92 Tradd Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Purchased by Mrs. Eliza Seymour Lee in 1835
This 1762 house was purchased from members of the Dewar family by Eliza Seymour Lee in 1835. The daughter of famed Charleston cook Sally Seymour, Eliza Lee was a renowned and highly successful pastry chef in her own right. Together with her husband John Lee, a tailor and savvy businessman, Eliza owned and operated multiple dining establishments in Charleston before the American Civil War. From 1840 through 1851, the couple collaborated in running four establishments: The Mansion House on Broad Street (1840-’45), the Lee House (1845-’48), the Jones Hotel (1848-’50), and the Moultrie House on Sullivan’s Island (1850-’51).
At 92 Tradd, John Lee and Eliza Seymour Lee allowed various Charleston area societies to rent the Dewar House for meetings. Eliza Lee also took in boarders and vended pastries, cakes, and savory pies to the public at this site.