The Great Madame Talvande

Greetings friends, lovers, and acquaintances. Today I'm going to be doing my old charlestonian project on a lady you have read about previously on my blog. If you guessed right, then you know it's  Madame Talvande. After hours of juicy research, I found out so much about this interesting woman.

Sword Gates 

What sparked my interest in her, was reading about how her husband and her came here as refugees in the early 1800s to escape the Haitian Revolution. I thought that was extremely fascinating, because right after their escape they bought a house on 32 Lugare Street in 1819.  This very street had been named after Solomon Lugare of French Huguenot ancestry. The house was later named to be the sword house because of the gates in front of it. Although many sources state it was supposed to prevent people from getting out the gate was built prior to the Talvande's moving in.

Information on the Sword House.

Soon after moving in, Madame Talvande turned her luxurious mansion into an all girls boarding school for the wealthy daughters of cotton and rice planters. Her and her husband ran the school together up until his death on October 15, 1834. According to a blog by the name of A Cheesehead in Chucktown, "Andrew Talvande fell down in a fit in a billiard
room, was taken home, and later died."

Whaley House located next to Sword House.

Madame Talvande was known to have taught just about everything at this very school, from French to teaching the young ladies of Charleston to have manners. She was well respected in the Low-country by the aristocrats and the people of Charleston. Many people admired how she was able to turn many of the young ladies into respectable young women. While Talvande taught them to be respectable and educated women, she also ensured that they found suitable partners to marry as well. According to one of the blogs I read, she would hold elaborate balls in the ballroom and invite the wealthy young men of Charleston.

Walls of The Sword Gate.

While Madame Talvande was known to have one of the best schools in the south, it later changed when she lost control of one the girls in her custody. A young girl by the name of Maria Whaley, had snuck outside the schools gates to get eloped to the love of her life. Even though she was a wee fifteen, she had truly believed that George Morris was her soulmate. She had met other men at the ball but none had impressed her the way George did. Which is why they eloped with only two witnesses at St. Michaels on Broad and Meeting Street. While this may come across as very romantic to me and my romance lovers out there, this had been a complete disgrace to Madame Talvande's name. People around town began to wonder if she was as great as they thought. If she couldn't handle one girl, what's to say for the rest? Madame Talvande sadly never forgave herself for what happened and it is the said reason of why her ghost still haunts 32 Legare Street.

Front Porch of The Sword House

Now I'm sure you're wondering, "WELL, what happened next??" Well according to sources George came to the school asking for a Mrs. Morris, which left everyone bewildered because to them Maria was Miss. Whaley. So that very morning, Madame Talvande, lined the girls up (since Maria had snuck back in to pretend that nothing had happened) and asked for Mrs. Morris to step forward. At this very heart wrenching moment is when everyone found out that Maria had eloped the previous night. Although, this ruined the reputation of Madame Talvande she later gained respect from the towns people again soon after.

Wall is now covered with weeds.

           Madame Talvande ran her school until the year of 1849 and died November 16, 1850. It is said that her ghost still haunts the sword house because she never forgave herself for what happened that night.  According to the Scares and Haunts of Charleston you can see her spirit from the second story looking out a window in case any of her girls tried to escape. She also frequently walks throughout the house to check inside of the rooms.

courtyard 

I would like to thank of all you for staying tuned on my Charlestonian project/ ghost story I hoped you enjoyed learning a little history as well. Until next time, be safe out there.

Pictured below are some extra images.

ledger

Pictured to the left is an image of her and her husbands headstone, which just so happens to be a ledger monument. The graveyard she's buried in is located on 134 St. Philip Street is conjoined to Saint Patrick's Catholic Church. I took the liberty of searching her up through multiple platforms including blogs and several private websites.

St. Michaels Episcopal Church

Pictured to the right is the church that Maria Whaley Morris eloped to her husband George Morris.