scott. Because the first mention of the Scotts is a foreclosure, it does not state the relationship between Mayo and Sarah.

Looking up Mayo J. Scott, because his name is so unusual, I found there were two Mayo Scotts, Sr. and Jr. Neither of them married to a Sarah.

A Mayo Scott appears in the DC Recorder of Deeds for a lease from July 1923 for 1707 New Jersey Avenue. It was between just Mayo J. Scott and William Taylor. There was no William Taylor listed as an owner for that block. The closest I can find was a Grace Taylor who was on the deed with Amelia Green at 1703 New Jersey Avenue.

Looking at the City Directory, I found the link between Mayo and Ida Dorsey Scott. They were apparently married. Ida was married to a man named Arthur C. Dorsey. Arthur died in 1936 and the Rev. Ida Dorsey Scott is mentioned as his divorced survivor.

Going back to Mayo J. Scott, I will assume the elder. He was previously married to Annaca Alberta Jackson, but divorced her in 1923 citing ‘desertion’. They were married in 1901 and had three children, one I will guess was Mayo James Scott Jr, who sometimes switched it up to James M. Scott. I gather he didn’t want to be a sandwich condiment.

Not sure when and legally ‘if’ Mayo married Ida. Twenty-one year old Jr. married Elsie V. Jackson November 1923. Elsie was listed as his wife when he died in 1979. I found this lovely recollection of the younger Mayo Scott from his daughter on the web:

Marie. Dad was born 1903, Mom was born 1900. Her maiden name was Jackson .

Susan. Your dad, his middle name was “Mayo.”

Marie. Yes, James Mayo Scott.

Susan. Mom and Dad—what were they like? What did they do?

Marie. Well, Dad worked for the railroad up here in Bluemont. He had a job there. I guess cleaning and washing, I don’t know. I know he worked at the railroad station. My grandfather worked at the Bluemont hotel, and then later drove Miss Ruth’s car for her. The hotel was a big house up on the side of the road, on Railroad Street. Ruth’s Home bought it from the Beatty’s.

Susan. And Mom, what did she do?

Marie. Mom, she just stayed home and raised the children. But she worked for the Beatty’s also. And she worked for 30 years at Ruth’s Home.

Marie Scott goes on and briefly mentioned her grandparents along with their photos.

Ida D. Scott was the mother of Raymond Dorsey who died in 1952. She was listed as his next of kin. She was also the mother of Mildred Proctor who died at 1717 NJ Ave NW in 1928. But from Mildred’s death certificate we learn Ida’s maiden name was Ida R. Tyler.

Ida Scott had also the title of Reverend. It was mentioned in her own obituary when she passed away in 1956 and in her ex-husband’s obit. However, an Ancestry Family tree has her death in 1971 in Kent, MD. But the 1956 obit mentions brother Jerry Tyler. In the 1934 city directory, she was listed as a ‘Spiritualist’ under the heading of clergymen. So there is the possibility that an ad in the October 1944 Sacramento Daily Union advertising “Psychic readings by appointment,” could have been her. However, I have found a lot of Rev. Ida Scotts all over the US and one who still exists to this day.

Redeux- WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 15 Bates Street NW

This is a redo of a previous post to add a little bit of more info.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate. photo of 15 Bates St NW, WDC

Let’s see what happens with 15 Bates St NW:

January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold the whole of 15 Bates St NW to Jessie I. Johnson, married and Maude Y. Ryles, widow.
Jan 1951 Johnson and Ryles borrowed $6,050 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
July 1963 Ryles and Johnson borrowed $6,600 from the Perpetual Building Association with trustees Junior F. Crowell and Samuel Scrivener Jr.
October 1963 Ryles and Johnson were released from their Jan 1951 mortgage.
October 1963 Ryles and Johnson benefited from the release of a loan taken out by Evans, Levin and Taube in November 1950.
December 1976 Ryles and Johnson sold the property Cleveland R. and Harriette Chambliss.
May 1990 Harriette, who was Cleveland’s widow and her next husband, George W. Crockett Jr sold the house to Lincoln Jenkins.
September 1990 Ryles and Johnson were released from their 1963 mortgage…. long after they sold the house.

This appears to work as promised. No foreclosures, no slum lords, no redevelopment agencies.

I found the Maude Ryles lived at 15 Bates Street NW according to the 1954 city directory. The rest of her history, I am not 100% about, but here’s my best shot. She may have been Maude Ann Yancey as a 1961 obit for Mariah H. Yancey mentions Maude Ann Ryles as the stepmother to her and several other girls and the foster mother of George Jordon of New York. So that’s where I guess the Y is for. In the 1950 census she was living at 62 Q St NW, Apt. 2, with a roommate and working as some sort of operator for Veteran’s (Affairs?). She died June 1980 and according to the Social Security Death Index she was born May 13, 1902, however her grave differs saying she was born in 1903.

According to the obit on the Find a Grave site, Jessie Y. Johnson was her sister. So I looked for her in the 1954 city directory and found her at 15 Bates Street NW. It appears she was an examiner for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In the 1950 census, she too was living at 62 Q St NW, but Apt 1. She was living with her husband Chester Arthur Johnson and 20 year old daughter Iris.

1920 to 1930- White to Black- 1723 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

The Gray family were the only renters in 1723 New Jersey Ave NW in 1920. It was headed by George Abbott Gray, a 53 year old house painter. He lived in the home with his wife, 52 year old Sarah Ellen (nee Peters) a German-American housewife, their adult children and a roomer. Son George Leslie Gray was a 25 year old machinist and daughter Emma RW a clerk at the War Department.

The census prior Emma lived at 1723 with her grandmother Harriett A. Gray a 69 year old widow. It was just those two, sharing the address with the Lamb family. Her father, mother, brother, and maternal grandmother were living not far away in LeDroit Park at 666 Elm St NW.

The senior George Gray died in 1925, so he would not appear in the 1930 census. The widowed Sarah Gray lived with her daughter Emma who was a clerk for the US Veterans Bureau. Son George L. Gray was working as an auto mechanic and living with his wife Edna at 660 Kenyon St NW.

Black Homeowners

The earliest document for this house appears to be a deed from August 25, 1924 where Robert Oscar Underwood, acting as executor of the estate of Robert DuBois Underwood transferred the home to Clara M. Ward. I am left to assume Robert D. Underwood was the original purchaser from the Chiswells who developed and sold the 1700 block row of homes to African Americans.

Clara Ward appears to have been working as a go between as in the next document, on the same day, Ward transferred/sold the home to Mary L, Johnson and Fannie C. Stewart. Johnson and Stewart took out a loan for $1,850 from trustees WC Prather and Robert W. Savage. The next year, on October 7, 1925, Johnson and Stewart sold the home to Cora B. and Ernest Boozer. The Boozers borrowed $2,625 from trustees Lucie R. Pollard and Arthur C. Proctor. It was the first of seven mortgages before their heirs sold the home in 1966 to East Coast Equities Inc. Earlier in 1963, Ernest Boozer’s name was removed from the property as the couple had divorced. Cora Boozer died in Rock Hill, SC on June 6, 1965. Her brother Fielding Robinson Jr , was her heir, along with his wife Mae.

Cora Bell Robinson Boozer, was born in Columbia, SC August 8, 1910. Frank was also born in Columbia, SC but in 1899. In the 1930 census Cora and her husband Ernest lived with half a dozen lodgers. Frank was a 35 year old barber and Cora worked as a servant in a hotel. Their tenants included a janitor, a laborer and an elevator operator.