DEVEREUX, JOHN HENRY

 

• Born in Wexford in 1840,  John Henry Devereux  came to the U.S. in 1860 and after some years as a craftsman, established himself as a designer of residential and institutional buildings in Charleston. He built up a clientele that included local churches (of all denominations) and public building projects. 

• Although the dominant Irish church architect Patrick Keeley was retained to design the original Catholic Cathedral of St. John and Finbar in 1848 and its current replacement over forty years later, Devereux was commissioned by Bishop Patrick Lynch to design and supervise the interim or pro-cathedral completed in 1864 after fire destroyed its predecessor. 

• Devereux was also responsible for (among other buildings) St. Matthew's Lutheran Church on Marion Square, and the Freemason's Hall in King Street. The U.S. Post Office/Federal Court building at the junction of Meeeting and Broad Streets, was undertaken in 1887 at a time when he was also a superintending architect of the U.S. Treasury.

• He is believed to have been responsible for the design and construction of tens of commercial and residential buildings in Charleston, as well as operating an extensive building supplies and lumber operation.

• As a resident of Sullivan's Island, where he owned the impressive 'Moultrieville' overlooking the beach, he was involved in the design and construction of the Stella Maris Church.

• He lived and worked at his  Wentworth Street address, just down the street from St. Peter's Catholic Church which he also designed, and a few blocks from where his compatriot and fellow-architect James Hoban had established himself sixty years before. He died in 1920. 

 

ENGLAND, BISHOP JOHN

 

• Son of a prosperous Cork City merchant, Bishop John England was educated in Protestant schools and served as an apprentice lawyer before studying for the priesthood. An eminent thinker and theologian, his early ministry included periods as chaplain, schools inspector, college head and newspaper editor. 

• At the age of 34, he took on a diocesan territory that included both of the Carolinas and Georgia. One of his first acts was to seek a location for a cathedral that would provide a focal point for his ministry and administration in the vast new territory, and also complement St. Mary's Church in serving the growing Catholic community in Charleston.

• The site he chose, at the corner of Broad and Legare (Friend) Streets, was formerly known as Vaux Hall Gardens. By the early 1800s it was the disused site; it had most recently been a public pleasure garden promoted by a French entrepreneur.

• Purchased by Bishop England in 1821, the dwelling house thereon became his residence. A 4000 sq. ft. wooden 'cathedral' dedicated to St. Finbarr was built alongside and other property acquired nearby as church needs – for education and priestly training – grew. 

• John England brought to his ministry a unique ability to unite warring factions and right social wrongs. He founded schools for black and white children, established a local religious order of sisters that endures to the present day, set up a society for Catholic working men, promoted an anti-duelling society, and launched the first Catholic newspaper in the United States. 

• His speaking and writing abilities, and his strong views on controversial issues in church-state relations made him a national figure. His international standing was reflected in Papal missions to Haiti and Europe. He was universally lamented when he died in 1842 at the age of 56. 

 

FOGARTY, Philip (Businessman), Simon Sr. (Retailer), Simon Jr. (Co-founder of the fraternity Pi Kappi Phi, educator and probation officer): See FEATURES