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Carolina Lafayette

© Virginia Marin

"The hands of memory weave blissful tales of long ago," wrote George Cooper in 1877. But, are these penned tapestries of the past lore or fact? What is a fact is that many family tales are based on some tacit of a memorable happening. Such is the case of how Carolina Lafayette Seabrook acquired her name...

Now, William Seabrook was a kind, but shrude business man. He is reputed to have owned fifteen hundred slaves, and the acreage from his cotton fields produced unbelievable harvests of the beautiful white boll.

His home, Oak Island, built in 1810 was later renamed Seabrook House. It is thought that the architect for Seabrook House was Hoban, the designer of the White House in Washington. This may be lore but it is a fact that just prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century Hoban did reside in Charleston, South Carolina where he practiced his profession.

Seabrook House, bordering a tidal creek, was a beautiful plantation with formal English gardens. The family hosted many garden parties from early spring to late fall and a sunny day did not pass without tea and mint julips being enjoyed by friends and family.

It was the duty of the servants to plant, harvest and protect the mint beds so that the green pungent leaves would be available throughout the year--for throughout the year Seabrook House entertained the wealthy and the famous.

It was not unusual when, in 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette came to South Carolina on a tour of the United States, that he was a guest at Seabrook House. According to family lore, Mr. Seabrook met Lafayette while in Charleston and issued to him an invitation to be his guest on Edisto Island.

Dinner was served to a chosen few. According to tradition, at each end of an elegantly appointed table reposed a large silver tureen of diamond-back terrapin soup, which drew loud praise from Lafayette, and a request for the secret family recipe. Huge platters of venison, ham, sea-turtle steaks with finns, turkey with oyster sauce and vegetables grown on the plantation were served. Desserts of jellies, pies, syllabub and custards in tall silver casters drew smiles and accolades from the Marquis.

While the dinner party was waiting in the ballroom for the arrival of the other guests, the Reverend William States Lee, pastor of Edisto Island Presbyterian

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