District of Columbia – Page 3

Johnson Family | Thomas Hurdle, witness

Known Information

Susan and Isaac Johnson are the parents of Cassandra Johnson, the first wife of Bruce Dent.

Sources

Brown, L. W. (1972). Free Negroes in the District of Columbia, 1790-1846. New York: Oxford University Press.

Provine, D. S. (1996). District of Columbia free Negro registers, 1821-1861. Bowie, Md: Heritage Books.

City Directories for Washington, DC | Fold3

1820 U S Census; Census Place: Washington Ward 4, Washington, District of Columbia; Page: 103; NARA Roll: M33_5; Image: 110 | ancestry.com

Tanner, Henry Schenck. City of Washington. [Philadelphia: H.S. Tanner, 1836] | loc.gov

Susan and Isaac Johnson registered the free status of her two sons, Jacob and Charles Johnson, on 15 September 1827 in the District of Columbia. In this registration, Thomas Hurdle “swears that Isaac, [Sr.] and his wife, Susan, are by reputation free and that Jacob Johnson, aged about five, and Charles Johnson, aged about three, were born in his neighborhood and are the children of Isaac and Susan. They were born free.”

This affadavit, sworn on 13 Sept 1827, provides clues into the lives of the Johnson family in the District of Columbia.

Thomas Hurdle is listed in the 1822 and 1827 City Directory for Washington, District of Columbia. In the 1822 City Directory, he is listed as a foreman carpenter at the Capitol. The 1827 directory lists him as a carpenter living on 2e street near St. Joseph’s Church. In the 1820 Census, he is enumerated as living in Ward 4, which was around Capitol Square. Isaac Johnson is listed immediately prior to Thomas in the census.

Tanner, Henry Schenck. City of Washington. [Philadelphia: H.S. Tanner, 1836] | loc.gov

The neighborhood around the Capitol had two types of residents: congressmen and aides living in boarding houses, and the skilled laborers who were building the city after it was burned by the British in the War of 1812. The labor forced used by the city was a mix of Irish labor and Black labor, both free and enslaved.

1820 Census showing the neighborhood with a mix of free Black and white residents

Thomas Hurdle was listed as living near St. Joseph’s in the 1827 directory. The use of St. as part of the name suggests a Catholic Church, and the early maps of the City of Washington do not list a St. Joseph’s. Instead, I propose that the church referenced is St. Peter’s Church on 2nd and C street. This church was newly established in the 1820s, and both Black and white residents attended the church. St. Joseph’s, which is on 2nd Street in NE was not built until 1868. That the church was mislabeled in the Directory is strengthened by the 1830 Tax Lists.

The DC Tax Books record Archibald Johnson with property on block 734 and Isaac Johnson with property on block 733 in 1830. Between 1830 and 1845, Isaac’s taxes on the property went from $0.31 to $3.45 which suggests he made considerable improvements on his lot.

The small map overlay is a 1846 map showing blocks with buildings. #28 represents St. Peter’s Church. It is overlaid onto a 1840 map showing square numbers.
De Krafft, F. C, W. I Stone, and William M Morrison. Map of the city of Washington. [Washington, D.C.?: Wm. M. Morrison, 1840]
Tanner, Henry Schenck, and S. Augustus Mitchell. City of Washington. [Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell, 1846]
Library of Congress

During this time, the City of Washington was only 20 years old and transitioning from farmland to a city. Large parts of the city remained rural, and the homes of the residents were likely smaller ramshackle buildings.

Steel, James W., Engraver, and Thomas Doughty. The capitol Washington / drawn by T. Doughty ; eng. by J.W. Steel. Washington D.C, 1826. [Philadelphia: Published by A.R. Poole] | loc.gov

Louis B Graham | Stable Boss for the Coal Yard

Known Information

Louis B Graham was the son of William Henry Graham and Mary “Mollie” Thomas. He was born in 1896 and died in 1927. He was 29 years old.

Sources

Draft Card

In 1917, the Selective Service Act allowed the government to raise a national army to fight in World War I. Registration began for men between 21 and 30 years old on June 5, 1917. Louis Bernard Graham was one of the men who registered.

His registration card lists his occupation as “Stable Boss” and that he was employed by “W. H. Marlowe.

*U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918* | ancestry.com

Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, 1917

Given Graham’s listed address, there are two possible branches that he worked at:

216 A NE
1237 1st NE

Close to Home

The 216 A NE branch is a smaller branch, in the same neighborhood as Graham. Graham lived in square 786, in the lower right of the map excerpt below. The Marlowe Branch (yellow building) located on A street is northwest diagonal from his home, in square 758.

*Baist’s real estate atlas of surveys of Washington, District of Columbia: complete in four volumes*, 1919 | loc.gov

As a Stable Boss, he would have been responsible for the care of horses, mules, and ponies, and assigning the animals to workers during the shift. This location would have needed the animals to make home deliveries. Marlow advertised in the Evening Star, a DC newspapers, prompt deliveries, and as evidenced by the for sale ad, he kept stable of work horses at the 216 A NE location.

Coal Dump near Union Station

It’s also possible that Graham worked a little farther from home, and closer to Union Station. Marlow had a Coal Yard Dump north of Union Station. Unlike the local coal yard near the Capitol Building, this is where Marlow brought his imported coal before distributing it to the local yards. Union Station had been built a decade earlier, and with it the landscape north of it changed from housing into warehouses and ice pants. The railway lines leading into Union Station had spurs that allowed for the offloading of coal from Cumberland and Pennsylvania.

Further Research Needed:

Mary E Reeder | attends school

Known Information

Mary Elizabeth Reeder was born in 1870 to Thomas and Martha Reeder

Sources

1880; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: 123; Page: 147B;Enumeration District: 050

Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. (1880). City of Washington, statistical maps Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/8415c030-0053-0135-53d1-0a7dead16a1b

Asch, C. M., & Musgrove, G. D. (2019). Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Mary Reeder, age 10, attended school in 1880 while living with her parents in Jackson Alley. She most likely attended School No. 5 in the second division based on its geographic proximity to Jackson Alley.

Education in post Civil War Washington

In 1862, Congress directed ten percent of tax money toward primary schools for Black students, and an independent Board of Trustees was established, which included S. J Bowen, who later became the mayor of DC in 1868. By the 1870s, the Board of Trustees was replaced by a superintendent of schools. Advocates demanded parity between both school systems schools and “the haphazard postwar collection of semiprivate black schools had solidified into a stable system of black public schools run by the Board of Trustees.” (Chocolate City)

Damon Jackson | craps game gone wrong

Known Information

Damon Jackson lived in Jackson Alley according to the City Directories. He was married to Mary E Reeder.

Sources

Photos

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Shooting craps.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1890-12-27. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e2-ee71-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Newspapers

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
01 Nov 1890, Sat • Page 12

The Critic
Washington, District of Columbia
28 Apr 1890, Mon • Page 1

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
28 Mar 1887, Mon • Page 4

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
11 Feb 1889, Mon • Page 3

The Washington Bee
Washington, District of Columbia
10 Mar 1888, Sat • Page 1

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
06 Feb 1893, Mon • Page 9

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
08 Nov 1889, Fri • Page 2

“CITY NEWS IN A NUTSHELL: A DAY’S STORY OF THE CAPITAL CITY BRIEFLY TOLD BY “POST” REPORTERS.” The Washington Post (1877-1922), May 06 1893, p. 4. ProQuest.

An 1890 article in the Evening Star claims that the game of craps was originated in the “cotton fields of the sunny south”, played by enslaved laborers forced to work in the fields and forbidden to take articles of entertainment with them. A game of craps only requires two “bones” to be thrown from the hand. Throwing a seven or a eleven is a “pass” and he wins the stake. Throwing two, three, or twelve means an automatic loss, while any other number is a “point” and a chance to throw again.

Historically, there are two forms of craps, “Casino Craps” and “Street Craps”. Dice games with any number of variants have been found in many cultures across time. In the 1700s, the French created a form of Hazard that transformed into Craps. French immigrants took it to Arcadia, Nova Scotia and then from there to New Orleans. From New Orleans, the African-Americans picked it up as a game and as with any game, it evolved. Casino Craps was introduced in settings like river boats where there were formal “banks” to bet against, whereas Street Craps were played by people anywhere they could get a smooth setting and placed their bets against each other. The players were referred to as “bone-shooters” and the game “shooting de bones” in newspaper briefs from the 1890s.

In contrast, the Evening Star ran hundreds of articles in the 1890s about the police raiding crap games. The police and the newspapers painted it as a type of robbery as the game “fleeced” young gamblers and allowed large groups of Black men to gather, who were characterized as “boisterous”, using profane language. The Washington Bee, an African-American newspaper from DC, printed a speech in which the speaker lamented “pool and crap games swallowing up their money and monopolizing their thoughts.”

An 1889 article about the “Foggy Bottom” gang, described an alley as “a place where loafers, thieves, crap-shooters, and murderers congregate”, exposing how the newspapers like to paint crap-shooting as a lurid game associated with violence.

Police Take Notice

There were only a handful of articles about craps in the Evening Star in the 1880s. In 1887, it ran its first short brief and place the game in quotation marks, “shooting crap” and named the role of “shaker”. The article contrasts Craps with Sweat, a type of card game that resembles poker and considered the “Old Army and Navy game”, and another form of street gambling.

Damon Jackson

In May 1893, Damon Jackson was charged with an assault to kill. Damon had been playing a game of crap with Joseph Plummer which ended by “Damon’s little hatchet which clove the skull oof Joseph Plummer”. Damon had been winning the game, and Joseph requested that he be staked another nickel “to buck gain the fickle goddess once more.” Both Mrs. Jackson and Damon berated him and drove him into the street where he was struck with the hatchet. Witnesses for Damon “with equal zeal asseverated” that Jackson was trying to nail up the door to keep Plummer out. After the flowery and descriptive language of the article, the post article ends simple with “Jackson was acquitted.”

Further Research Needed:

Locate the court records in the National Archives.

Joseph D Reeder | son of Thomas Reeder

Known Information

Joseph is listed in the 1880 and 1900 Census for Thomas Reeder.

Sources

Newspapers

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
14 Sep 1887, Wed • Page 2

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
07 May 1889, Tue • Page 2

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
21 Jan 1904, Thu • Page 5

The Washington Times
Washington, District of Columbia
22 Jan 1904, Fri • Page 6

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
13 Feb 1908, Thu • Page 19

The Washington Post
Washington, District of Columbia
29 Jul 1915, Thu • Page 14

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
22 Oct 1915, Fri • Page 9

Maps

A complete set of surveys and plats of properties in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, 1887 | DC Public Library

Baist, G. Wm, Wm. E Baist, and H. V Baist. Baist’s real estate atlas of surveys of Washington, District of Columbia: complete in four volumes. Philadelphia: G.W. Baist, -<1911 >, 1909. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/87675120/

1872 | Estimated Birth Year

based on ages given in the 1880 and 1910 Census.
1880 Census

Living with parents, Thomas and Martha (Colbert) Reeder in Jackson Alley, the heart of Swampoodle. He is eight years old living with two sisters, Mary and Georgiana.
1891-97 | 809 N Capitol

The 1891, 1892, and 1897 City Directories list his address as 809 N Capitol street. This address is a block north of the Government Printing Office and within a stone’s throw of Jackson Alley. North Capitol is the N/S road on the right side of the map excerpt. 809 N Capitol is lot 34 on the block opposite DeFrees Street.

In 1887, the Evening Star ran an advertisement for the sale of the property as a grocery store

In 1889, the Evening star ran an advertisement for a laborer to help in the grocery store.
1900 Census

He is living at 50 Jackson Alley, with his parents and his brother, Charles. Both he and his father are working as day laborers while Charles has a job as a photographer. The census reports that he and his father haven’t been able to work in six months. The census enumerator indicated he had been married for 5 years, but doesn’t list a wife.

The Evening Star lists a marriage between Joseph Reeder and Josephine Lucas in 1895. She is living with parents in the 1900 Census and lists her status as a widow. She is living on Adams Express Alley. There is no death records in the index for a Joseph Reeder between 1895-1900 and a search of the newspapers does not return one either. However, the lack of a death record is inconclusive as one may not have been filed.
1904 Marriage

The Evening Star runs the list of marriage licenses, including Joseph D Reeder and Abbie Nelson. When he applied for the license, he expressed worry for the cake, as he had purchased it from a Seventh Street confectionary and was having it delivered to 809 North Capitol and it had yet to appear.

This article has him living back at the 809 North Capitol address suggesting he works again for the grocery story.
1907-1908 City Directory

He and his wife are living at 54 Pierce Street NW. Pierce Street was undeveloped in the 1887 Plat Book. In the 1907 Baists Real Estate it was block of row houses. It has since be redesigned. It is one block over from where the Hodcarrier’s Association had their building in the 1880s and where James Reeder lived.

In 1908, there was a reported case of smallpox. No name was provided in the news report. It is unclear if it was in the Reeder household or another household residing in the house.
1910 Census | 1909-1912 City Directories

He is living on 17 Fenton St NE, where his aunts and uncles lived in the 1890s. He is living with his wife and son, Abbie and Frank Reeder. The census enumerator lists this as his first marriage and that they have been for 6 years. Frank is 4 years old.

Joseph is working as a teamster at a grocery store according to the census; the city directories list him as a clerk.

The map excerpt shows the block with the 809 North Capitol Street Grocery store, as the bottom block, with the RR Terminal property on the back side of the block. Two blocks north was Fenton Street, with townhouses packed in tightly.
1914-1915 | 809 N. Capitol

In the 1914 City Directory he is listed as living in rooms above the grocery store. A 1915 Washington Post article that calls him Joseph Reed states his residence as 809 N. Capitol; he was arrested at the rear of 18 L Street northwest and taken to Washington Asylum Hospital, a consolidated hospital, poorhouse and workhouse.

In the 1920 Census, Frank Reeder, Joseph and Abbie’s son, are living in the rear of L Street with Abbie’s parents, Kate and Thomas Simms. Kate died the next year, in 1921 and their address is listed as 13 L Street NW (rear). It lists her daughter and grandson, but not Joseph.

It is likely that Joseph was visiting his in-laws when he was arrested. In October, an Evening Star article states that he was acquitted for his perceived role in a robbery.
Unknown

Joseph and Abbie Reeder have yet to be located in the 1920 or 1930 census. Frank is recorded marrying in Detroit, Michigan in 1935. His parents are listed on the license. He lives there until his death in 1982. It is unclear if Joseph and Abbie also went to Michigan.

Further Research Needed:

Locate a death record for both Abbie and Joseph Reeder
Locate them in the 1920 and 1930 census (if living)

the Fountains, Ben and Mary | north of 7th

Known Information

Mary Ellen (Reeder) Fountain lived with her husband on 7th north of Boundary in the 1871 City Directory. Fountain has been appointed lamplighter in 1868 & 1869

Sources

Newspapers

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
08 Aug 1873, Fri • Page 4

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
05 Jun 1871, Mon • Page 4

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
19 Oct 1871, Thu • Page 3

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
01 Mar 1878, Fri • Page 3

Photos

Moulton, J. W, and John S Moulton, photographer. Howard University. Washington D.C, None. [Salem, mass.: j. w. & j. s. moulton, publishers between 1867 and 1920] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017657067/

Maps

Boschke, A, D McClelland, Hugh B Sweeny, Thos Blagden, and Blanchard & Mohun D. Mcclelland. Topographical map of the District of Columbia. Washington: D. McClelland, Blanchard & Mohun, 1861. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/88694013/

Hopkins, Griffith Morgan, Jr. Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the County of Prince George, Maryland. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins, 1878. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/76354156/.

Real estate directory of the city of Washington, D.C. suburbs of Washington city, serial number 50, 1874 (25 objects) | DC Public Library

Howard University was chartered by Congress near the site of a former refugee camp on Seventh Street NW in order to support the educational opportunities of freedmen. Named after its trustee and third residence, O. O. Howard, the university was a comprehensive school providing different types of education for both the newly freed who had been denied access to education under slavery and the free people of color who were seeking higher education. For those who needed basic education, it established the Model School with four classes (A-D) which were organized around skill level. In 1868, B. F. Franklin, living in the Wisewell Barracks, attended the Model School, class C.

Howard University was established just north of Seventh and Boundary, in and around the farmlands of John A Smith.

1861 Topographical Map of the area that would become Howard University

1878 Map of the area around Howard University

Fire!

In June of 1871, the Evening Star reported a fire at the home Benj. F. Fountain, on 7th street above Abner Park. The house was destroyed and damage was estimated to be $1000. The fire department “responded promptly, but not in time to save the building”.

Abner Park is the property “situated on Seventh Street, just beyond Boundary street and the terminus of the Seventh Street railway, and is improved by a large commodious hotel with stables, outbuildings, &c.” as described in an 1871 Trustee Sale Ad run in the Evening Star.

Real Estate Transfer

In 1873, the Evening Star listed real estate transfers in the County, and listed the transfer of property between C. C. Caruthers and Mary Fountain in Effingham, is part of the Howard University subdivision of John A Smith’s farm, “Effingham Place”. She sold the south one-third of lot 1 of section 2 of Effingham for $124. This shows her place as being on Seventh Street, and north of the Abner Park Hotel and connected to Howard University.

Based on her Freedmen’s Bank Records, Mary Fountain moved to 13th and O Street NW, immediately south of what was then known as Iowa Cicle. She did not list her husband on her depositor slip. She listed her occupation as sewing. The 1874 City Directory lists Mary E Fountain, dressmaker, living at 818 10th Street NW.

The 1873 City Directory lists Calvin C. Caruthers as living at the corner of Trumbull and Seventh Road which is consistent with the subdivision plat book. In the 1871 City Directory, his residence is listed as the Wisewell Barracks, suggesting that the Fountains and the Caruthers knew each other, as both had passed through Wisewell.

Calvin C. Caruthers was one of the first African-Americans appointed to the DC police force in July 1869.

Wisewell Barracks

The Third Ward Republican Club met frequently at the Wisewell Barracks which was situated near Seventh and O Street. This gave both Caruthers and the Fountains access to the party and allowed them to make connections, providing both with economic opportunities in their appointments. A separate post discusses Fountain’s appointment as lamplighter in 1868 and 1869. It likely that this appointment provided the couple the nest egg they needed to purchase the land near Howard University

Further Research Needed:

Locate death certificate for Benj Fountain who disappears from the records after 1871.
Locate land records for their property in the DC archives

Benjamin Franklin Fountain | Republican lamplighter

Known Information

Benj. Franklin Fountain is listed as a lamplighter in the 1870 City Directory.

Sources

Newspapers

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
26 Mar 1870, Sat • Page 4

National Republican
Washington, District of Columbia
03 Dec 1868, Thu • Page 3

National Republican
Washington, District of Columbia
20 Jul 1869, Tue • Page 4

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
07 May 1870, Sat • Page 2

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
05 May 1870, Thu • Page 1

Lamplighters worked at dusk and at dawn, walking the streets of their ward. At the top of the pole, under the lamp, was a bar where they would lean their ladder allowing them to climb to the lamp. In the 1860s, there were two appointed lamplighters for each ward, though bills were proposed that if there were more than 200 lamps, additional lamplighters would be appointed. In 1869, an act was introduced setting the salary of a lamplighter to $600 per annum and separating the appointment of lamplighters from the geographical boundaries of the Wards. They had been receiving a salary of $40 a month ($480/year).

Mayor Sayles J. Bowen, Radical Republican

In 1868, Sayles J. Bowen was elected mayor of DC. He was a Radial Republican who supported educational and economic opportunities for the Black citizens of the District, including the thousands of refugees who had come to the District during and after the Civil War. Bowen Road, in Anacostia, (now Alabama Ave) was named for him. Upon his election in 1868, he filled 30 percent of his administration with Black individuals. Additionally, Bowen inaugurated massive public works projects in the city, building sewers, sidewalks, smoothing roads, etc. This was critical for economic opportunities for working class Washington as there wasn’t an industrial base and unskilled and skilled laborers relied on public works project for employment. His work was criticized by the Democrats and white supremacists who saw his spending and support of Black citizens as wasteful. In actuality, the employment opportunities provided by his administration allowed for a “nest egg” and “modest little homes”.

Among Bowen’s appointees were lamplighters for the wards and he appointed Benj. F. Fountain as lamplighter for the Third Ward in 1868 and again in 1869.

To read more about race and politics in DC, I highly suggest the book Chocolate City by Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove.

Asch, Chris Myers, and George Derek Musgrove. 2019. Chocolate City A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

1870 Mayoral Campaign

In 1870, the mayor’s seat was once again up for election, and the Republicans met in May 1870 to determine their candidate. Among the delegates for the Third Ward, was B. F. Fountain.

Further Research Needed:

Identify if the Fountains were able to purchase property

Thomas Reeder vs. James Thomas Reeder

Known Information

Two Thomas Reeders lived in DC after the Civil War.

Sources

Freedmen’s Records

District of Columbia, Freedmen’s Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8937-FP18?cc=2333782&wc=9J3J-SPX%3A1069293302%2C1069293906 : 3 August 2016), Assistant inspector general > Roll 1, Letters sent, Mar 21, 1866-Sep 7, 1868 > image 41 of 146; citing NARA microfilm publication M1902 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

City Directory

Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, Various

There were two Thomas Reeders who lived in DC after the Civil War. James Thomas Reeder, who alternatively went by James and Thomas, married Clara Woodland and they had one son, John V. Thomas Reeder, married to Martha, lived in Jackson Alley for the bulk of his life in DC.

Freedmen’s Records

Clara Reeder claimed that she and Thomas Reeder had selected two lots in Barry Farm and was inquiring in the case.

James Reeder, from Anne Arundel County, and Clarissa with their son John V, are living in Freedmen’s Village.

Thomas Reeder, with John and Benjamin Fountain, received goods from the Superintendent at the Kendall Green Barracks.
1870 Census

James T. Reeder is listed in the household of Mary Woodland and her daughters, including Clara Woodland. He is listed as Thomas Reeder. John V. Reeder is listed as his son. They are living in Ward 3. Other surnames in the household include Chesley.

Thomas Reeder is living with his wife, Martha and his infant daughter Mary E. Reeder. They are living in Ward 3.
1871 City Directory

James T. Reeder is living at 1214 3d NW.

Thomas Reeder is living at 1417 1st NW.

This address is consistent with the tax records in the newspapers addressed in a different post.
1873 City Directory

Thomas Reeder is living at 813 L NE. He is a porter

Thomas Reeder is living at 811 L NW. So is James Reeder.
1877 City Directory

James T Reeder is living at 1622 2d Street.

Thomas Reeder is living at 1419 1st NW.
1879 City Directory

James T Reeder is living at 43 Pierce.

Thomas Reeder is living at Pierce Street Alley NW
1880 Census

James T. Reeder is listed as head of a household that includes Mary Woodland. His wife is named a Clarissa Reeder and his son, John V is listed. He is also living with his niece, Mary Reeder, age 24. They are living on N Street NW. Other surnames include Chisley

Thomas Reeder is living with his wife, Martha and his three children, Mary, Joseph and Georgiana. They are living on Jackson Alley.
1883-4 City Directory

James T & Thomas Reeder is living at 418 N NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

Thomas Reeder is living at 71 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer
1885 City Directory

James T Reeder is living at 418 N NW. He is working as a laborer.

Thomas Reeder is living at Jackson Alley. The address is unnumbered. He is working as a laborer
1893 City Directory

J Thomas Reeder is living at 444 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

Thomas Reeder is living at Jackson Alley. The address is unnumbered. He is working as a laborer
1894 City Directory

J Thomas Reeder is living at 444 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

Thomas Reeder is living at 34 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer
1895 City Directory

J Thomas Reeder is living at 462 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

Thomas Reeder is living at 36 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer
1898 City Directory

James T. Reeder is living at 462 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

Thomas Reeder is living at 50 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer
1900 Census

Thomas Reeder is listed as head of a household with his wife Clara, their son John and his wife. John is a musician. They are living on Ridge NW

Thomas Reeder is living with his wife, Martha and his two children, Joseph and Charles. They are living on Jackson Alley.
1901 City Directory

James T. Reeder is living at 462 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

Thomas Reeder is living at 50 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer
1910 Census

James T and Clara W are living in the household of of John V on Ridge St NW. It indicates that John V is their only child.

Thomas Reeder is the Home for the Aged and Infirm. He is living as a widower.
1920 Census

James T and Clara W are living in the household of of John V on Ridge St NW.

Thomas Reeder is the Home for the Aged and Infirm. He is living as a widower.
Death

The Evening Star ran the obituary of James Thomas Reeder. It names his son, John V, and his daughter in law as well as their home address on Ridge NW. His death record lists his parents: Barnes Reeder and Henrietta Reeder. He was born in St. Mary’s County, MD.

A Thomas Reeder, without identifying information died in 1929. This is consistent with a death in an institution where there is little information about his background.

Another Thomas Reeder is listed with a death in 1924, however, an obituary lists family members not consistent with either Reeder and his age places his birth year in the 1880s. His death records lists his address as 2nd Street SE which is not consistent with City Directories or Census Records.

the Reeders | hod-carriers

Known Information

James Reeder is listed as living on in Pierce Street Alley in the 1880s.

Sources

Birth Return

Reeder, Baby, 9236, 20 Nov 1876 | DC Archives

Map

A Complete Set of Surveys and Plats of Properties in the City of Washington, District of Columbia is a real estate atlas published by G. M. Hopkins and Co. in 1887. | DC Public Library

Newspapers

National Republican
Washington, District of Columbia
06 Jul 1881, Wed • Page 2

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
01 Dec 1876, Fri • Page 2

The Critic
Washington, District of Columbia
27 Aug 1881, Sat • Page 3

National Republican
Washington, District of Columbia
04 Mar 1884, Tue • Page 6

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
15 Mar 1884, Sat • Page 1

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
22 Mar 1884, Sat • Page 2

The Critic
Washington, District of Columbia
20 Mar 1889, Wed • Page 4

Evening Star
Washington, District of Columbia
04 Apr 1889, Thu • Page 1

Print

Mydans, Carl, photographer. Untitled photo, possibly related to: Hod carriers at Greenbelt, Maryland. , 1936. [July] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017715805/.

The hod-carrier’s song. Air.- Villikens and his Dinah. H. De Marsan, Publisher, 60 Chatham Street, N.Y. Monographic. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/amss.as201350/.

In the 1880 Census, James H Reeder is listed as living at 141 Pierce Street, with his family including his wife Emeline. His occupation is listed as a junk dealer. There are six families living in the home. This suggests that it was a larger apartment style home.

The map shows Pierce Street in 1887 and its alleys.

The 1876 birth return for the daughter of James and Emeline lists James’ occupation as laborer “hard career”, or hod-carrier.

Hod-Carriers

Hod-Carriers were tradesmen who supported bricklayers in the construction of buildings. They brought the supplies to the site. Details from an Evening Star article about a Hod-Carrier Strike in 1884 describes the work as strenuous. They carry the hod with bricks which can weigh up to 116 pounds. In the 22 Mar 1882, article, the Evening Star reported that six brick-layers with four hod-carriers could lay 9,000 bricks a day.

In 1881, James H Reeder and J. T. reeder, in connection with others, established “the Hod-carriers’ Society” for the mutual benefit of each other and to stop interference from their bosses. The 1887 Plat Book shows the Hod-Carrier’s Association building on Pierce Street, where James Reeder was living in the 1880s.

In 1884, there are numerous articles detailing tension between union and non-union hod-carriers and the strikes for better wages (from $2.00 to $2.50 a day). Thomas Reeder was charged with assault of a non-union man and charged $5 for hitting him on the back of his head with his open hand.

Due to the nature of their work (outside), laborers only worked for seven months of the year. There was competition between Irish laborers, “colored” laborers and “imported” laborers for the work. The National Republican ran an article in 1884 in which their sources described Northern Cities already paying $2.50/day and southern laborers as being “slow and uncertain”.

In 1889, there was a split in the Hod-Carrier’s Society. J. T. Reeder and others were charged with using the corporations name, banner and other insignia. Some of the articles names him as John T Reeder, others as J. F. Reeder. In May, Thomas Reeder (at times cites as James Thomas Reeder) filed suit claiming that the hod-carriers committed conspiracy by preventing him access to work as he was non-union. It is unclear whether this refers to Thomas Reeder, brother of James H Reeder, or James Thomas Reeder who lived on Ridge NW and unrelated to the Reeder brothers.

Reeder Siblings | marriages

Known Information

James, John, and Thomas Reeder and Mary Ellen (Reeder) Fountain lived in DC after the Civil War.

Sources

Census

1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 3, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M593_124; Page: 475A

1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 3, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M593_124; Page: 475B

1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 3, Washington, District of Columbia;Roll: M593_124; Page: 449B

Marriage Records

District of Columbia, Marriage Records, 1810-1953 | ancestry.com

United States, Freedmen’s Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 | familysearch.org

City Directory

District of Columbia Birth Returns, 1874-1897 | familysearch.org

Birth Certificates

Reeder, Baby, 9236, 20 Nov 1876 | DC Archives

Reeder, Baby, 28331, 16 Jan 1882 | DC Archives

Reeder, Baby, 36254, 15 May 1882 | DC Archives

Three Reeder brothers, James, John, and Thomas were recorded in the 1868 Washington City Directory as living at M and 6 NE, which is near the Kendall Green Barracks. Bank records also list them as the brothers of Mary Ellen Fountain.

James Reeder

James was living with Emeline, his wife, and their sone Henry J. in 1870. Walter Reeder, age 11, is also living with them. Based on the bank records of Mary Ellen Fountain, Walter is James’ younger brother.

DC Marriage records lists a marriage for James Reeder and Emeline Dorsey on 13 Aug 1868. A birth record for a daughter born in 1876 lists both James Henry Reeder and Emeline Dorsey Reeder as the parents, and that they both were born in St. Mary’s County, MD. A birth record for a daughter born in 1883 lists Emeline’s last name was West, but provides the mother’s birthplace as St. Mary’s County

John Reeder

John Reeder is living with his wife, Cora, and their son, Willie, who was born in DC in 1868; Cora collected rations in January 1868 due to “sickness”, it is possible that in addition to any number of illnesses suffered by freedpeople as a result of malnourishment, exposure from poor shelter and clothing, that she was pregnant and sick with morning sickness.

They are living with is likely the younger siblings of Cora, suggesting that her last name is Key.

The Freedmen’s Bureau recorded marriages for freedmen that had not been formally recognized before. In 1867, John Reader and Cora Keys had their 1861 marriage in St. Mary’s County, MD, recorded in the DC Bureau They listed that they had one child, which suggests that they had an older child prior to Willie. A priest named Moore married them.

Thomas Reeder

Thomas is living with his wife, Martha, and their daughter Mary E. They do not have any other family living with them.

DC Marriage Records lists Thomas Reeder’s marriage to Martha Colbert in June 1867. An 1882 birth certificate for their son lists her maiden name as Calbert and that she was born in Prince George’s County.

Mary Ellen Reeder

Mary E Fountain is living near her brother, Thomas Reeder, just a few households away in the census. She is living with her husband Benj. F. Fountain.

DC Marriage Records lists Mary Ellen Reeder’s marriage to Benj Franklin Fountain in June 1866. No children have been located for them.

Further Research Needed:

Research the Key, Dorsey and Reeder family in St. Mary’s County
Research the Colbert family in Prince George’s County
Research the Fountain family in Virginia

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