Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson
| Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson | |
|---|---|
 Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson | |
| Born |
Anna Maria Calhoun February 13, 1817 Willington, South Carolina |
| Died | September 22, 1875 (aged 58) |
| Cause of death | Myocardial infarction |
| Resting place | Pendleton, South Carolina |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute |
| Spouse(s) | Thomas Green Clemson |
| Children |
|
| Parent(s) | |
Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson (1817–1875) was the daughter of John C. Calhoun and the wife of Thomas Green Clemson, the founder of Clemson University. Anna lived through the American Civil War and traveled extensively. She was also the mother to three children.[2]
Life
Early life
Anna Calhoun was born on the Bath plantation, in the Abbeville District of South Carolina, in February 1817. She was one of seven children in the Calhoun family. Anna adored her father, John C. Calhoun, and remained close to him until his death in 1850. Her early education was through her surroundings and family, at a day school in Edgefield, South Carolina, then later at South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute, in central South Carolina. Anna stayed at the South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute for about a year before she returned to her family's home at Fort Hill. When she returned, Anna taught her younger brothers how to read and write.[3]
Middle Age
Anna 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 in the early spring of 1838 while in Washington, DC with her father. At the time, she was 21 and he was 31. Clemson fought hard for Anna’s hand in marriage and it was not long before they wed on the evening of November 13, 1838 in Fort Hill, South Carolina. Thomas's job called him to Washington and the newlyweds moved up north to Philadelphia. After moving up North, Anna gave birth to a child who did not survive and two other children, John Calhoun Clemson and Floride Elizabeth Clemson Le. Shortly after the children were born, Thomas accepted a position in Belgium. The Clemson family moved over-seas for the time. As Thomas became a high-ranking diplomat to the Kingdom of Belgium, Anna quickly became homesick and wished to return to her father. She had never been separated from him for an extended period of time. Anna had a unique 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)[2] The Clemson family remained overseas from 1844–1852 and returned home to buy one hundred acres in Maryland, four miles for Washington, DC. The couple named their new home in Maryland "The Home”.[3][4][5][6]
During the Civil War
After their return to the US, Thomas served in the Civil War, leaving Anna to care for the children and the farm. Anna's mother still lived alone in Pendleton, SC, during the Civil War. During this time, Anna needed to travel back and forth from "The Home" to her mother, meaning she was crossing hostile lines. Anna and Floride packed several possessions and temporarily moved into to a five-room home outside of Beltsville, Maryland, which was near Baltimore. Although she was closer to her mother, Anna was concerned about the Clemson families possessions that remained in her family's estate. Anna and Floride decided to pack up their remaining possessions and to mail them to relatives, hoping that their items would make it through the war. Fortunately, Anna never received trouble from either the North or the South while crossing borderlines to see her mother, until 1865 when Anna moved back to Pendleton. A few years later, both of Anna’s children would die within 17 days of each other. John Clemson died of injuries from a train wreck and Floride Clemson died from a long-lasting illness that she could not overcome.[2][3][4][5][6]
Post Civil War
Anna and Thomas retired to Fort Hill in 1871. Leading up to Anna’s death, she and Thomas had discussed starting an agricultural college in upstate South Carolina. They decided that the college would be situated in Fort Hill and that John Calhoun'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, who did so much for the state of South Carolina. In honor of his wife, Thomas founded Clemson College in July 1893, with a student body of 446 men. In 1875, Anna died suddenly of a heart attack at Fort Hill. She was buried with her family in Pendleton, SC.[2][3][4][5][6]
References
- ↑ Russell, Ann Ratliff (2009), "Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson: 'a wife worthy of any man that ever lived'" (PDF), Thomas Green Clemson, Clemson, SC: Clemson University Digital Press, retrieved 2011-11-06
- 1 2 3 4 "Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson". Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson.
- 1 2 3 4 Russell, Ann Ratliff (2007). Legacy of a Southern Lady: Anna Calhoun Clemson, 1817-1875. Clemson, SC: Clemson University Digital Press.
- 1 2 3 Mitchell, J. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Green Calhoun Clemson at Home and Abroad.
- 1 2 3 "Clemson World". Anna Calhoun Clemson.
- 1 2 3 "Clemson". History.