9633 Baltimore Avenue

Williaus was born in Breckenridge Hills and grew up to become a skilled carpenter, building several homes for members of the Carter family. His legacy is part of a broader family history rooted deeply in the community. Robert Carter and his wife Daphne still live nearby; Robert was a member of one of the first Black bands organized by the U.S. Navy and was stationed at Lambert Air Field, where the band performed for special events. Due to segregation, Black servicemen were restricted to playing music and denied access to other recreational facilities. When the Navy acquired a swimming pool, Black sailors were only allowed to swim on days it would be drained afterward. They were also ordered to clean a recreation hall they couldn’t use, and when they refused, the band was disbanded and Robert was reassigned to Hawaii. Most of the Reed descendants have moved away or passed on, but in 1915, Reed’s daughter and her husband, Williaus Carter Sr., built the family homestead at 9633 Baltimore Avenue. Virginia Blake, a Carter descendant, lived there, while her sister Helen Cockrell lived on Airway Avenue and Robert Carter and his wife nearby on Rex Street. Although much of the original Reed property has been sold, the family’s presence endures in subtle ways, such as the naming of DePorres Lane, land once owned by the Reeds and sold to Vatterott Real Estate Developers in the 1960s. The street honors St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian saint who founded an orphanage and hospital and ministered to Africans enslaved in Peru. Canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII, he is recognized as the patron saint of interracial justice.