A Sears Bungalow @ 5414

When my family first moved to this 1923 Sears kit bungalow, I wondered; Who lived here before we did? Was it a summer cottage or a full time house? And why were the two huge honking radiators in the crawl space the only source of heat upstairs?

I never found out the answer to that question, but by digging through old census forms, property deeds, and church records,  I was able to find out who lived here first and was thrilled to see her numbered and named in this church photo.

Nettie Correll #38

Annette Brandon Stewart was born in 1891 in Otter River, Virginia near Lynchburg. “Nettie” was one of nine children. Their mother died when Nettie was fourteen and Ben, the youngest child in the family, was four. Their father was a clerk for the railroad which may be how Nettie met both of her husbands. 

Nettie and her siblings lived on a farm with their grandmother Jennie Anthony until 1914 which was a rough year for the Stewart kids. Their father died in September, and Jennie died a few months later. That same year Nettie married a local boy, Guy Hewitt Ould who also grew up in Otter River. 

Like Nettie’s father, Guy worked for the Southern Railroad as a clerk. The Oulds and their baby girl, Mattie, moved to DC by 1917 and lived in Takoma Park. Another daughter, Nancy, was born in March of 1921 before Guy passed away two years later. He was buried back home in Otter River.

Meanwhile all seven of Nettie’s siblings had moved to Washington DC by 1920, and all five of her brothers became professional photographers. One sister even married a photographer.  

The Stewart Brothers Photography company was formed in 1924 and is still in business. One of their early jobs was filming the gardens of Dumbarton Oaks from 1929 until 1932. Nettie’s brother, Richard Stewart, became a prize winning photographer and explorer for National Geographic. 

Here is one of his famous photographs taken in Veracruz, Mexico in 1939.

Nettie, too, became a newspaper photographer after her husband passed away.  She bought this house, brand new, from the Potomac Heights Land Company in December 1923. A year later, she married David K. Correll who was listed as a boarder in the Guy Ould household in the 1920 census and worked on the railroad with Guy.  Nettie’s sister and two brothers also moved to Palisades in the 1920s.

Nettie, David and the girls were very involved with the Palisades Community Church which formed the same year Nettie bought the house. Her neighbors Mary and James Cochran, were founding church members and most certainly reached out to Nettie when she moved in. Nettie taught Sunday school and had her class over for an outing in 1927. I feel so lucky to have found this church photo taken in Nettie's back yard which looks like a casting call for "The Little Rascals."

Both David and Nettie performed in plays, and David was on the building committee, in the choir, and served as superintendent of the Sunday School. Church meetings were also held here in the house. Nancy sang in the choir and was a standout soloist. Mattie married William Eastman, “at home” on Cathedral on January 11, 1936.

Nettie and David sold the house after Mattie got married. They moved with Nancy to Arcadia Street off Western Avenue NW in 1937, but they stayed very involved with the church until they moved to Florida in the late 1950s.