Existing comment:
Samuel E. Pomeroy, Senator from Kansas, ca 1865:
Selling land to former slaves in the vicinity of Washington was met with great resistance from the white population. General Howard had to use intermediaries to effect the purchase. Both Senator Pomeroy and John Elvans were part fo the committee that that set up the Barry Farm development. They would be memorialized in the names of streets in the new development.
Notice of the Sale of Barry Farm, Evening Star, April 26, 1867:
John R. Elvans, a prosperous Washington businessman, acquired the tract (held in trust for the Freedmen's Bureau) where the new development for freedmen would be built. This is probably the first time the name Barry Farm was used in the context of the new development. Notice that the proceeds of the sale were to be used to build colleges for freedmen. Some of the money was used to build Howard University in Washington DC.
General O.O. [Oliver Otis] Howard, ca 1860:
General Howard issued Special Order 61 on April 23, 1867, to "relieve the immediate housing needs of Freedmen" in Washington DC; this special order created Barry Farm. |