james t. wormley felt as long as he could pay the price of admission, he should be able to sit where he wished. this con fliblflict was reporte the major news papapers of the . their effort to eat in a downtown restaurant was chal mged. as part of their struggle to enhance education for black, william h.a. wormley had been 2345i named to the first board of education for td.c. coloschools colored children. james t., his brother, expressed his wiyearning for further education. ultimately becoming howard university's very first graduate of any of its departments from the medical school in 1870 being the only one in its class. in 1873, many members of the wormley family clan opened bank accounts in friedman's bank at the southern end of the square even though their primary banking relationship was next door with rigs bank. one of the most famous events at the hotel was what has been commonly known as the wormley compromise. this xlo compromise was allegedly the culminating meet has gone finally brought re

james t. wormley felt as long as he could pay the price of admission, he should be able to sit where he wished. this conflict was reported in the major newspapers of the day. in another instance in their fight for civil rights, their effort to eat in a downtown restaurant was challenged. when he attempted to join his white city colleagues to dine. as part of their struggle to enhance education for blacks, william h.a. wormley had been named to the first board of education for d.c. schools for colored children. and there after, the consolidated board. during his tenure, he attempted to enroll a black child in what was a white school building near her home, rather than the colored one further away. of course, this created quite a storm, but was ultimately unsuccessful. james t., his brother x. pressed his yearning for further education by becoming a member of the inaugural class of howard university, ultimately becoming its very first graduate of any of its departments from the medical school in 1870 be

in fact james gave the ashburton name to his eldest son, william henry ashburton wormley. james and his family were among the black members of the 19th street baptist church whose white slave holding pastor was named obediahb. brown. sometimes i ponder. what must it have been like to have your religious leader, a slave holder, as with this pastor? while serving as a pastor at this church, reverend brown also served on the boards of the columbian college with william cochran and on the mercantile board with george rigs. james and his wife, anna, were actually married in 1841 by this pastor. in that the wormley family and this church, one can readily see that these great figures were and james in particular. shortly after 1850, lynch passed leaving each of the offspring to continue their personal growth in the fashion most suitable in their minds. drawing upon his skills as a nurse and catering to the rich and powerful, james became the first steward of the newly established exclusive washington club on la fayette park. based upon several newspaper accounts, his reputation gr

james and his wife were married in 1841 by this pastor. in that the wormley family and attended this church, one can readily see that these great figures were very familiar with the family and james in particular. shortly after 1850, lynch passed leaving each of his off spring to continue their personal growth in the fashion most suitable in their minds. drawing upon his skills as a nurse and catering to the rich and powerful, james became the first steward of the newly established exclusive washington club on la fayette park. based upon several newspaper accounts, his reputation grew substantially among washington elite. members of the club included jefferson davis, william corchoran, george riggs, george washington park, governor john floyd, seward and many others. the club was located in what had previously been known as the rodgers mansion adjacent to the house on madison. this house ultimately became the civil war era residence of secretary of state, william seward and one of the victims of the lincoln related assassination attempts. another story known

in honor of the memory of james wormley, an elementary school was dedicated in 1885. this building still exists and is located in georgetown on prospect and has been converted to condominiums. the hotel was continued through december 1893, first by all three sons an ultimately just by james t. wormley. this final decade was part of its greatest era of prominence. secretary blaine hosted a recession of 400. the entertainment was provided by the u.s. marine band which was conducted by america's most recognized band leader, john phillip sousa. the hotel was famous for the business and society leading sectors by having as regular patrons such persons as finance ears who had invested $15 million in u.s. railroads, august belmont and governor stanford of california.million august belmont and governor stanford of california. i ask now we reflect on how generally the role of blacks has been routinely diminished when read through the prism of the biassed attitudes of the prevailing society of the day. if we relied upon commonly held beliefs, blacks had no role except as slaves

wormley, a colored man of gentle manners and great administrative abilities. james was even an inventor and was one of the earliest blacks to receive a patent from the u.s. patent office in 1881. unfortunately, james had become ill and died in boston in 1884. this tragic turn of events was reported in almost every metropolitan paper in the nation. the funeral was held in the hotel attended by a crowd reportedly of 2,000 people. the casket was attended by 16 pal bearers of the most prominent member in the city. it was two miles long blocking traffic along h street. the remembrances of his life included comments from men like the great philanthropist, william corcoran, stating that washington had lost its best and finest citizen. many attempted to describe his character. one described how he had sent the widow of john floyd and other ladies large boxes of delicacies even when they were old and poor. another article describing ing his renowned integrity is a story where james kept a framed picture of a hack accompanied by two dishonored promissory notes over the desk i

it this property was ultimately used by james wormley to be used as yet another component in this hotel enterprise. during the 20-year period lead ing up to the civil war, the wormley family had become firmly el else -- else sconced in the hat business in the city. lynch and at least four of his sons were actively using the carriage trade as their primary business. lynch was living and operating his business on the site purchased from the cutts liquidation on e street, pier 14, with his family, right at the corner where the -- yes, the commerce building is. his eldest son, william, had been living in his house on i street for well over a decade and was listed there at least 1827. their patrons frequented the white house, capitol, various government entities and home and businesses in between. james having also been trained as a steward began to attend to the needs of most famous states men of the age. in several newspapers he's reported to have attended to