City Directories and History: WILLIAM HARVEY HOUSE
Constructed circa 1728; altered circa 1800, 1837; renovated 1981, 1983
“Escaping the great fires of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 110 Broad Street stands as an example of a relatively intact pre-Revolutionary structure. The merchant’s house plan follows that of 92 Broad Street and other large dwellings of the pre-1740 period with a front office entry and a chambered rear stair hall ascending to a second story dominated by a large front drawing room and smaller withdrawing room. The house is composed of thick
masonry walls accentuated by corner quoins and rises three stories to a bellcast hipped roof, pierced by large chimneys with corbeled caps. The Harveys, the builders, leased this substantial dwelling to royal governor James Glen from 1743 to 1756. Notable exterior changes were made about 1800, including the Neoclassical fan lighted front door with delicate gouge work surround and the wrought-iron balcony. The yard includes a variety of former dependencies, with a Gothic style carriage house on a garden lot subdivided by the second owners, the Izards, from the Lining property in 1796, a privy and kitchen building with original cooking fireplace, bake oven, and warming oven. Ralph Stead Izard sold the house in 1837 to his aunt Mary and her husband, Ambassador Joel Poinsett, famous for bringing the poinsettia back from Mexico. The Poinsetts lived here for many years and added several Italian marble mantels to the interior before selling to Judge Mitchell King.”
Information from: The Buildings of Charleston – J.H. Poston for the Historic Charleston Foundation, 1997
“This three story stuccoed brick house was built by William Harvey, c. 1728, after in that year selling to Charles and Elizabeth Hill his house at Broad and King (the Lining House, now 106 Broad). Harvey is identified in the 1728 deed as a butcher, but in his will dated 1739, he called himself, “gentleman,” a progression in status which illustrates the fluidity of South Carolina society at the time. Ralph Izard, a planter,
purchased the property in 1756. His descendant, Ralph Stead Izard, sold the property in 1837 to his uncle and aunt, Joel Roberts Poinsett and
Mary Poinsett (the former Mrs. John Julius Pringle); she was a granddaughter of Ralph Izard. Poinsett is best known, not because he was for many years in Congress, Minister to Mexico and U.S. Secretary of War, but because the Poinsettia is named for him. The Poinsetts sold in 1858 to Judge Mitchell King, a municipal judge and for many years a trustee of the College of Charleston. The property remained in Judge King’s family into the 20th century. One of his family who lived in the house was the Hon. George D. Bryan, Mayor of Charleston. The plan of the house is a symmetrical and similar to those of other early Charleston houses, especially the George Everleigh House, 39 Church St., but Harvey’s house is on a larger scale and the finish is more elaborate. The wrought iron balcony is a notable feature of the facade. The entrance surround has the attenuated proportions and delicate decoration of the Adamesque period and therefore represents an alteration. Other changes included the addition of two marble mantelpieces in the drawing room, brought from Italy by Mrs. Poinsett. In the rear are two outbuildings, including one in the Gothic Revival style.” (Stockton, DYKYC, June 26, 1978; Stoney, This is Charleston, 16. Smith & Smith, Dwelling Houses, 249-253; Simons & Lapham, 78-79.) – CCPL
Be sure to read the data on the Izard family connections to S.C.’s upcountry counties; Lancaster and York under the More Information link found under the primary image.
Other sources of interest: Charleston Tax Payers of Charleston, SC in 1860-61 and the Dwelling Houses of Charleston by Alice R.H. Smith – 1917 The HCF may also have additional data at: Past Perfect and further research can be uncovered at: Charleston 1861 Census Schedule or The Charleston City Guide of 1872
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