The lot on which this colorful Queen Anne Victorian stick style home was built was sold by Julianna Hall in 1852 to Aquilla Bailey (1806-1888) and Bennett W. Charshee (1822-1902) along with the property running westward on Green Street to the corner of North Stokes Street. Julianna Hall was one of three daughters of George Washington Hall (1788-1853) and Sophia White Lewis Hall (1787-1859) who built the Hall House on South Union Avenue for their family. She also owned other investment properties, including this land.

Both Aquilla Bailey and Bennett Charshee were carpenters by trade. Aquilla served as Town Commissioner for about five years and also was the Havre de Grace Postmaster from 1869-1878. In the mid-1800s, Bennett Charshee began managing the DuBois Lumber and Planing Mill (on the water at the foot of Bourbon and Fountain Streets), which he did for the next 45 years. It is estimated that Bennett Charshee built his own home at 567 Green Street around 1852; it appears that his property originally included the land on which this house was built.

Aquilla and Martha Bailey sold their one-half interest in this land in 1881 to Bennett and Catherine Charshee and it is estimated that Charshee first built this house between 1881 and 1885. A small dwelling is shown here on the Sanborn Insurance Maps of 1885 and 1894; a larger dwelling appears on the 1899 Map; while another extension of the house is shown on the 1904 and later maps.

Bennett and Catherine Charshee owned this home until 1895 when they sold it to their son, John E. Charshee (1863-1931). Four years later, John put the house in the name of his wife, Margaret E. Charshee. It appears that the first enlargement of the house was under the ownership of John E. Charshee and possibly the second, when it was in the name of his wife, Margaret E. Charshee. It is assumed that they owned this until after John’s death in 1931 and then Margaret Charshee’s death in 1943.

By Margaret’s Will, she left her estate to her brother, Frederick Strattner Orem, and her sister, E. Marie Hopkins. However, Frederick also died in 1943 and left his estate to Elizabeth E. Orem, his widow. Hence, Elizabeth Orem of Baltimore and Marie Hopkins of New Jersey jointly sold this property in 1943 to Violet T. Ryan (1916-2005), whose husband was William L. Ryan (1920-1995).

From 1943 until 1985 this was owned by Violet Ryan. Through her attorney and son, A. Monroe Ryan, an Aberdeen Proving Ground employee, Violet sold this property to Neldon Lynn Jarvis (1931-2021) and Magdalena Gyongyi Jarvis, his wife, in 1985. They renovated the home after which it was a rental property for them because they purchased and lived in another home at 120 South Union Avenue in 1988.

In 1999, this Green Street property was deeded to Neldon Jarvis individually in a marital settlement while the Union Avenue house was deeded to Magdalena Jarvis. In 2000 Neldon married Nina Kay Jarvis and they made their home here. Nina recalls that at that time the home had the “old white metal siding and outdated enclosed front porch” so over the next couple of years they completely renovated the home. Neldon and Nina together selected the paint color scheme; designed the open porch; selected the gingerbread trim and posts; built a bench around the large back-garden tree; created the garden shed; refinished the floors and wiring and repaired the window pull weights. Completing the work by 2002 they received an Historic Preservation Award from the City of Havre de Grace for their work. Neldon also acquired a portion of the adjacent unimproved lot of 2400 square feet (previously known as 311 North Stokes Street), making the lot for this 563 Green Street house a distinct “L” shape, with an exit onto Stokes Street. That adjacent lot previously had a house on it that had been demolished decades earlier.

Neldon and Nina Jarvis sold both of these parcels of property to C O Falter Construction Corporation in 2007 and moved out of state. During the next five years, the house appeared empty for much of the time and in 2012, C O Falter sold it to Roger and JoAnn Teel, the current owners. JoAnn and her daughter, Michele, own and used to run the popular Sunrise Rock Shop on North Washington Street until the Covid pandemic caused them to take their business online.

County Records
Built 1920, 2151 sq ft, 2 baths, 2.5 stories with basement, 2716 sq ft lot.