11 Jacob's Alley

The earliest known owner of the land on which Jacob’s Alley would be laid upon is John Clifford. Sometime before 1763 it is recorded that Clifford “cut the alley through his lands, between King and Archdale streets.” Further research suggests that Clifford did not create this alley before 1742 based off the Grand Model Plat created in that year. In John L. E. W. Shecut’s topographical essay of Charleston, he states that in 1743 the city limits were enlarged which included Clifford’s alley, which ran “from King-street north of Queen-street.”

This alley is first illustrated in the 1788 iconography map of Charleston created by Edmund Petrie for the Phoenix Fire Company of London. This map indicates the eight foot wide alley as being referred to as Bottle Alley. Furthermore, this map depicts the south side of the alley, on which 11 Jacob’s Alley is located, as being densely packed with structures. These structures are most likely associated with the large German settlement that developed following the alley’s establishment in the 1740s. This high concentration of Germans resulted in this area of the city to be known as “Dutch-Town.”

The basis for the 18th century name Bottle Alley is not well known. However, a 1949 newspaper article suggests that “during the Revolution, when British soldiers used the Unitarian church for stabling their horses and the grounds for camping, soldiers tossed their bottles over the fence into the alley.” Official city documents refer to the alley as Cliffords Alley according to a property conveyance that occurred on the alley in 1793.

It remains Cliffords Alley for roughly the next three decades when between 1818 and 1830 a name change occurs. Based on property conveyances that were made during this period it can be observed that Cliffords Alley changes to Clifford Alley. By 1852, this change is documented in the Bridgens and Allen’s map of Charleston. This map additionally reveals that a majority of the south side of the alley is virtually barren. However, the ward book for 1852 suggests the contrary. In fact, there appears to be an abundance of two story wood structures that are located along the alley. The quality and appearance of these buildings located near the corner of Archdale and Clifford Alley, including 11 Jacob’s Alley, were primarily two story wooden sheds. The architectural quality of these structures is particularly interesting considering that by 1861, all but one resident on the alley was enslaved.

Unfortunately for the enslaved residents of Clifford’s Alley, many would be displaced by the Great Fire of 1861. This fire ravaged through the neighborhood, ultimately destroying many of their makeshift wooden homes. Both the fire and its timing, being at the start of the American Civil War effectively stalled any rebuilding efforts. By 1871, Clifford’s Alley slowly became populated with structures, however, it would never return to pre-fire conditions. The parcel of land on which 11 Jacob’s Alley sits can be observed in Lamble’s 1882 map, being the lot which measures 34 feet by 46 feet. As the alley slowly began to build up throughout the 1870s and 1880s, efforts to improve living conditions in the alley were taken by the city. In 1890, city council adopted a petition to install “electric light in Clifford’s alley.” City councilman J. Fred Lilienthal likely had a large influence on its approval as he had personal connections with the alley, owning the property next to 11 Clifford Alley. The installation of “small incandescent light[s]” in the alley way presumably took place following its adoption in May 1890.

Throughout the remainder of the 19th and into the 20th century, the alley officially retains the name Clifford Alley. During this same period however, the nuanced name of Bottle Alley was unable to evaded. Between 1873 and 1957, the alley was frequently referred to it as Bottle Alley by the city newspaper, the Charleston News and Courier. One theory for why the alley retains the name Bottle alley for such a long period of time is its connotation and usage by the African American community who largely inhabited the street. Another indication of why it many have garnered this name, and the living conditions of its residence can be observed in a letter written by Mrs. C. T. Patrick to Mr. Charles Middleton, Chairman of the Police Commission in 1940.

Further description of the alley in 1952 illustrate it as having a “muddy street, overflowing drains, crowded privies and dilapidated houses” which would “harbor only poverty and violence as long as it remained unkempt.” It was even suggested in a “Letter to the Editor” column published in January 1951 that the “slum areas” of the alley could be transformed into a city owned parking lot to alleviate the parking issues in the city. While the alley was unofficially referenced as Bottle Alley throughout the 20th century, it would officially be changed in early 1939. In February of that year, the city council approved a report to change a number of street names on the peninsula, including Clifford Alley. This adoption officially changed the name of the alley to Jacob’s Alley. While this name change occurred on paper, actual acknowledgement of Jacob’s Alley does not begin to take shape until around the early 1950s.

Beginning in the early 1950s, the area around Clifford Alley was regarded as the slum area of Charleston which garnered the attention of Rev. Rhys Williams, pastor at the Unitarian Church. Rev. Williams belief of “a working, not just talking, religion” underpinned the efforts of the congregations to clean up the slums of Bottle Alley. Early efforts taken by the church in early 1952 resulted in Clifford Alley getting paved and having lighting installed within six months. Additionally, the church purchased an overcrowded tenement house that was “unfit for human habitation” on the north side of the alley which was torn down around 1957 as part of their rehabilitating efforts. Despite these drastic changes, African Americans living on Clifford Alley seemed to “enthusiastically” support the work done by the church to improve the state of the alley.

By the 1970s, use of the name Jacob’s Alley became more widespread as it had still been referenced as Clifford Alley throughout the three decades following its official name change. By this time as well, no major changes to the alley or its evolution had taken place. Today the alley is mainly occupied by parking lots and a few remaining residential structures, including 11 Jacob’s Alley.

John Clifford is the earliest known owner of the large tract of land in Charleston in which 11 Jacob’s Alley is located. While it is unknown when he acquired the property, his ownership of the land in 1743 suggests that he was most likely the first person to own the land. In his will, written around the time of his death in 1764, Clifford divided his estate to his wife and heirs. While his sons received larger plantation tracts in St. Andrew’s parish and lands around Clifford Street, he left to his daughters the “Lotts and buildings in Cliffords Alley.” His daughters, S. Piggot, Elizabeth, Frances, and Mary received various numbered lots corresponding to the plat created for the alley. Unfortunately, this plat was unable to be located, however Clifford’s will suggests that it was twenty-eight lots in total.

Of the lots bestowed unto his daughters, it is believed that Elizabeth Clifford received the land on which 11 Jacob’s Alley is. In 1760, Elizabeth married Thomas You, a well-regarded silversmith in Charleston who owned various properties in the area. In August of 1793, Elizabeth You sold a lot of land to Francis Bonneau for one hundred pounds “current money.” This lot measured 59’ 6” along the alley and was approximately 46’ deep. In 1802, Francis Bonneau dies, leaving his estate divided among his wife Sarah and his children. John E. Bonneau, one of Francis’s sons, inherits the property that was conveyed to his father by Elizabeth You. In July 1816, John Bonneau sells this property to John Roche for $3500. Roche owns this property for a brief period and in 1818 he sells the property to William Lance for $550.

From this conveyance in 1818, the ownership of the property is unknown. However, in 1855, Thomas W. Malone establishes a mortgage for the property through Thomas N. Gadsden, a very prolific land owner in Charleston during this period. In the mortgage agreement dated October 23, 1855, Malone ensures the repayment of Thomas Gadsden for the sum of $450 for the property on Clifford’s Alley.

The earliest documentation of a building located on the property of 11 Jacob’s Alley is in 1852. This structure, described as a two story wooded shed was occupied by enslaved residents who inhabited the entirety of the alley. The structure itself was built up to the alley and the backside of the structure was roughly fifteen feet six inches from the alley as illustrated in the 1856 City Engineers Map. Like the rest of the alley, this structure was likely destroyed in the 1861 fire and never rebuilt. In March of 1864, Thomas Malone dies intestate, leaving his property to no heirs. For nearly two decades, this property remains vacant and unclaimed by any heirs of Malone. This stagnate condition of the property is evident in Henry S. Lamble’s 1882 map of Charleston which illustrates it as an empty lot.

In early 1883, the Charleston County Court of Common Pleas issued a notice in the Charleston News and Courier on “the matter of the escheat of the property of Thomas W. Malone.” Among the properties listed was that on the south side of Clifford’s Alley. This proclamation gave individuals twelve months to make their claim of being an heir to Thomas Malone. Seeing as no one claimed such, the property was escheated to Charleston County. On February 16, 1888, the property was sold to Samuel L. Sanders for $510. Over the next two decades, it remains vacant as illustrated in Sanborn Maps from 1884, and 1888.

It is not until 1892, when the property is finally developed by William S. Holmes who builds a two story wood structure at 11 Clifford Alley for $500. This house is believed to be the current building located at 11 Jacob’s Alley. The first time this structure is visually documented is on the 1902 Sanborn Map. This map verifies that it is a 2 story wooden structure with an attached piazza and a small, one story square addition added on the rear of the building. Over the next five decades, no structural changes occurred to the overall plan to the house.

These Sanborn Maps are dated 1884, 1888, 1902, and 1955 respectively

One of the first known black owners of 11 Clifford Alley was Samuel L. Sanders. Sanders acquired the property in 1888 from Charleston County for $510 following its escheatment from Thomas W. Malone in 1884. Sometime in the late-1880s, Sanders sold the property to William F. Holmes. This transfer of property occurs by at least 1890, however, formal documentation of this transaction was not recorded until 1894. With hopes of increasing the value of his property, Holmes began to construct a two-story wooden house at 11 Clifford Alley in 1892. He utilized this structure as a tenement house which he rented out exclusively to African Americans. In 1894, Charles S. Halston and James Rainey, were recorded in the City Directory as being the first two individuals residing at the property. Halston, worked for T. M. Bristol & Son as a porter while Rainey, was employed as a coachman. The improvements made to this property by Holmes are illustrated in its assessed tax values. In 1892, it was assessed at $350. The following year, presumably after the completion of the house, it was reassessed at $500.

In 1895, three new residents had moved into the house. They included Thomas McNeill, Isaac Campbell, and Daniel Ferguson. McNeill was employed as a laborer, Campbell worked as a butler for J. L. Murdoch, and Ferguson was employed by Shepard Laboratory as a porter. The next year, Samuel Williams, who worked as a carpenter, was documented as living at the property. The following year in 1897, Augustus Elfe and his wife, Clement Beckett, and Nellie Evans were all listed as living at 11 Clifford Alley. Elfe was employed as a waiter, Beckett worked for Molony & Carter as a porter, and Evans worked as a nurse. As of 1898, only two individuals were recorded as living at the residence, Peter Jones, and his wife Lucy. While Peter worked as a huckster, an ad in the Charleston News and Courier suggests that his wife Lucy worked as a family washer. Holmes assessed tax value of the property in 1898 reveals that it had increased to $525.

In 1899, three more residents, Michael Giles, Daniel Holmes, and Charles Small were listed at 11 Clifford Alley. Giles and Small both worked as laborers while Holmes was a baker. Around the beginning of the 20th century, the race of the individuals residing at 11 Clifford Alley becomes obscured. The three known African Americans who resided at the property shortly after 1900 are Conrad Washington and J. William Hammond and his wife Minnie in 1901 and 1902 respectively. Washington worked as a waiter and Hammond was a laborer. Throughout the 1890s, the African Americans who occupied this property never live there for an extended period of time as they typically only appear in a city directory for any given year.

In 1904, Holmes sells the property to Hancke F. Wagener. In keeping with the trend set forth by Holmes, Wagener continues to rent the property out to African Americans, while he himself was white. Throughout the 1900s, Wagener continues to rent out the property to various African American families. The individuals who he rents to between 1904 and 1924 include, Thomas and Clara Peters, Joseph, Mary and Isaac Simmons, John, and Sara Smith, Annie Francis, Sarah Smith, Edward Roper, Caesar Smith, Edward and Maggie Washington, Sarah Howard, John and Mary Simmons, Gladys Simmons, Caesar and Sarah Smith, John and Mary Williams, Sarah Howard, James and Christiana Brown, James and Sarah Howard, Martha Powers, Florence Simmons, Florence Brown, James Fields, Rebecca Simmons, John Fields, Joeseph Simmons, Rebecca Simmons, David Jones and Marie Jones.

In 1924, Hancke Wagener sells the property to Rosa C. (Cantwell) Hills. Assuming the role bestowed upon her, Hills continues to rent out the property to African American families. The individuals who she rents to between 1924 and 1946 include, James and Sarah Howard, Titus and Mary Jenkins, Joseph Simmons, Margaret Ford, John J. and Bertha Jackson, Lorena Smalls, Maybell Mitchell, Sarah Hubbard, James and Rosa Brown, Mary Titus, Zack, Marie and Sarah Blake, Margaret Duncan, John Jenkins, Beatrice Whitlock, Isabella Drayton, Frank Drayton, Ella Wright, Edward Nelson, Ella Belle Drayton.

An interesting example of the existence of vice in the Holy City is revealed through one of the tenants who lived at 11 Clifford Alley. Frank Drayton was one of eight men apprehended by Charleston City Police detectives following a raid at a gambling party at 49 State Street. It was not noted if Drayton received any sort of monetary penalty or jail time, however, the early treatment of gambling houses suggests that at most he was fined a small sum of money. Earlier in the century, gambling along with other forms of vice such as blind tigers and brothels “ran rampant” in Charleston. This caliber of activity in a city deemed to be “holy” only made its reference as the “‘Second Gomorrah’” more ironic. One of the reasons for its proliferation was the lack of enforcement by the city’s police department. During this earlier period, gambling house owners were typically allowed to continue their operations after being arrested “for show” and required to pay “relatively small ‘fines.’” While Drayton’s arrest is a later example of this, it still speaks to the fact that vice continued to plague the Holy City.

Rosa Hills eventually sells the property in 1946 to Rose I. and Margaret Q. Speissegger for $1,600. While the sisters only own this property for two years, their ownership marks a significant first. Following their acquisition of the house, the property ceases its long term use as a rented space which primarily accommodated African Americans. This marks a significant point in the property’s history as it reflects the transition of the house from a rental unit to a residential home. This extended period of African American presence at 11 Clifford Alley reflects the broader trend demographically of this alley. This landscape contained a high concentration of African Americans living in and around Clifford Alley through the late 19th and early 20th century. While at times these conditions generated less desirable living conditions, as demonstrated in Mrs. C. T. Patrick’s 1940 complaint letter, it also aided in the cultivation of the Gullah Geechee culture. Such culture was able to endure and thrive in this environ, producing such rhymes which reference a key component of the culture, Bottle Alley.

In the latter half of the 20 ^th  century, 11 Jacob’s Alley was owned by one woman, Mary Alexander. Mary lived at the property with husband Henderson, her eight children and an older house maid, Josephine Smalls. Mary’s children, Nathanial, Helen, Carrie, Sonnie, Johnie, Mary Louise, Henderson, Edward Sonnie ranged in ages from just a few months to sixteen. The Civil Rights Movement of the mid-century had a fascinating effect on the Alexander Family. Four of Mary’s children, Henderson Jr., Eddie, and Cassanda and Gerald, among others were represented by Matthew J. Perry, a lawyer from Columbia, in local efforts to de-segregate the Charleston County Public School System. Over the course of 1961 and 1963, six African American lawyers, NAACP officials, and school administrators grappled with each other to develop a “plan for desegregating the public school system of Charleston County.” Such intensive efforts seemed to have paid off as both Cassandra and Gerald Alexander would be attending fourth grade at the previously all white Memminger School for the 1963-1964 school year. Despite this significant feat for African American education, Henderson Alexander Jr. seems to have dropped out of school around 1963.

For Henderson Jr., this failure to complete his schooling would be just the start of his life of crime. The earliest report of Henderson’s criminal activity occurred in 1969 when he was arrested for “carrying [an] unlawful weapon.”  Two short months later, he, Eugene Gilliard and Bernard Taylor were charged with the of “assault and rape” of a “19-year-old Logan Street woman.”  The following year, he pled guilty to the “assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature” and was placed on three years probation.  In 1971, Henderson was again arrested. However, this time he was “accused of having… 16 bags of heroin and two packets of marijuana” in his possession when stopped by city detective M.D. Powell.  He was sentenced for two years in jail late in the year for this offense. In late 1976 and early 1977, Henderson was charged with multiple armed robberies at various stores and shops in the city. In August of 1977, he, and Leon Jones both plead guilty to “four separate armed robberies.” They both received “two concurrent 25-year sentences for their parts in the robberies.”

            As for Mary, it seems like she prided herself in the upkeep of her house at 11 Jacob’s Alley. Various building permits issued to her between 1972 and 1987 indicate that she completed numerous exterior repairs and renovations. One particular permits reveals that she had the roof replaced in October 1981.  Other repairs include painting the exterior of the structure, repairing the siding, and completing repairs on both stories of the piazza.  Mary Alexander passed away on May 19, 1988, and her property was later conveyed to her son John Alexander in 1990. The property has subsequently been transferred to John’s wife, Bertha Alexander in 1999.