John Henry Devereux
John Henry Devereux (26 July 1840 – 16 March 1920), also called John Delorey before 1860,[2][A] was an American architect and builder best known for his designs in Charleston, South Carolina. According to the National Park Service, he was the "most prolific architect of the post-Civil War era" in the Charleston area.[3] His works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. His Charleston Post Office and Courthouse has been designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
John Henry Devereux
(John Henry Delorey)
(John Henry Delorey)
26 July 1840
16 March 1920 (aged 79)[1]
Architect
postbellum Civil War
Charleston architecture
Stella Maris Church
Stevens-Lathers House
Devereux Mansion
In his career, Devereux also designed a theatre, a synagogue, a Masonic hall, and Catholic, African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, and Lutheran churches. One of the latter was the tallest building in South Carolina for over a hundred years. He blended and mixed architectural influences and styles.
Early life and family[edit]
Devereux was born on 26 July 1840 into a Catholic family in County Wexford, Ireland. His parents were Nicholas and Dorothy Delorey (as they were recorded in the United States.) In 1843, when he was three years old, his family immigrated to the United States. They settled in Charleston, South Carolina.[4] He had an older brother James and a younger brother Nicholas, Jr. born after his family was in Charleston. In the 1860 census, all three sons were still living at home: James, 22, Devereux, 20, and Nicholas, Jr., 16.[2]
In 1863 Devereux married Agatha Eulalie Brandt, an immigrant from France.[4] The 1870 Census shows Dorothy Devereux (John's mother), age 70, living with the young couple in Charleston. The household included their son John H. D. Devereux, 5, and daughter Eulalie, 3 years old. She was born in 1867, the same year that Devereux's wife died.[5]
In the 1880 census, Devereux was listed as widowed. His widowed mother Dorothy "Dolly" continued to live in his household. He was listed as a "Builder".[6]
The 1900 Census of Moultrieville, Charleston, South Carolina, shows him as divorced, which may have been an error.[7] The 1880 and 1910 Censuses recorded him as widowed.[6] Devereux's death certificate also said that he was a widower.[1]
Career[edit]
An immigrant from Ireland as a young child, Devereux grew up in Charleston. He started work as a plasterer.[8] After studying architecture under Edward C. Jones,[3][8] a well-known Charleston architect and builder,[4] Devereux became a noted architect of South Carolina's Lowcountry public buildings and churches.[8][9]
He designed and built St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in the period 1867–1872.[4] As a bonus, the church gave him a sterling silver tea set.[4]
At 255 feet, St. Matthews was the tallest building in South Carolina until 1973.
Much of Devereux's work in Charleston is proximate to the corner of Meeting and Broad streets, an area locally known as the "Four Corners of Law." The federal post office and courthouse, which he designed, exemplifies the importance of federal influence. Church and local government are additional components of the metaphor.[8][10] During British colonial rule, the future US courthouse site was the location of the gallows for public executions.
In 1885, Devereux was appointed as Superintendent of Construction and Repairs of the U.S. Treasury Department, which handled public buildings. While in that position, he designed the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Charleston. His choice of Second Renaissance Revival architecture expressed the nobility popularly "associated with public architecture" during that epoch.[8] Congress authorized funds in 1887 for construction of the Post Office and Courthouse building. Devereux, as the architect, started the design in 1890 and finished construction of the building in 1896.[8] The building was a lengthy project, completed in 1896 and costing $500,000.[8]
Military[edit]
During the American Civil War, Devereux was commissioned as a captain in the Confederate Army in 1864; he was taken prisoner on 25 February 1865. He was imprisoned in Fortress Monroe, Virginia in Casement no. 6. He was paroled 10 May 1865, a month after General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House.
Death[edit]
According to his death certificate, "Colonel" Devereux died from general arteriosclerosis with a contributing preexisting factor of "paralysis from Cerebral hemorrhage".[1] He was buried in Devereux Chapel in Charleston's Saint Lawrence Cemetery. This building was razed. A large sarcophagus with Devereux's name stands at the former site of the chapel.