Eliza Seymour Lee
Eliza Seymour Lee (1800–1874), was an American pastry chef and restaurateur.[1]
She was the daughter of the famous pastry chef Sally Seymour. In 1823, she married the free colored tailor John Lee (d. 1851).
She took over her mother's business in 1824, and expanded it to eventually managing four restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina: The Mansion House on Broad Street (1840–1845), Lee House (1845–1848), Ann Deas' Jones Hotel (1848–1850) and Moultrie House on Sullivan’s Island (1850–1851).
She was one of the most successful businesswomen in Charleston alongside her rival Théonie Rivière Mignot. As her mother before her, she was often hired to cater to the private functions hosted by the private societies of the Charleston planter aristocracy, most notably the annual banquet of the during race week. Her success was uncommon for a free coloured woman in Prewar South. She retired in 1861.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, Forging Freedom: Black Women and the Pursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston
This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Swedish. (June 2019) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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- 1874 deaths
- 1800 births
- 19th-century American businesswomen
- 19th-century American businesspeople
- Pastry chefs
- African-American businesspeople
- American bakers
- Black slave owners in the United States
- American hoteliers