Tag: Black Homeowners of TC

Whelp.

This was a confusing one.

The problem with Sq. 509E is that sometimes, someone forgets to add the E for East of Square 509. So that was one problem. The other problem was that the Richardsons seemed to have a problem of holding the title of their home. There also seemed to be some family troubles or lack of stability, which made this research difficult.

Chester Richardson was born October 24, 1894 in Richland, South Carolina to Wilson and Matilda Richardson. At some point before 1917 he married Ellen/Ella while living in South Carolina. Sometime after the 1920 census the couple moved to Washington, DC. After this, things get confusing so I am going to tell in in a timeline:

1925- Former farm laborer Chester Richardson and wife Ella buy 1612 4th St NW. They borrow $2,150 from trustees.

1928- 1612 4th St NW is foreclosed upon and sold to J.M. Camalier.
-Ella Richardson alone purchases 1612 back from the Camaliers.
-Ella Richardson, alone, borrows $2000 and $1450 from trustees.

1930-Renting tenants of 1612 are ‘widower’ Chester Richardson, his 15 year old nephew Samuel Brow, and lodger Anna M. Coleman.

1931- Ella Richardson loses 1612 to foreclosure and J.M. Camalier.
-A relative, Samuel Brown, purchases 1612 from the Camaliers.
-Sam Brown borrowed $475.75 from trustees.

1937- Samuel Brown sold/transferred 1612 to Chester Richardson.

1940- Chester lived with his wife Viola and two lodgers Leonie DuBois and Moses Suggs. Chester owned his own barber shop and Viola worked as a charwoman at the Supreme Court.

1943- With a builder and designer, Chester got a permit to erect a 2-story cinder block addition to the rear.

1950-Chester and Viola live separately and are recorded as separated in the census. Chester lived at 1612 with two lodgers and was working as a painter. Viola lived at 42 Randolph Place working as a domestic for a private family. She lived with her niece Victoria Weston.

1952- Chester and his wife Viola E. Richardson borrow $4000 from the Washington Loan and Trust Company. When this loan is repaid in 1969, it’s Riggs Bank.

1954- Chester Richardson died in March and was buried in Arlington.

1956- Sam Brown and his wife Cornelia L., Margaret Weston Brown, and William and Cecilia Shiver sell/transfer the property (or their interest in the property) to Viola E. Richardson.

1973- Viola Richardson died and was buried at Arlington.

1975- The devisees of Viola E. Richardson’s will (Lillian Weston and Carroll Williams) sell 1612.

Herman Darden bought 1616 4th St NW in August 1936. According to the 1940 census, where he appears, he was an African American taxi driver. He wasn’t on 4th Street long. In 1942 he and his wife Janie sold the property to Lula Lee.

When the Darden’s bought 1616, they borrowed $1,800 from the Perpetual Building Association and $750 from trustees. The day they sold to Ms. Lee, the borrowed $2,500 from trustees. That debt was resolved 10 years later after the sale, not sure what that was about.

Since the land records don’t tell much of a story, let’s look at Herman Darden the person. He was born November 1896 (or 1894) in Duplin (?) County, North Carolina. He served in the Army in World War I. He married Janie (sometimes spelled Jannie) Gainey on February 9, 1918 in North Carolina.

And then they had a slew of children. In 1928 they were nearly killed by gas when they were living at 1345 1st St NW and the Evening Star reported that they had 4 children. When the 1930 census rolled around they and one of their ‘lodgers’ from the gas leak rented 1964 2nd St NW. All in the house (which is currently more than 3000 sq ft) were Herman, then a building fireman, wife Janie, children Dorothy, Catherine, Herman Jr., and Lindwood, along with lodgers Arthur and Lillie Taylor, the Little family, sister-in-law Eva and niece Mattie Darden. When the 1940 census rolled around and they were on 4th St, they had added 3 more sons to their family, Orlando, Frederick and Mordecai.

1616 4th St NW isn’t that big. It seemed tight in the 2000s when a family of mom & dad, two boys and one grandpa lived there. Despite living with seven children, the Dardens managed to squeeze two lodgers in there, a mother and daughter. It’s footprint hasn’t changed and it is around 1,200 sq ft.

In 1942, they sold. In 1943, Herman Jr. graduated from Dunbar High School and then got a B.S. from Howard in 1950. The 1950 census had the Dardens living with adult and minor children at 633 Irving Street NW at an even smaller home of about 1,100 sq ft.

Herman died in 1964 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Lucinda Brooks was a 77 year old widow woman when she first appeared in the 1940 census as a Black home owner in Truxton Circle.

Lucinda James was born in Fauquier County Virginia in February 1862 to Jas. F. and Mahala James. On January 29, 1891 she married Lewis Edward Brooks. In 1900 when they lived at 1425 11th Street with their children, Lewis was a day laborer and Lucy/Lucinda was a laundress. In 1910, they moved closer to the TC at 1535 6th St NW. At that time, Lucinda was keeping house and Lewis worked as a Lineman for the rail road. In 1920 they were still there on 6th St. housing lodgers and their children gone elsewhere. Lewis worked as a laborer and Lucy as a charwoman (cleaning lady) for a department. In 1928 Lewis died.

Prior to his death in July of 1925 Lucinda purchased 1628 4th St NW in her name only.  It was listed as Lewis’ residence at his death. She also borrowed $2,050 from trustees, in her name only. It appears she refinanced in 1931 getting a $2,000 loan from the Perpetual Building Association. And then the records of lot 58 disappear into a black hole. There is nothing between 1931 and 1974.

Searching her name with the Recorder of Deeds on-line records, in 1932 she may have obtained a property from A. George and Annie V. Brooks on the 2000 block of 11th St NW. However, looking at a document from 1953, this appears to be a different Lucinda Brooks.

That’s because in January 1944, Lucinda Brooks of 4th Street NW died. She was survived by son Lewis Brooks Jr, Lottie Kane, and step-daughter Florence Smith, as well as sisters Ella Pollard and Elizabeth Temple.

James H. Wheeler was another African American property/ home owner who lived in the unassuming neighborhood of Truxton Circle, before it was called Truxton Circle. He and his wife Mary E. Wheeler purchased 408 R St NW on November 2, 1926 from Ethel E. Rutty.

James H. Wheeler was born James Newman to Ross Newman and Georgiana Woodland Newman on October 25, 1876 in Maryland. His mother remarried John Wheeler and had seven or more children. At some point around the 1880s James took on his step-father’s surname. James married Mary Ellen Smith (maybe in 1901 in NJ). From the 1910 census on he worked as a laborer for the US Government (GPO). James and Mary (aka Mayme) had two children, Chauncey Alexander Wheeler born in 1903 and Hertha Eunice Wheeler born in 1906.

In 1930 Hertha married Olmstead Henri Perry, then a soldier in the Army. The newlyweds lived with James and Mary/Mayme.

The land records confuse me. In document #205, the deed from November 1926, there is a stated debt between the Wheelers and Rutty of $3000. The next document #206, is a trust (loan) with trustees Saul & Benson for $2,500 at 6.5%. Did the Wheelers deposit $500 of their own money? I don’t know because there were two releases for the debts in 1936, so the total debt could have been $5,500 for the house?

Anyway in 1936 the Wheelers appear to refinance their mortgage with $2000 from the Perpetual Building Association. Then refinanced again with Perpetual in 1940 and 1941. James died on July 25, 1944. In 1953 Mayme borrowed $1,900 from Consolidated Engineering and Distributing Co. This leaves me to guess this was work on the house.

Mayme died on June 17, 1959. Her heirs were the widow Hertha Eunice Wheeler Perry and Edith E. Wheeler (2nd wife of Chauncy A. Wheeler) sold the house to Jacob and Sadie B. Feldman in 1960.

Instead of focusing on a particular census and looking at Square 551 (the block with the NW Co-op/ Florida Ave Park/ Mt. Sinai), I’m focusing on a particular block. The block is Square 509E or E. 509, which is bounded by R, New Jersey, Q, and 4th Sts. NW.

Nannie and Pauline Bellows of 1605 New Jersey Ave NW have appeared in the Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle Series before. So we will start with the August 2021 post about her brother William Davis.

In the 1910 census William E. Davis and his wife Annie lived with his father William A. Davis, home owner of 1605 New Jersey Avenue NW. He also lived with his sister Nannie Bellows, and her daughter Pauline Bellows. We are left to assume that William E. Davis inherited the property from William A. Davis and Nannie inherited the property from her brother. According to a Washington Herald piece, both she and her brother were left the property in their father’s October 1913 will. In the end Nannie’s daughter Pauline Bellows became the owner who lost the property to foreclosure in 1959.

William E. Davis was featured in a previous post because in the 1920 census he was listed as the owner. In the 1930 and 1940 census Nannie Bellows was identified as the owner. Looking at the on-line records of the Recorder of Deeds, the paperwork starts in the 1930s.

Who was Nannie E. Davis Bellows? She was born in Alexandria, Virginia around 1869 to Catherine and William Davis Sr. Possibly in 1890, she married Thaddeus Bellows. Their daughter Pauline was born in 1897. Her mother died on February 24, 1919.  In 1925, Thaddeus died and she was a widow. She received a widows pension from her husband’s service in the military. I am not sure if her husband who was the same Thaddeus Bellows (also AfAm) who was found guilty of grand larceny in 1912 for stealing a horse.

When Nannie died on October 28, 1945, she was a Bureau of Engraving and Printing retiree after working 34 years in government service. The Federal Annuitants Relief Association noted her death and funeral. She was a parishioner at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. Friends and family celebrated her life before she was interned Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

I could not find anything on Pauline. It seems she never held a job. Never married. She seems to have disappeared in time.

Robert Bernard Davis was born in Amherst County, VA to George and Emeline Davis in either 1873 or 1869. He married Nannie Virginia King in that same county on May 23, 1900. They lived in Amherst Co. with their growing family (8 children) until at some point when they moved to DC and wound up at 1608 1st St NW in 1930.

The 1930 census is where we first encounter the Davis family. Robert Davis was an African American hotel janitor. Previously in Amherst he was a laborer in the coal industry. By 1930 he was 58 years old, his wife, Nannie was 54. They lived with their 3 adult children, 2 minor children and eight lodgers. Their adult sons, 29 year old John J. and 24 year old King Davis worked as cooks at a cafe. Their 18 year old daughter, Geneva, 16 year old son Robert and 14 year old George King were unemployed. Also in the house was Robert’s brother Nashville King who worked as a laborer for the railroad.

In June of 1926 Robert Davis obtained 1608 First Street NW (0551/0201) from Emma Johnson. He and Nannie borrowed $4500 from Hane & Hill; $3000 from Crittenden & Hill; $1349.26 from trustees King & Smith within a few days of becoming owners of 1608.

Robert cleared three debts from previous owners in 1926.

They didn’t stay long. There is a trustee’s deed from September 1935 for the $4500 debt. The property was auctioned and the Rohrback family ( at least 6 named individuals) were the new owners. They transferred (sold?) it in 1936 to Etta B. and Isaiah Liseby.

Looking at the 1940 census the Davis family had moved to and were owners of 1524 Washington Place NE. It’s over where the Rhode Island DMV is, over there by the world’s worst Home Depot. By then Nannie had died (2/18/1931) and Robert B. was living with his son Robert, daughter in law and grandson.

Back to the 1930 Census and looking for an African American TC home owner and the next person is William H. Coates of 112 FL Ave NW (0551 0178). The DC General Assessment for 1933-1934 confirms that William H. and Mamie Coates were owners of a 2,100 sq ft structure at that address.

I couldn’t find a lot of info about the Coates. It appears they married late in life. William, then, 58, married Mamie Thompson, aged 34, in September 1920.

Since Ancestry isn’t providing a lot of info, to the Recorder of Deeds we go. July 9, 1923 William H. and Mamie D. Coates came into possession of 112 Florida Avenue from Clarence M. Deveile. Deveile was very involved with the neighboring property at 114 Florida Avenue NW.

The next document, a May 1926 release, is quite revealing.  In 1920 the then widow Mamie Thompson, borrowed an unknown amount from Deveile. Looking a few documents back it appears, she used Deveile to do that weird deed thing where she placed her husband, William Coates, on the property in 1923.

In 1926 the Coates borrowed $3000 from the Perpetual Building Association. Again in 1933, they borrowed $2,800 from the Perpetual Building Association.  That year they pay off their 1926 debt.

It appears they sell the property to Carrie E. Walker (not Carrie G. Walker) on April 20, 1934. Deveile was a witness on this paperwork.

I did a newspaper search for 112 Florida Ave from 1923-1934 and came up with the following:

1924 Income Tax Paid by District Residents– Evening star. [volume], September 10, 1925, Page 34. James H. Coates, 112 Florida avenue $2.10.

Situations–Domestic– Evening star. [volume], February 12, 1924, Page 25. “WOMAN wants place with small family stay nights. 112 Florida ave. n.w.”

In the 1930 census John T. Wilson is listed as the owner and head of household for 114 Florida Ave NW. It’s on square 551, which means it no longer exists. Run around at the Florida Avenue Park and you’ll probably be where his house was.

John Thomas Wilson was born May 17, 1886 in Durham, NC. He married Bessie M. Gaskins on September 20, 1911. She was listed as his wife on the 1930 census. He worked for the US Department of Agriculture.

The Wilson purchased 114 Florida Avenue NW on October 15, 1926. Prior to moving to Truxton Circle, he and his wife were living with in-laws, the Gaskins, at 4335 Polk St NE. In order to purchase 144 FL Ave NW, he was indebted to Clarence Deveile and Royal Mundy, trustees who had previously owned the property a few months prior, for $3,900.

I am learning, but I won’t pretend I know all that is going on with the land records. But back in 1922, a previous owner, the widow Maggie Lee owed $3,900 to trustees William A. Bowie and Clarence M. Deveile. She borrowed from Deveile and a new partner, again in 1924 for $350 and $1268. Maggie Lee sold it to Royal G. Mundy in March 1926. Royal G. and his wife Emma Mundy was borrowed from Deveile and another partner for $250. In May 1926, the Mundys transferred the property to Clarence M. Deveile.

After the Wilsons bought 114 Florida Avenue, debts from previous owners started clearing. The Mundys’ debts were cleared in December 1926, as was Maggie Lee’s. In January 1927 a debt from a owner prior to Maggie Lee, Samuel and Jennie Rappoport who borrowed in 1919, was cleared. February 1927, for September 1922 and October 1924 debts by Maggie Lee was cleared.  So a year after she sold it, all of her debts were cleared.

The Wilsons paid off the October 1926 debt on February 3, 1927. February 4, 1927 they do this weird thing I’ve noticed in other land records. Usually it is done to add someone or remove someone from the previous deed. What’s going on here? Beats me. Whatever it was, Deveile borrowed $4,250 from Equitable Life Insurance.

The same day (Feb 4, 1927) the Wilsons have the property transferred back to them and they borrowed $4500 from Mundy and Deveile.

Ten days later there are more documents regarding the release of debts from 1916 and a Maggie Lee 1920 debt.

January 7, 1928 the Wilsons borrowed $600 from trustees Deveile and Mundy.  Same date the next year (1/7/1929) the Wilsons borrowed $616 from Deveile and James L. Nielle.

September 11, 1929 it appeared that the Wilsons sold their home to R. Lawrence Plummer. The next document is a 1930 Trustees Deed, which pops up when a property has been foreclosed and auctioned. The auction was announced in the Washington Herald on June 23rd. The property was transferred to the widow Emma Gilmore by DeVeile & Mundy. The final nail was a 1932 Code Deed that transferred the property from the Wilsons to Gilmore, however it was only signed by Gilmore and the notary.

Despite all that, the Wilsons were still at 114 Florida Ave NW during World War II, after they lost legal possession. Checking the 1940 census, John claimed that he owned the property. They were still there for the 1950 census, but the 1950 census does not have ownership information. Sadly that info is lost to time.

John T. Wilson died  January 1965. Bessie died in 1980.

 

Charles Samuel Powell was born on May 15, 1886 in Newnan, GA. He married his wife, Willie, in 1917. He worked for the Federal government as a clerk.

Looking at the 1933-1934 General Assessment the property (0551 lot 174) both Charles and his wife Willie N. Powell were on record for owning 120 Florida Ave NW.

They purchased their house 8/5/1921 from Mary Dewey. It appears they borrowed $1,160 from trustees Bradford & Smith to purchase the property.

They borrowed again in June 1924 $2,250 at 7% interest from trustees Purcell & Zepp. Again in February 1927 from trustees Kraft and Goldstein for the amount of $1875. The Purcell & Zepp debt was settled in 1927.

There were a lot more debts and releases (settled debts) in the 1920s and 1930s. There are so many, I will not mention them individually.

In April 1941, the Powells borrowed $4000 from the American Security and Trust Company. That same day they also borrowed $292.37 from trustees in a matter related to the Superior Construction Corporation. This leads me to believe they were having work done on the house. It appears they paid off their debt to the American Security and Trust Co. (then the National Permanent Savings and Loan Association) in September 1963.

In the 1950 census, their birth state changed to Texas. That’s probably incorrect. They were still at 120 Florida Ave and they had three roomers below the age of 29.

The house was sold in 1971 by the remaining spouse, Willie N. Powell. Charles had died on July 30th, but no year was given on the documents. She had sold it to DC’s Redevelopment Land Agency or basically, the DC government.

A newspaper search revealed that Charles Powell of 120 Florida ave. nw, died at the age of 68 in 1954.

What I hoped for with the 1930 home owners is to see from start to finish, the purchase and then the later sale. The problem with the 1920 Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle series, was that the Recorder of Deed records don’t start up until 1921. The few 1930 owners became owners in that early 1920s period and we don’t see how they came to be owners.

According to the 1930 census Isaiah and Eva L. Green owned 122 Florida Ave NW (Square 551, lot 173). They purchased the property October 27, 1927 from John M. and Lillie Nickels. They purchased the property with a loan from J. Logan Hopkins for $4,250 and what appears to be a loan from the seller, John M. Nickels and parties Bridgette and Canton for $2,350.

October 24, 1930 the Greens took a $5000 loan from the American Security and Trust Company/ National Permanent Building Association. The same day there was another transaction that looked (if it isn’t simple I have no idea) looked like it was transferring a $788.21 debit to John M. Nickels to a pair of other investors. The next month they were released from their 1927 Hopkins debt. There was another release for a Nickels/Bridgette 1927 debt. Then they took out another Nickels/Brigette-Caton debt for $400.

Eva Carter Green died August 30, 1935. Isaiah married again in November 1936 to a Lena Clatterbuck Ashton Tisder. She was 48, he was 57.

In 1946, the Greens, this time Isaiah and Lena, took out a $3,500 loan from the American Security and Trust Company/ National Permanent Building Association. That same year, they paid off the 1930 American Security and Trust debt, as well as another 1930 debt.

Isaiah died April 30, 1948.

The last record for the Green family is a 1951 deed, where the executor of Lena T. Green’s estate, Ruth A. Jackson, sold the property. She died in 1949.

The Greens owned the property from 1927 to 1951, 24 years. It started with Eva and Isaiah Green and ended with the estate of Lena Green.