City Directories and History: The Victorian single house at 116 Queen Street was built in 1884 by Augustus Stanhope Johnson to replace antebellum buildings that had been destroyed in a fire more than 20 years earlier.
The property had belonged to Rebecca Singellton-Coachman-Smith.[1] She died in January 1814 and left the property[2] first to her daughter Mary Coachman (Mrs. Benjamin Allston) for life and then afterward to her granddaughters (but not grandsons) by her other daughter, Rebecca Coachman (Mrs. James William Gadsden):[3] Mary Gadsden[4] (Mrs. Joseph Ferguson Bee), Rebecca Gadsden[5] (Mrs. John L. Holmes), and Ann Gadsden (Mrs. Johnson).[6]
The early history of the former house is unclear.[7] The will of Mrs. Singellton-Coachman-Smith did not specifically refer to a house as part of her estate although the language of later deeds could be read as suggesting that the house was standing when she died. If not, the house might have been built as a rental by her daughter Mrs. Coachman-Allston during her life-estate in the property. Regardless, there is no indication that Mrs. Coachman-Allston ever lived in the house (and given her ties to Georgetown, South Carolina, she almost certainly did not). Rather, by at least the time of the 1850 census, the earlier house was occupied by the Blain family of Irish immigrants: S.E.L. Blain (35 years old, female), Henrietta Blain (21), Joseph Blain (18), and Louisa T. Blain (14). Listed at the same address (but likely a different building) were black residents Peter (35) and Sophy (30) Cambridge. Tax records listed the house as a two-story, wooden house at least by 1852.
Perhaps because of the death of Mrs. Coachman-Allston in 1859 and the transfer of the house to her nieces, a lease was officially recorded for the house. The premises were leased to teacher Louisa T. Blain[8] for five years at $200 a year starting on July 1, 1859.[9] Then, the new owners sold the house and lot (35 by 170) for $2000 to Ms. Blain on April 7, 1860 (but the sale was not recorded until her own sale of the property 23 years later).[10] According to the 1860 census, Ms. Blain operated a boarding house.
The timing of Ms. Blain’s purchase was terrible. Whatever house was there was destroyed by the great fire of December 1861 which “laid in ashes” everything from Meeting Street to the Sisters of Mercy on the corner of Logan Street.[11] The house was not rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1861. In 1881 and 1882, the tax records still showed a lot of 34 by 170 with no buildings and a value of just $600.
For a short time the lot was subdivided into a larger front portion and a smaller rear piece. The Catholic Church bought the 110 foot southern portion bounding on Queen Street on August 13, 1880 for $600.[12] The Church sold the same portion of the property to King Street clothier Augustus Stanhope Johnson[13] on July 23, 1883 for $1125.[14] On the same day, Ms. Blain sold the remaining rear of the property to Mr. Johnson for $100.[15]
A newspaper notice in January 1884 reported that Mr. Johnson was building a two-and-a-half story frame house and specifically referred to the bay window[16] even though the June 1888 Sanborn maps did not include that feature. The value of the 34 by 170 foot parcel escalated from $600 for the empty lot to $2300 with the new house. The Charleston single house includes many decorative elements involving turned and milled woodwork including a decorative piazza door cap, turned balusters, bracketed eaves, and fanciful bargeboard along the forward gable.

1940 Sanborn Map Diagram
Mr. Johnson never seems to have lived in the house, instead using it as a rental house: John H. Muller occupied the house at least from 1886 to 1890, and then grocer Michael S. Klinck was there 1891 to 1897.
When Mr. Johnson died in 1892, he left the house to his son Eugene Ward Johnson by will.[17] After continuing the tenancy of Mr. Klinck for a few years, Mr. Eugene Johnson lived in the house from at least 1898 to 1932 with his extended family including, at times, members of the Mercier and Deveraux families. Perhaps familiarity with crowded conditions in the house led the owners to use the house as a forerunner of an AirBnB facility; the house was advertised as possible place for the housing of up to five tourists visiting Charleston during the fair in 1912.[18] A garage was added in 1933 to the back of the lot; it was shown in the 1940 updated version of the Sanborn maps.[19]
Mr. Eugene Ward died at his house on March 2, 1940, at 80 years old. For 35 years he had been a banker with the First National Bank and the Peoples National Bank, working his way up to be the manager of the uptown branch of the Peoples Bank.[20] His widow, Frances Gaillard Johnson, remained in the house with her extended family[21] until she sold it to stenographer Ernestine E. Waltjen for $6500 on October 9, 1940.[22]
Only a few months later, Miss Waltjen sold the house to Reubin Feldman for $7850 on July 11, 1941.[23] The house was converted into a rental property by either her or Mr. Feldman, apparently one unit per floor. The house was advertised as having two large apartments and one small apartment when Mr. Feldman was selling the house.[24] Between 1940 and 1951, many renters occupied the house for short stays, but there is no evidence that it was owner-occupied at all during that time.
Iva B. Keller[25] bought the house from Mr. Feldman on April 6, 1951 for $9750.[26] During the Kellers’ ownership, the house returned somewhat to owner-occupancy; the Kellers lived in a portion of the house and rented other parts out as apartments. Mrs. Keller’s husband, shipping clerk Robert John Keller, died in March 1956 at the house, but Mrs. Keller remained for nearly forty years.
Mrs. Keller died on July 29, 1994, and the Kellers’ four children, Elizabeth K. Wright, Wiley R. Keller, Frances K. Barsh, and Roberta Weingarten, inherited the house on March 8, 1995.[27] Two of the siblings, however, did not remain long as co-owners; Elizabeth K. Wright and Frances K. Barsh got the one-fourth interest from Wiley R. Keller on February 15, 1996,[28] and Roberta conveyed to them her one-quarter interest too.[29] Those two transfers were done to straighten out a mistake the children had made in filing the deed of distribution in 1994. Mrs. Wright made the house her home.
Co-owner Frances Barsh died on December 22, 2005, and her share in the house passed to Douglas R. Barsh and Ronald K. Barsh on February 4, 2008.[30] When the other co-owner, Mrs. Elizabeth Wright, died on January 20, 2016, her one-half interest in the house was split on November 16, 2016 between Terrace Wright Henderson of Greenwood, South Carolina and L. Sloan Wright of Awendaw, South Carolina.[31] The house was been vacant since Mrs. Wright died.
SOURCES:
[1] Mrs. Singellton-Coachman-Smith was born in 1754 in South Carolina and married Benjamin Coachman of Goose Creek in July 1774. After her first husband died in 1783, she remarried to Maj. Benjamin Smith of Goose Creek in February 1787. He died in 1790, and she did not remarry.
[2] Will book E, page 376
[3] Mrs. Rebecca Coachman was born in 1774. She married James William Gadsden in 1797 who was murdered on December 21, 1818 by the Toohey brothers, Michael and Martin. “Coroner’s Report,” City Gazette, Dec. 23, 1818, at 2.
[4] (b. March 1802; d. July 23, 1875)
[5] (b. 1804; d. 1862)
[6] When Mary married Joseph Ferguson Bee on January 22, 1822, she conveyed her interest in the property to Benjamin C. Gadsden as a trustee for her and her children. Then on December 1, 1847 (although not recorded until September 3, 1859), Anna Gadsden Johnson (a spinster) conveyed her share to her sister Rebecca Holmes for $1500. Deed book L14, page 71
[7] Deeds to Mrs. Singellton-Coachman-Smith or perhaps one of her husbands have not been located but might refer to the sale of the lot and a house to help narrow the window of possible construction dates for the earlier house.
[8] Louisa T. Blain was born in 1835 and died on July 22, 1907.
[9] Deed book Y13, page 144
[10] Deed book U18, page 778
[11] “The Great Fire—Further Particulars,” Charleston Mercury, Dec. 13, 1861, at 2; “Full List of the Losses,” Mercury, Dec. 18, 1861, at 4 (listing the house by an earlier street number of 150 Queen Street)
[12] Deed book Y18, page 265
[13] Mr. A.S. Johnson was born on January 8, 1892, and he died on December 14, 1892. Curiously, the county tax records listed Mr. Johnson as the owner of the property in 1881 and 1882; the records do not include any corrections to indicate that his name was just added when he bought the property.
[14] Deed book Y18, page 340
[15] Deed book Y18, page 341
[16] “Odds and Ends,” News and Courier, Jan. 16, 1884, at 4
[17] Will book S, page 352
[18] “Accommodations for Our Guests,” Evening Post, Nov. 16, 1912, at 9.
[19] “Building Permits,” News and Courier, Jan. 4, 1933, at 10
[20] “Eugene W. Johnson, Retired Banker, Dies,” News and Courier, March 3, 1940, at 2
[21] In the 1940 census, the residents were Mrs. Frances Johnson; her daughter, Gertrude Johnson-Cannon; her son-in-law, Dr. Joseph H. Cannon; and three grandchildren.
[22] Deed book F42, page 31
[23] Deed book R42, page 515
[24] News and Courier, Feb. 25, 1951, at 11-E
[25] Iva B. (nee Adams) Keller was born on August 13, 1903, and died on July 29, 1994. She was married to Robert Keller who was alive in 1940 and living with his family at 9 Judith Street. Robert was born on October 25, 1894, and died on March 2, 1956.
[26] Deed book R53, page 611
[27] Deed book E253, page 858
[28] Deed book J265, page 306
[29] Deed book J265, page 346
[30] Deed book G650, page 6
[31] Deed book 597, page 440
[Researched and written by Kevin R. Eberle, October 2017]
Stay Connected
Explore history, houses, and stories across S.C. Your membership provides you with updates on regional topics, information on historic research, preservation, and monthly feature articles. But remember R&R wants to hear from you and assist in preserving your own family genealogy and memorabilia.
Visit the Southern Queries – Forum to receive assistance in answering questions, discuss genealogy, and enjoy exploring preservation topics with other members. Also listed are several history and genealogical researchers for hire.
User comments welcome — post at the bottom of this page.
Please enjoy this structure and all those listed in Roots and Recall. But remember each is private property. So view them from a distance or from a public area such as the sidewalk or public road.
Do you have information to share and preserve? Family, school, church, or other older photos and stories are welcome. Send them digitally through the “Share Your Story” link, so they too might be posted on Roots and Recall.
Thanks!