Tag: neighborhood history

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. 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.

Let’s see what happens with 1517 3rd St NW:

• February 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1517 3rd NW to Louis W. and Lucille H. Williams.
• February 1951 the Williams borrowed $3,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• February 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1517 3rd St NW to Mrs. Ethel W. Stanley.
• Feb 1951 Stanley borrowed $3,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• May 1962 Stanley paid off her mortgage.
• May 1962 Mr. and Mrs. Williams paid off their mortgage.

Another good ending. No foreclosure and mortgages paid off in 11 years.

It’s been a while but, I’m back with the goal of getting every WSIC house.

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. 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.

Let’s see what happens with 1515 3rd St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1515 3rd St NW to Edna B. and William N. Dean.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Deans borrowed $3,375 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• April 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1515 3rd St NW to Harvey L. and Sadie B. Christian.
• April 1951 the Christians borrowed $3,425 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• November 1952 the Christians were thrown to the lions and lost their half of the property to foreclosure. Evans, Levin and Taube regained ownership via an auction.
• February 1953 Evans, Levin and Taube turned around and sold the foreclosed half to Ederson R. and Tiney Willis.
• February 1953 the Willis’ borrowed $4,211.05 from Levin and Weightman.
• February 1962 the Deans paid off their mortgage.
• September 1967 Tiney Willis and her son Ederson paid off their mortgage.

And that’s the end. Only one foreclosure and the property did not wind up in the hands of a slum lord or the city government.

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.

Okay, let’s get back to some depressing local history.

Why depressing? The WSIC properties tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold by business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). And doing this over and over again, is depressing.

Let’s see what happens with 19 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Feb 14, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 19 Bates St NW to Miss Elsie M. Mitchell.
• December 1950 (recorded Feb 14, 1951) Mitchell borrowed $1,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 19 Bates St NW to Theodora and Thomas Ferguson.
• Jan 1951 Fergusons borrowed $1,900 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• March 9, 1953 Thomas Ferguson borrowed $965.83 from trustees Roland Brown Jr and Jacob Sandler in order to pay for work done by Consolidated Eng. & Dist. Co. Inc.
• September 1954 Thomas Ferguson borrowed $575.65 from the Irving Trust Company.
• April 1958 the Fergusons lost their half of 19 Bates St NW to foreclosure.
• July 1958, as part of larger property package, new Colonial partner Harry A. Badt transferred their interest in the foreclosed half to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
• June 1959 the Colonial Investment Co partners and the Levin survivors, in a larger property package, sold their interest in the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• January 1962 Mitchell was released from her mortgage, thus owning her half free and clear.
• December 1969 Elsie Mitchell Traylor and her husband Melvyn H. Traylor sold their half to notorious landlord George Basiliko.
• November 1981 Sophia and George Basiliko sold 19 Bates St NW, along with two other WSIC properties to the Bates Street Ventures, Gerald Diaz and Edward A. Kassoff.

There was a foreclosure. But on the other hand the other buyer, Elsie Mitchell, was able to pay off her mortgage, thus one success. But she and the Colonial Investment Co wound up selling their halves of the house to George Basiliko. Despite owning it prior to 1970 Basiliko did not sell the property to the DC RLA. I’m not sure if Bates Street Ventures is pretty much the same as Bates Street Associates (BSA) and all that mess.

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. 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.

Let’s see what happens with 1551 3rd St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1551 3rd St NW to John D. and Susie M. Scott.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Scotts borrowed $4,250 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1551 3rd St NW to Mary Annette Brewer and J. Bernard Strawder.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Brewer and Strawder borrowed $4,250 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• March 1958 Brewer and Strawder lost their half to foreclosure. The Colonial Investment Co. partners regained ownership via an auction.
• May 1961 the Scotts sold their half of 1551 3rd St from Evans, Taube and Nathan Levin’s survivors.
• November 1961 the Colonial Investor Co. parties sold 1551 3rd St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• May 1978 George Basiliko sold the property to Ohal, Isaac & Associates, Inc.

So this fit the usual and unfortunate pattern of foreclosure (the Scotts managed to avoid that) then the property being sold to Basiliko.

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. 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.

Let’s see what happens with 1545 3rd St NW:

• January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1545 3rd NW to Carrie B. and Robert L. Andrews.
• January 1951 the Andrews borrowed $3,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1545 3rd St NW to Jimmie Batts and Queen E. Coles.
• Jan 1951 Batts and Coles borrowed $3,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• October 1952 the Andrews lost their half to foreclosure. Through an auction the property returned to Evans, Levin and Taube.
• October 1952 Evans, Levin and Taube sold the foreclosed half to Mrs. Elizabeth W. Banks.
• October 1952 Mrs. Banks borrowed $4,164.38 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• September 1954 Batts and Coles lost their half to foreclosure. Evans, Levin and Taube got the property back via an auction.
• October 1955 Banks lost her half to foreclosure. Evans, Levin and Taube got the property back via an auction.
• November 1961, the Colonial Investment Co. parties, as part of a larger property package, sold 1545 3rd St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• July 1970, as part of a larger property package (document 1970011877) , George Basiko sold 1545 3rd St NW to the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).

So the sad story and pattern apply here. The next set of documents after the RLA got their hands on it were from 2004 with BSA Limited Partnership. BSA- I will assume are the Bates Street Associates, which were a problematic organization.

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. 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.

Let’s see what happens with 134 Q St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold 134 Q St NW to Fern W. and Malachi H. Taylor.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Taylors borrowed $6,500 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• March 1962 the Taylors were released from their 1950 loan.
• December 1988, Malachi H. Taylor sold the property to Selamawite Makonnen and Assegid Tessema. The deed noted that Fern died May 29, 1965.

This was a successful story. Most Black buyers of these homes wind up getting foreclosed upon. Also many who buy the whole property tend to get into a situation where they have to sell half. Not so here with the Taylors.

Who were the Taylors?

Malachi Henry Taylor Jr. was born September 30, 1909 in Washington, DC to Ida Gibson and Malachi Taylor. He married Fern Waddy March 13, 1934 in Leesburg, VA. Fern was born August 18, 1905 in DC to Elizabeth Baker and John Waddy. In 1935, Malachi Sr. died. It appears Malachi Jr. was involved in a numbers running venture and was arrested in 1959 and was living on the 1900 block of 9th St NW.

I could not locate either Fern nor Malachi in the 1940 census. Malachi served in the Navy from 1943-1946. However we were not inolved in WW2 in 1940, so I don’t know why they don’t show up. In the 1950 census they were living at 2202 13th St and it appears Malachi was not working. Fern seemed to have a job as an elevator operator for a government building. Their niece, Fannie Waddy was living with them and she was a 27 year old clerk typist for the Veterans department. From what I could tell, the two had no children.

The Taylors seemed to own a few properties in DC and elsewhere. In addition to 134 Q St NW, they owned 1201-1203 Euclid Street NW in Columbia Heights, and another that no longer exists in the U St area between W, 13th and 14th Streets NW and Florida Avenue. I located a September 1993 (after both had died) tax lien sale for property in Atlantic City, NJ.

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. 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.

Let’s see what happens with 138 Q St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 138 Q NW to Duvall and Marion Tyler.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Duvalls borrowed $3,000 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• February 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 138 Q St NW to Mrs. Thelma B. Harris.
• February 1951 Harris borrowed $3,150 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• February 1955 Mrs. Harris lost her property to foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Levin, and Taube via an auction.
• August 1955 the Duvalls lost their property to foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Levin, and Taube via an auction.
• March 1959 the property, as part of a larger package, was sold to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• July 1970, in document 1970011877, Sophia and George Basiliko sold this and other properties on the block to the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency.
• July 1978 is the recorded date for document 7800024140 which is a contract between RLA and the Bates Street Associates, Incorporated. It’s 30 incomplete pages.

Well.

That didn’t take long. Doing these WSIC-1950 Sell Off histories I am getting the impression that Black buyers were set up for failure. The number of foreclosures that keep popping up with these histories are just depressing. When I was just doing Black Homeowners of Truxton Circle  (remember I’ll be presenting on this topic April 6th at the DC History Conference), foreclosures did not pop up often. It happened. But more often property was purchased, then sold or inherited then sold.

Who were the Tylers?

Duvall Tyler was born November 25, 1907 in Amherst, VA. He married Marion Robinson who was born around 1905 in Washington, DC.  At the start of WWII Duvall worked for Dr. Overholt at St. Elizabeth Hospital. In the 1950 census he worked as a cook at a hospital. In the 1950 Duvall was the head of the family living at 1760 Bruce Place. Wife Marion was home keeping house. Eighteen and 17 year old sons Duvall Jr. and Morris D. were kitchen helpers at the hospital. Five year old Joseph B. was obviously unemployed.

Who was Thelma B. Harris?

I dunno. Unfortunately, she was separated when purchasing her half  of 138 Q St NW. So there is no other name I can attach her to in order to pull her data from all the other Thelma Harris in DC.