At first glance, the Victorian home at 1810 Sealy draws attention with its distinctive architecture, but the finer details reward those who pause for a closer look. A conical roof at the corner might suggest a turret, but it gracefully caps a welcoming corner of the upstairs porch.
The three double galleries boast railings with a unique split one-over-two spindle design. Scroll brackets at the dormer window mirror those found on the first-floor porch, which also features elegant sunburst motif brackets.
Built in 1890 by Esther Halff Levy (1836–1908), widow of Abraham Levy (1827–1879), this two-tone green home showcases classic Victorian fish-scale shingles. Esther belonged to a prominent San Antonio retail family, and the house ties into the legacies of some of Texas’s most successful 19th-century merchants.
Originally an eight-room home, including a kitchen, storeroom, and bathroom, it was outfitted with modern conveniences of the time, such as gas and water plumbing and two wooden cisterns for collecting rainwater.
A double-sided fireplace with dual flues warmed the home during cooler months, while the gabled roof was covered in slate. A tidy three-foot fence enclosed the property.
Behind the main house stood an outbuilding with four rooms and a fireplace on the upper floor, while the ground floor served as a stable, which was later converted to a garage.
Esther met Abraham Levy in 1859 when he worked for her brother Felix Halff’s (1830-1911) Galveston dry goods firm, F. Halff & Company. That same year, the two were married.
In 1872, Felix, who had previously partnered with Galveston's Leon Blum, joined forces with Albert Weiss, of Weis Brothers on The Strand. They established the high-end clothing store Halff, Weiss & Company. Abraham eventually became a partner.
After Abraham’s retirement in 1877, their son Edward Solomon Levy (1863–1936) co-founded Levy & Weiss with Leopold Weiss. When Leopold died a decade later, Edward continued the family tradition by establishing E. S. Levy & Company, which became a Galveston institution for over a century.
During the catastrophic 1900 Storm, the National Weather Service office was housed in the E.S. Levy Building. At the time, Esther was living at 1810 Sealy with her son and a 28-year-old servant, Mary Lenza. The house sustained only minor damage in the hurricane, and Esther remained there until she died in 1908.
In 1911, Edward, then residing in New York, sold the house to Charles Leo Crandall (1868–1924) and his wife, Mary Kate "Mamie" Wilson (1874–1959). Crandall served as vice president of the Bowers Southern Dredging Company, instrumental in raising Galveston’s grade after the 1900 storm.
Valued at $6,500, the home offered a new beginning for the Crandalls, who had lost everything in the storm but survived with their infant daughter. The couple later had three more children, and Mamie's widowed father, David H. Wilson, also joined the household.
It is believed that the distinctive conical roof extension over the second-floor porch was added during Crandall’s ownership.
Charles was active in the local Masonic circles as a member of San Felipe de Austin Commandery No. 1 of the Knights Templar.
During this time, the Crandalls leased the back building on the property to Jessie Crawford. Crawford was born in 1885 and lived there with her 10-year-old daughter Margaret. Crawford worked as a cook for W. C. Ogilvy, who lived nearby at 1714 Avenue H.
The Crandalls sold the property shortly before Charles’s death in 1924, and Mamie moved to Florida. Insurance records from that time note that the house was in need of paint and repairs.
In 1923, Anna Labadie Tucker (1867–1952) purchased the home. She was the granddaughter of Dr. Nicholas J. Labadie, who is the namesake of one of Galveston’s wharves.
Anna grew up in the circa 1840 home at 3601 Avenue P, now known as the Samuel May Williams Home. Her father, Philip Crosby Tucker (1826–1894), was a Confederate leader during the Battle of Galveston and a prominent Freemason, for whom Galveston's Tucker Lodge was named.
Anna was a trailblazer. She was the first female employee of the Santa Fe Railway in Galveston. She worked there for 43 years as a stenographer, clerk, and auditor before retiring in January 1942.
Records in the Rosenberg Library’s History of Galveston Center show that the savvy businesswoman owned and leased multiple properties around the island.
She even converted her Sealy home into four self-contained apartments, each with its own bathroom.
Among her first tenants were draftsman Edward Willard Falanders and his wife, Hazel; William A. Stewart, a clerk for the Morgan Line of the Southern Pacific; and John Travis, a grain sampler for the United States Department of Agriculture.
Anna’s sister Mary Cecilia Tucker (1865-1953) lived with her in one of the downstairs apartments. The two single women were extremely active in the Sidney Sherman Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
As a history enthusiast, Anna often lectured on various Galveston-related topics. She gifted many of her grandfather’s photos and artifacts to the San Jacinto Museum in 1942.
After her retirement, Anna volunteered with the local chapter of the Red Cross.
In 1952, Anna passed away in her home on Sealy at the age of 84, and her sister followed her in 1953. Neither woman ever married.
Joseph Bronstein (1921-2010), who worked at H & B Grocery & Meat, and his wife Ida Levine (1925-2009), became the home's subsequent owners in 1953.
Through generations, 1810 Sealy has been more than just a house - it has stood as a witness to history, a reflection of Galveston’s enduring spirit, and a shelter for many lives.
Its graceful architecture and rich past continue to tell the story of those who called it home, ensuring that its legacy lives on for future generations.