Thomas Green Clemson Papers
Collection
Identifier: Mss-0002
Thomas Green Clemson's papers reflect his intellectual interests in mining, geology, scientific agriculture and the promotion of education; his cultured back-ground as an artist, art collector, linguist and diplomat; and his personal life as a plantation owner, businessman, husband and father. A pocket journal, 1832-1837, is the first piece of Clemson's writing in this collection. Mr. Charles R. Clemson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, donated this brief journal and its typed transcription to Clemson University in October, 1979. There is another journal which was written by Anna Maria Calhoun in the 1830's before she married Thomas Clemson. After their marriage, Clemson maintained a steady stream of correspondence with his father-in-law, John C. Calhoun, which mainly dealt with their mutual interest, Calhoun's Obar Mine in Dahlonega, Georgia. Clemson's activities as Charge d'Affairs in Brussels, Belgium from 1844-1852 are documented on two microfilm reels containing copies of the official dispatches between Clemson and the State Department. These reels are copies of the originals in the National Archives. There is also personal and business correspondence from this same period concerning family matters back in the United States. Some of the business correspondence is with Charles Leupp, a fellow art collector and business associate. In addition, there are letters related to Clemson's return in 1848 to the United States in order to visit his sick mother and deal with pressing business affairs. Furthermore, some of the correspondence documents the death of John C. Calhoun, Clemson's unsuccessful request for a leave of absence and his subsequent return to America.
The Clemson Papers contain considerable family correspondence from the 1850's detailing the lifestyles, personalities and financial transactions of the Clemson and Calhoun families. Some of the letters describe the development, illnesses and activities of the Clemsons' youngest daughter, Cornelia (Nina), who died in 1858, and Clemson's inability to cope with his grief. Also, there is much correspondence among the circle of women related to or friends of the Clemson family which includes Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson, Floride Elizabeth Clemson, Floride Calhoun, Floride Isabella Lee, Laura S. Leupp, Kate C. Barton, Mary and Charlotte Latrobe, and Louisa, Christine and Annie C. Washington. There are also copies of correspondence for the period 1846-1864 from the Clemson family to Elias Baker, Clemson's uncle, as well as original letters from Baker to the family; this family correspondence includes William F. Clemson, Clemson's brother. Some of this correspondence relates to Clemson's purchase of furniture in Belgium for the Altoona, PA mansion Baker built in 1849. In addition, a handwritten copy of the 1854 deed concerning Floride Calhoun and Cornelia M. Calhoun's sale of the 1102-acre Fort Hill Plantation to Andrew P. Calhoun can be found in this collection.
Little correspondence concerning Thomas Clemson's activities as Head of the Bureau of Agriculture, 1860-1861, or his active service in the Confederate States Army, 1863-1865, are in this collection. However, some correspondence of Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson and legal documents related to property owned by the Clemsons during this period can be found in this collection. In addition, there are letters from her son, Calhoun, who was a Union prisoner-of-war from 1863-1864 held at Johnson's Island in Ohio, and her daughter, Floride, who visited Pennsylvania and New York in 1864.
Material related to Clemson's activities as administrator of the Calhoun estate following the Civil War are filed in this collection. These papers include the negotiations regarding the re-establishment of operations on the Fort Hill Plantation through work agreements between Clemson and the newly freed former slaves. Clemson's speeches and letters from this period indicate that he had already begun to formulate plans to promote scientific education in South Carolina.
Various legal matters including property disputes with the Lewis family and investment problems with W.W. Corcoran and H. Gourdin occupied Thomas Clemson's correspondence during the 1870's. The deaths of his two remaining children, Floride Elizabeth and John Calhoun, in 1871 and of his wife, Anna Maria, in 1875 left Clemson with little remaining family with which to correspond. There is considerable correspondence between Clemson and his lawyer, James Rion. One letter, dated October 29, 1878, to W.W. Corcoran demonstrated Clemson's continued hopes for improving education in South Carolina through the establishment of an institution for science and the arts.
Some of the final correspondence to Clemson is from his granddaughter, Floride Isabella Lee, and his son-in-law, Gideon Lee, Jr. during the 1880's. Among these letters there is a copy of the 1886 will bequeathing most of his estate to South Carolina for the establishment of an institution of higher learning. Also, there is an appraisal bill of the Clemson estate dated November 24, 1888.
Biographical and genealogical information on the Clemson and Calhoun families can be found in this collection. A newsletter from the Clemson History Associates includes genealogical information on the Clemson family in America since the 17th century. There are also reminiscences of Mrs. Prince, Mr. Clemson's housekeeper, which Professor Alester G. Holmes transcribed. In addition, there are a variety of articles and publications about Thomas Clemson. A topographic map of the Fort Hill plantation created by students from the Clemson University College of Architecture, as well as some undated fragments, lists and receipts are filed in the collection.
The Thomas Green Clemson Papers are indexed on catalog cards by the correspondents' last name and by date. Legal documents and publications are also included in this index.
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection beyond those of Special Collections.
Thomas Green Clemson demonstrated the versatility which gifted people often possess in his varied activities as a mining engineer, government official, plantation owner, scientist, proponent of higher education, artist and art collector, and supporter of scientific farming. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Clemson adopted South Carolina as his home after marrying Anna Maria Calhoun, the oldest daughter of the South Carolina statesman John C. Calhoun. Little is known of Clemson's early life other than that his father was a well-to-do merchant in Philadelphia. Clemson attended public schools in Philadelphia and the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy in Norwich, Vermont.
4.25 Cubic Feet ( plus 13 oversize folders and 3 rolls of 35mm microfilm)
English
The papers of Thomas G. Clemson were kept after his death by his attorney, Richard W. Simpson. Following Simpson's death, his daughter, Maria Louise, took possession of the Clemson papers. In 1915 or 1916 Miss Simpson turned the papers over to her brother-in-law, Professor Alester G. Holmes, who recognized their historical importance and the need to have them properly cared for. In 1947, Maria Louise Simpson formally donated the papers to Clemson University. Information regarding the provenance of the Clemson Papers can be found in Box 7, Folder 5 of this collection and in the Alester G. Holmes Collection, Mss 1, Box 1, Folder 3, 1930-1935. In 2000 photocopies of Clemson family correspondence to Elias Baker, Clemson's uncle, were obtained from the Blair County (PA) Historical Society in exchange for copies of the Baker correspondence in the collection. The collection also includes accessions 93-25, 03-97, 06-40, 06-45 and 09-52.
The following imprints were separated from the papers and cataloged for Special Collections:
"Speeches of John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, on the Ten Regiment Bill; and in reply to Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, and Mr. Case." Delivered in the United States Senate, March 16 and 17, 1848. Washington: printed by John T. Towers, 1848. E337.8.C14.
Langdon, Cheves. "Letter of the Hon. Langdon Cheves," The Charleston Mercury, September 1, 1844. E400.C52.
"Remarks of Messrs. [Jeremiah] Clemens, Butler and Jefferson Davis, on the Vermont Resolutions Relating to Slavery." Delivered in Senate of the United States (31st Congress, 1st Session), January 10, 1850. Washington: printed at the Congressional Globe Office, 1850. E423.C62 1850.
"Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union," no date [1861]. JK9792.A4 1860.
W. A. Harris, compiler. The Record of Fort Sumter...during the administration of Governor Pickens. Columbia, South Carolina: S.C. Steam Printing Office, 1862. E471.1.H31 1862.
"The Territorial Question. Speech of the Hon. R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, in the United States Senate, March 25, 1850." E423.H94 1850.
"Speech of the Hon. James L. Orr, of South Carolina, on the Slavery Question." Delivered in the U.S. House of Representatives, May 8, 1850. Washington: printed by John T. Towers, 1850. Missing, not cataloged.
"Speech of Daniel Wallace, of South Carolina, on the Slavery Question." Delivered in the U.S. House of Representatives, April 8, 1850. Washington: Gideon and Co., printers, 1850. E423.W18.
"Speech of Mr. Webster on Mr. Clay's Resolutions." Delivered in the United States Senate, March 7, 1850. Washington: Gideon and Co., printers, 1850. E423.W36 1850.
William L. Yancey. An Address on the Life and Character of John Caldwell Calhoun. Delivered before the Citizens of Montgomery, Alabama, on July 4, 1850. Montgomery, Job Office Advertiser and Gazette print, 1850. E340.C15 Y2 1850.
https://digitalcollections.clemson.edu/explore/collections/thomas-green-clemson-papers/
This collection was processed and the original register prepared by Berniece Holt in 1983. Jan Gambrell typed the original register. An updated, retyped version of the register was done by Laurie Varenhorst in 1996; additions to the register were made by James Cross in 2000 and 2006.
The conversion of this finding aid to Encoded Archival Description format was made possible with a grant from the South Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board in 2009-2010. The finding aid was prepared for encoding by Jen Bingham.
Part of the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository