The Calhoun family and Thomas Green Clemson

John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850) was born in South Carolina into a family which was already wealthy and important in South Carolina politics. He married his distant cousin, Floride Bonneau Colhoun (1792-1866) and they were the parents of seven children. In 1838 Anna Maria Calhoun (1817-1875), daughter of John and Floride, married Thomas Green Clemson (1807-1888) of Philadelphia. For the rest of his life he was deeply inolved in the Calhoun families political and business fortunes and problems. John C. Calhoun's political career continued to grow until he reached the status of America's statesman. Thomas Clemson's business career rocked between success and misfortune but ultimately succeeded, partly through the inheritance his wife received after the death of her father, John C., which included his beloved estate, Fort Hill. Thomas Green Clemson outlived his wife, Anna, and had only one grandchild. At his death he left a trust fund for his grandchild, Floride Isabelle Lee (1870- 1935) and donated the remainder of his estate, including Fort Hill Plantation to the state to create a university. Clemson University presently sits on the old Fort Hill Plantation of John C. Calhoun.