Evening star., 1941-12-21


whose children included William T..
police ofhcer; Charles E., Frank. q police
officer and Hattie, who married Charles
P. M. Lord, now a retired captain Of
the Metropolitan Police. Then came Mr..
and Mrs. SULLIVAN and their three sons,
James. William and Conrad.
A few doors to the south was the
grocery store of John Lynch, who had
one son, John, and two daughters, Jo-
hannah and Katie A. The former kept
a private school at her fathers residence,
which the writer and his sister attended
for awhile. She finally gave up teaching
when she married Joseph E. johnson.
Next to the Lynch home once lived Louis
Mundheim and his sons Reuben, Samuel
and Simon and his daughter Cecilia.
Samuel died recently and was buried
here. He was the father of the wife OF
Rabbi Norman Gerstenfeld of this city.
Cecilia married William Elkin of Phila-
delphia. She is now widow and resides
in Norfolk, Va. Louis Mundheim was
member Of the Association of Oldest In
habitants.
The Philpitt family, which also came to
this neighborhood at an early date. in
cluded besides Mr.. and Mrs. Fred C.
Philpitt, six children: Fred, Alice, Hettie,
Edward S.. Ernest and Rudolph. Fred's
widow and number of daughters now
reside in Washington, while the rest of
the senior Philpitts family live in Miami,
Fla, where they went years ago. Thomas
Barry resided next to the Philpitts. He
had number of children including Ed
ward. John J., Thomas j., and several
daughters. and close by lived the Good
man family. At the point where Florida
avenue and Ninth street meet, where Is
now gasoline station, was the home Of
D. j. Macarty, contractor and builder.
His residence was one Of the finest in
this part Of Washington, and its location
made 1t visible for long way down Ninth
street.
For some years after 1871, the square
between Florida and Vermont avenues,
U and v street was vacant ground. and
on it the boys in the neighborhood
played ball, and called their team the
Cincinnatis. When the square became
built up, here lived on the Florida ave-
nue. side, Bob Odlum, who was killed
N jumping off Of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Received Honorable Mention
In the block between Vermont ave-
nue. and Tenth street, U and V streets,
where is now a large school building
for colored children, was, in the early
days, where the Douglass baseball team
played ball 1t was composed Of the
best colored men of this section, and
as no rowdies were permitted on the nine,
the games were always conducted in an
orderly and interesting way. Washing
ton, Braxton, Alexander Smoot, Sam and
Clinton Lincoln were among the players.
Sam Lincoln died some years ago, when
he was probably the Oldest route carrier
for The Star and received honorable
mention in its columns at the time of
his death. Though his family name was
always known as Lincoln" yet this
pronunciation was only similar in form
to his real name, which the writer does
not recall.
All this section was early known as
Goose Level, and even Cowtown was
not all built up for some years subse-
quent to 1871, and it was not necessary
for one to confine himself to the side
waikiki there happened to be one. In
most cases, the paths were just as good
and in many cases better and decidedly
more direct. Indeed, when the writer
attended school for awhile at Fourteenth
and @ streets, he went by the way of
paths the entire distance, crossing one
common after another.
But about Cowtown. This was not
large place at ell, being of rather limited
area, only extending from Seventh street
road, now dignified with the name of
Georgia avenue, westward to Sherman
avenue, and from Grant avenue-now
Barry place-northward for several
blocks. Here, everybody had one or more
COWS and as many pigs and geese as
they could afford to keep, and as for
dogs and goats, it would have taken
some one with tabulating machine to
have arrived at the correct number.
There were many horses, too, in this
community, for where q few peddled
their milk by hand, the majority, with
very large routes, were compelled to
rely upon teams.
People who lived in Cowtown were as
law-abiding as citizens of any other Sec
ton. They knew how physically to pro-
tect their own interests, and never hesi-
tated to do so. In this connection, 1t
was always an interesting day-and that
day was a frequent one-when Pound
master Sam Einstein swooped down on
the animals running at large here. They
then forgot their loyalty to Government
and just blew the lid right of.
Sixty-five years ago Ninth street was
not cut through north of Barry place and
Eighth street was called Wright road
above Barry place. Down Sherman ave-
nue., or perhaps paralleling it in places,
ran Reedy Branch, along the course Of
which a number of slaughterhouses were
located. This stream had its source some-
where to the north and flowed down the
east side of Sherman avenue In q
narrow deep cut it made In the ground.