Julius M. Visanska | Sarah Bentschner Visanska
This imposing house on Charleston’s high battery is a symbol of the success reached by merchant Julius M. Visanska (1865–1933) and his wife, Sarah Bentschner (1870–1926).
When Julius moved to Charleston as a young bachelor, he boarded or rented rooms near his King Street shop. After his marriage to Sarah in 1895, they lived on the corner of Bull and Coming streets, near her parents’ house; then, in 1908, they moved into the Bentschner home at 12 Bull Street.
Sarah was already a prominent figure in Charleston’s civic life. Before her marriage she worked as a kindergarten teacher, and became an officer with the statewide kindergarten association. As president of Charleston Female Seminary Alumnae Association from 1896 until 1906, she was a leader in forming the first free kindergarten in Charleston. When the Charleston Section of the National Council of Jewish Women was organized in 1896, Sarah B. Visanska was elected its first president. Other positions followed: president of the Charleston Federation of Women’s Clubs, 1908–1911, and president of the South Carolina Federation of Women’s Clubs, 1910–1912. One of the requisites for leading a women’s club was to provide a meeting place and refreshments, and Mrs. Julius Visanska hosted meetings in her home throughout her life. She proved her capabilities when Mrs. Hugo Rosenberg, president of the National Council of Jewish Women, a 10,000-member organization, visited Charleston in 1907 (the Charleston Council had affiliated with the National Council the year before). Mrs. Rosenberg stayed in the Visanskas’ home, and they invited the local council and “members of both Jewish congregations” to an afternoon reception at their house, which has since been replaced, at 2 Bull Street.
In 1919, the Visanskas purchased a vacant lot on East Battery and retained the prominent architectural firm of Simons & Lapham to design a new residence, today’s 19 East Battery, which was completed in 1920.
Like his wife, Julius Visanska was active in social and cultural organizations in Charleston. He served as president of the Hebrew Orphan Society, and his business acquaintances chose him as the first president of Charleston’s retail merchants association, organized in 1911.
Sarah Bentschner Visanska (Mrs. Julius) (1870–1926)
First president of the Charleston Section of the National Council of Jewish Women, organized in 1896.
Article (ca. 1903) about Sarah Bentschner Visanska
From the scrapbook of Mrs. Philip Rosenberg of Abbeville, SC, it provides a description of Visanska's busy civic life. Courtesy of Ellen Marcus Smith.
19 East Battery, 2016
Former home of merchant Julius M. Visanska (1865–1933) and his wife, Sarah Bentschner (1870–1926). Photo by Jack Alterman.
Julius Visanska
Photograph taken for his season pass to the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition, 1901–1902. Courtesy of Charleston County Public Library.