Vaucluse Plantation – West Ashley – Charleston County

Basic Information

• Location – Ashley River, West Ashley, St. Andrew's Parish, Charleston County

  Original plantation lands were located off Highway 61.
  

• Origin of name – Named after a town in France
  

• Other names – ?

• Current status – ?

Timeline

• 1677 – Earliest known date of existence

  Captain Henry Bryan was issued a grant for 1,100 acres (2, p. 13).
  

• 1678 – Captain Henry Bryan must have abandoned the land. It was then issued to Jonathan Fitz (2, p. 13).
  

• ? – James Stanyaine, a descendant of Jonathan Fitz, owned the property.
  

• 1786 – James Stanyaine died. In his will he left the plantation to his wife, Ann Wragg Stanyaine. He directed her to build a two-story wooden house 20 feet wide and 45 feet long. It is not known if the house was ever built (2, p. 13).
  

• 1791 – Thomas Middleton purchased 354 acres of Vaucluse. There seems to have been some sort of dispute in dividing James Stanyaine's estate (2, p. 13).
  

• ? – Thomas Middleton built a house on his property. He lived there with his wife and children until he died in 1797.
  

  His daughter, Ester Middleton Izard, eventually came to own the plantation (2, p. 13).
  

• 1809 – Anne Middleton, Thomas Middleton's widow, celebrated the marriage of her son, Arthur, to Alicia Russell (1).
  

• 1819 – Ester Middleton Izard died. she left Vaucluse to her son, Ralph Stead Izard (2, p. 13).
  

• ? – Thomas B. Clarkson owned the property (2, p. 13).
  

• 1845 – Henry A. Middleton purchased Vaucluse. It consisted of 431 acres (2, p. 13).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 1,100 in 1677; 354 in 1791; 431 in 1845
  

• Primary crop – ?

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Captain Henry Bryan; Thomas B. Clarkson; Jonathan Fitz; Ester Middleton Izard; Ralph Stead Izard; Henry A. Middleton; Thomas Middleton; Ann Wragg Stanyaine; James Stanyaine
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• ?

References & Resources

1. Nathaniel Russell House: Celebrating a Wedding in 1809 - a summary of the wedding of Arthur Middleton and Alicia Russell - see pop-up windon
   

2. Rosina Sottile Kennerty, Plantations on the South Side of Ashley River (Charleston, SC: The Nelson Printing Corporation, 1983)
    Order Plantations on the South Side of Ashley River