Browse Items (16 total)

After the death of John C. Calhoun, his wife, Floride, sold Fort Hill to their son, Andrew Pickens Calhoun. Included in this inventory and sale was a list of 50 enslaved persons.

Susan Clemson Richardson was enslaved at Fort Hill where she helped care for the Clemson children as a teenager. She often slept in the room adjacent to Anna Maria Clemson with a string tied to her wrist so that she could be awoken in the middle of…

In 1854, Andrew Pickens (A.P.) Calhoun purchased Fort Hill plantation, including 54 slaves, from his mother, Floride. He sold his plantation in Alabama, Canebrake, in 1863. After A.P.’s death in 1865, this appraisal showed 139 enslaved persons at…

This bill of sale documents the sale of Stephney, described as "a bright mulatto boy," from Floride Calhoun to her son, A.P. Calhoun in 1851. It appears that Stephney returned to Fort Hill prior to the appraisal in 1865 as he is listed on the list of…

In this letter, Floride Calhoun writes to her son, telling a story about Issey, a house slave at Fort Hill. According to the letter, Issey set fire to a pillow on a bed. As punishment, Floride sent Issey away but rather believes she should have been…

John C. Calhoun writes to J.E. Calhoun and tells him of an enslaved person, Aleck, who has run away from Fort Hill. John C. Calhoun asks J.E. to keep an eye out for Aleck and that if he sees him, to have him whipped and sent back.

Thomas Green Clemson writes this letter to John C. Calhoun while living in Belgium. Clemson was concerned about his plantation at Cane Brake and seeking advice about selling the plantation. He did, however, wish to retain the 37 enslaved persons he…

This newspaper article, published in the New York Herald (a decidedly pro-slavery newspaper), describes John C. Calhoun's plantation. In it, the slave quarters are described as being about 1/8 of a mile from the plantation mansion and built by stone,…

The Frusters were enslaved at Fort Hill until emancipation. Following the Civil War, they continued to work for Thomas Green Clemson as farm laborers. After Clemson's death, they worked the land that had become Clemson College and would go on to…

Marie Calhoun was born into slavery at Fort Hill ca. 1842. She was the same age as the Thomas Green Clemson and Anna Maria's daughter, Floride Elizabeth. Marie was a seamstress and learned French. After Floride Elizabeth's death in 1871, she helped…