Oral history interview with Raymond Davenport Fillius

Raymond Fillius, a white man born on December 18, 1888, talks about being born and raised in Anacostia when the neighborhood only had street cars and horses for transportation. Fillius mentions how the part of Anacostia he grew up in was predominately white, while African American residents lived in the Barry Farm-Hillsdale area. He remembers some contact between Hillsdale and Uniontown residents and seeing Frederick Douglass walking down Trouble Street. He discusses going to Van Buren Elementary School until the 7th grade before dropping out of school to work and attending parties and church at Emmanuel Episcopal Church where he sang in the boys' choir. Fillius discusses the typical family in Uniontown being close-knit, with the average family size around six people. He talks about how his father, Joseph W. Fillius, was from Bavaria, Germany and passed away before he turned two years old; how his mother, Mary A. Fillius, remarried and passed away in 1916; and how the neighborhood had little crime and knew most of the police officers. He ends the interview touching on the Bonus Marches and how transient the neighborhood has become. Raymond Fillius was interviewed by Wanda Dickens and French Nickens on October 01, 1975. The interview begins at 00:32:07. Digital audio files include some background noise and static; interviewee can be heard clearly for the most part.