Partner Virginia Douglas
Queer Places:
62 Montague Street in Charleston
Colonial
Street in Charleston
109 Rutledge Street, Charleston
Magnolia Cemetery,
Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, USA
Charlotte Elizabeth Sherfesee (September 8, 1870 - March 13, 1946) was the older sister of William Forsythe Sherfesee. With her family she moved to Charleston sometime before 1900. In the Census of that year, they were living in Ward 2 in the city, and Louis, her father, is listed as an insurance agent. Remarkably, all six children were living with the parents, and apparently none had married. Charlotte was 29 and is recorded as an office worker. Moseley was 18 and was a railroad conductor. Annie Louise, age 25, does not have an employment listed. Louis H, age 24, is an insurance agent, probably in partnership with his father. Robert Augustus, age 22, is listed as a stenographer. William F., 18, was a student. Also in the household was Charlotte's mother, Annie, sister, Sarah E. Griffith, age 55.
By the 1910 Census, the family had moved to 62 Montague Street in Charleston. The head of the household was Louis, Jr., who is listed as an insurance agent. His wife was Louise Gilland Sherfesee, and they had a daughter Louise, aged 3. Also in the household was Elizabeth, Louis’s sister, and his mother Annie. The younger couple had been married for five years and owned their house with no mortgage. The 1912 City Directory for Charleston identified Louis, Jr. as General Manager for the South Carolina Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company (Hartford, Connecticut), with offices at 26 Broad Street. His daughter, mother, and unmarried sister Charlotte Elizabeth were also in the household.
Charlotte Elizabeth Sherfesee never married. In the 1910 Census, she was living with her family at the age of 39 in the household headed by her brother Louis in Charleston. There was no work occupation recorded for her. The 1920 Census recorded her as living on Colonial Street in Charleston as the head of a household with a roommate, Virginia Douglas, who was an artist in music. In 1940, she was living at 109 Rutledge Street in a rental house. At this time she is recorded as a librarian. Since she had a limited education, having completed two years of high school, she was probably a library assistant. Her sister Louise Junker is living with her at this time as a widow aged 75.
Charlotte Elizabeth died on March 13, 1946 in Greenville, South Carolina at the age of 75. It appears that she was living with her brother Louis at The Davenport Apartments. She was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.
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