Eliza Seymour Lee


Eliza Seymour Lee, was an American pastry chef and restaurateur.
She was the daughter of the famous pastry chef Sally Seymour. In 1823, she married the free colored tailor John Lee. She took over her mother's business in 1824, and expanded it to eventually managing four restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina: The Mansion House on Broad Street, Lee House, Jones Hotel and Moultrie House on Sullivan’s Island. She was one of the most successful businesswomen in Charleston alongside her rival Théonie Rivière Mignot. As her mother before her, she was often hired to cater to the private functions hosted by the private societies of the Charleston planter aristocracy, most notably the annual banquet of the South Carolina Jockey Club during race week. Her success was uncommon for a free coloured woman in Prewar South. She retired in 1861.