Known Information
Thomas Reeder lived in DC after the Civil War.
Sources
Newspapers
Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
23 Jul 1866, Mon • Page 2
Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
13 Jul 1867, Sat • Page 3
Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
27 Jul 1867, Sat • Page 3
Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
26 Sep 1867, Thu • Page 3
Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
07 Jun 1873, Sat • Page 4
Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
24 Dec 1877, Mon • Page 2
Map
Gamble, W. H, and S. Augustus Mitchell. Plan of the city of Washington: the capitol sic of the United States of America. [Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell Jr, 1869] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/88693479/
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia. Sanborn Map Company, 1888. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn01227_001/.
City Directory
Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, 1864
Kollner, Augustus, Artist. Tiber Creek north-east of the Capitol. Washington, D.C. Washington D.C. United States Tiber Creek, 1839. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2004662005/
Currier & Ives, Publisher, and Charles R Parsons. The City of Washington birds-eye view from the Potomac-looking north / drawn by C.R. Parsons. United States Washington D.C. District of Columbia Washington, ca. 1880. New York: Published by Currier & Ives. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/90716011/
Swampoodle
The Tiber Creek ran northeast of the Capitol, no longer a contained canal. When there were storms, the creek often flooded, washing away bridges and filling basements. Due to the swampy nature of this floodplain and the left behind puddles, the area near the Union Pr. Office was called Swampoodle.
Jackson Alley was considered the heart of Swampoodle, and ran between G and H street, along the Printing Office. Originally an Irish enclave, when refugees from slavery arrived in the City of Washington during the Civil War, African-American families also found homes in Swampoodle.
1880 Census
In the 1880 Census, Thomas Reeder was recorded living with his family with Robert Childs and his family in 71 Jackson Alley. Thomas and his wife Martha had three children: Mary E, 10, Joseph, 8, and Georgiana, 4. Thomas and his wife, Martha, were born in Maryland while their children were all born in DC.
Mary E. is marked as having attended school.
The City Directories for 1883-1901 show Thomas living at various addresses in Jackson Alley; sometimes at #65, or #50, or #34. The variety of house numbers suggests that the Reeder family shifted as rent prices and space shifted in the alley. The excerpt from the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps shows the variation in size and that some homes were frame and some were brick. The end of the block near the Printing Office was more industrial in nature, containing a livery station, a factory and storehouse.
Further Research Needed:
- Locate residences in earlier censuses
stories of Then 