This is my outline for the Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson
Summary
editAnna Maria Calhoun Clemson,( 1817-1875), was the daughter of John C. Calhoun (United States Vice President) and the wife of Thomas Green Clemson (Founder of Clemson University). Anna lived a long life, living through the American Civil War and traveling extensively. Anna was also the mother to three children.[1]
Life
editEarly Life
editAnna was born in early 1817 in South Carolina, to the Calhoun family born on families’ Bath plantation in the Abbeville District. She was one of seven children in the Calhoun family. Anna spent her time adoring her father when she was young, which later developed into the tight bond between the two. She was educated first by her surroundings and family, at a day school in Edgefield, SC, then later at South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute, in central South Carolina. Anna had a stay of about one year at the South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute, after which she returned home to her families’ home at Fort Hill. When she returned, Anna taught her younger brothers how to read and write. [2]
Middle Age
editAnna moved to Washington, DC in 1835 to be a copyist for her father, with the notion that she would never marry. She then met Thomas Green Clemson at the age of 21, with him being 10 years older in the early spring of 1838 while in Washington, DC with her father. Clemson fought hard in Anna’s hand in marriage, but it was not long before they married on her fathers land, Fort Hill, in the Upstate of South Carolina. They were married on the evening of November 13, 1838. Thomas, then was needed in Washington for political needs and the newly weds moved up north to Philadelphia. After moving up North, Anna had child, which did not live, along with two other children, John Calhoun Clemson and Floride Elizabeth Clemson Le. It was not long after the move up north that Thomas, accepted a position in Belgium, thus the Clemson family moved over seas for the time. Clemson became a high-ranking diplomat to the Kingdom of Belgium when he was over seas; Anna was just along for the ride. Anna quickly became home sick and wished to return home to her father, she had not been separated from him for an extended period of time before. Anna is known for having a fascination with her father, before her marriage to Clemson, Anna said this to a house maid, “You who know my idolatry, for my father, can sympathize with my feelings” (Aug. 2, 1838)[1] . Anna did not like the European lifestyle and did not appreciate their treasures. Anna and the Clemson family were over seas from 1844-1852, returning home to buy one hundred acres in Maryland, four miles for Washington, DC. The couple ironically named their new home in Maryland "The Home”. [3] [2] [4] [5]
During the Civil War
editAfter returning from over seas with her family, Thomas left to help with the war effort, and Anna was on her own with the children. With her husbands leave, Anna took control of the families estate and made decisions on the farm without Thomas. Anna's mother still lived alone in Pendleton, SC during the Civil War. During this time the Clemson’s home "The Home" was still up north, causing Anna to travel across enemy lines to be with her mother. This happened in 1864, but they didn’t make it in one trip down south. Anna and Floride had no where to go, so they packed up all the their possessions that they could carry and temporarily, to a five-room home outside of Beltsville, near Baltimore. Anna was also concern about the Clemson families’ possessions that were still in the rented “The Home”. Anna and Floride decided to pack up these remaining things that they couldn’t carry and they mailed them to relatives to help them survive the war. Neither the North nor the South gave her trouble in crossing the boarders to see her mother. The complete opposite happened when Anna and Floride moved back to Pendleton in 1865. John Clemson was in federal prison on Johnson Island in Lake Erie. These trips to see her son truly showed her love for children. A couple years later both of Anna’s children died within 17 days of each other. John died of injuries form a train wreck and Floride died from a long lasting illness that she could not overcome. [3] [2] [4] [5] [1]
After the Civil War
editAnna and Thomas retired to Fort Hill in 1871, and remained there for the next 4 years until her death from a heart attack. Leading up to Anna’s death, which was unexpected, there was a lot of talk between her and Thomas about starting a state agricultural college in the upstate of South Carolina. They decided together that if it was built, the college would be built on her fathers land, Fort Hill, and that her father’s house would remain on the land. The house still stands at the center of Clemson University’s campus. Anna’s largest effort to help start the college before her death was the creation of a committee to gather support around the state. One of the main points of the committee was to spread the word that the college was to be built in the legacy of her father, John C. Calhoun, which did so much for the state of South Carolina. Thomas completed saw to it that the college was put into place to honor his wife. In July 1893 Clemson College opened with an enrollment of 446 men. Anna is buried along with the rest of her family in Pendleton, SC after her death in 1875.[3][1][2][4][5]