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WE HAVE
for quite a number of years felt the importance of preserving to some
extent, at least, the history of Pendleton, as well as that of the County
of Pendleton as much as possible. Many intervening years, the death and
removal of some of the prominent citizens of the past as well as their
descendants, have made this pleasant duty almost an impossibility. Our
duties otherwise have also made this labor a burden instead of a pleasure.
But, nevertheless, with the help of friends and neighbors, we have
ventured upon the experiment.
A wise historian has said that history ought not to be written
until one hundred years have elapsed since the event. Be this as it may,
it appears to us to be the duty of all good citizens, in passing through
life's toils and pleasures, to preserve the facts and circumstances of
history, so that in the future the history of Pendleton may be presented
accurately by the coming historian.
We, therefore, present with some misgivings as well as pleasure,
such facts and circumstances in the history of Pendleton as we have been
able to trace them in the past.
R. W. SIMPSON.
Pendleton, S. C.
BY WILLIAM S. MORRISON, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL
ECONOMY, CLEMSON COLLEGE, SOUTH CAROLINA
RICHARD WRIGHT SIMPSON was born on his father's farm near
Pendleton, Anderson County, South Carolina, September 11, 1840.
His father was Richard F. Simpson, a native of Laurens District,
South Carolina, a graduate of the South Carolina College, and for many
years a lawyer at Laurens Court House; a soldier with the rank of major in
the Florida war; a member of both branches of the General Assembly of his
native State; three terms (1842-48) a member of the House of
Representatives of the Congress of the United States; and a signer of the
Ordinance of Secession of the State of South Carolina.
His mother was Margaret Taliaferro, a native of Anderson District,
South Carolina, whose parents were Virginians by birth.
"Dick" Simpson enjoyed an ideal boyhood. He was well and strong,
the son of indulgent parents, living a free country life. He enjoyed
hunting and fishing and was fond of work with tools. At home he read the
Bible, Shakespeare, and Scott's Novels. He attended Pendleton Academy from
which he went to Wofford College. The late Dr. James H. Carlisle, at the
time the only surviving member of the Wofford Faculty of the fifties, was
asked a few years since, to write his recollections of the "Simpson
Brothers" as students. The following is a literal copy of his answer:
"The Simpson Brothers-this is the way in which the survivors of the
generation of Wofford students, 1857- 1861-think of T. N. Simpson and R.
W. Simpson, as the catalogues gave their names. Their brotherly affection
was marked. Each might have said of the other what the late Robert W. Boyd
said to me about his brother Charles: 'We were not only brothers-we were
great friends. They were gentlemanly, self-respecting young men, whose
conduct represented the refined Christian home, which they had left.
Joining different literary societies each gained the highest honor in the
gift of his fellow-members. At the Anniversary the two brothers sat on the
platform as presidents of the Calhoun and Preston Societies. In their
Senior year (1860-61) the clouds of war gathered. The students formed a
military company, 'The Southern Guards,' and T. N. Simpson was elected
captain. Arrangements were made for the usual May exhibition. The program
had these names and subjects:
T. N. Simpson-Vox Populi.
R. W. Simpson-Republican
Institutions in North America-are they a failure?
Surely these were timely subjects, well fitted to draw out the
feelings and convictions of the young patriots and orators. But when the
time came these speakers were not on the platform. They were on the tented
field. The bombardment of Fort Sumter, April 12, 13, 1861, seemed to the
students as their mother's call to duty, and they answered at once.
Capt. T. N. Simpson was one of the unreturning braves. His sword is
now among the valuable relics in Wofford College. His brother was spared
for years of service with his fellow-citizens in carrying his native State
through a great historical crisis."
R. W. Simpson served as a private in the Confederate army in
Company A, Third Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, and in Adams'
battallion of cavalry from April, 1861 to 1863, when, on account of
disease contracted in the service, he was detailed for special duty until
the close of the war.
From 1865 to 1874 Colonel Simpson farmed. Then began his sympathy
with the tillers of the soil. In the fall of 1874 he was chosen a member
of the State Legislature, and was re-elected in 1876-the year of
Carolina's redemption from the hand of the alien and the traitor-the
"carpet bagger" and the "Scalawag." He was made chairman of the Committee
of Ways and Means of the "Wallace House," always a position of
great responsibility, then one of peculiar dangers and
difficulties, as is well understood by all who remember the struggles of
that time and by every student of "Reconstruction." Colonel Simpson's
friends claim for him the credit of first suggesting the idea of the
Democrats of South Carolina breaking loose from the maternal party-of
securing control of the State and letting Tilden's friends fight for their
own cause-the plan of cutting what Gen. M. W. Gary called the "gordion
knots'-a plan which resulted in President Hays withdrawing the United
States troops, and Governor Hampton securing undisputed possession of the
State House and the State.
Chairman Simpson's services in settling the disordered finances of
the State were delicate and difficult, but time proved the wisdom of his
views. "He devised the plan-and secured the adoption-which reduced the
debt of the State to its present small proportions."
It was while serving in the Legislature that R. W. Simpson was
appointed a member of the Governor's Staff, with the rank of Colonel of
Cavalry, by Governor Wade Hampton.
During those days he became convinced that changed conditions made
necessary a change in our educational system. He became an earnest
advocate of the establishment of an agricultural college. He was the
confidential advisor of the Honorable Thos. G. Clemson - wrote that
gentleman's will, was made executor of that instrument, and on the
organization of the Board of Trustees of the Clemson Agricultural College
of South Carolina was elected chairman of that Board, which position he
resigned, on account of impaired health a few years before his death. His
interest in, and his devotion to the welfare of Clemson College are well
known to all who know anything of the history of that institution for the
first twenty years of its existence.
About the time he went into politics Colonel Simpson studied law,
was admitted to the bar, practiced at Anderson Court House, and was local
attorney for the Southern Rail Road fifteen years and for the Blue Ridge
Railway for eight years. He was also attorney for the Bank of Pendleton.
Colonel Simpson was a life-long member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South. He loved its doctrines and polity and was many years a
Sunday School teacher and superintendent.
On February 10, 1863, R. W. Simpson was married to Miss Maria
Louise Garlington, of Laurens County, S. C. Their beautiful home-life,
their devotion to each other are well known to all their friends. Of this
happy union ten children were born--of whom nine are now living: Mrs. W.
W. Watkins, Mrs. P. H. E. Sloan, Jr., Miss M. L. Simpson, Mrs. A. G.
Holmes, Mrs. S. M. Martin, Mrs. W. W. Klugh, Messrs. R. W. Simpson, Jr.,
J. G. Simpson and T. S. Simpson.
Colonel Simpson died in a hospital in Atlanta where he had been
taken for treatment a few days before, at four o'clock in the morning of
the 11th day of July, 1912. The afternoon of the next day his remains were
laid to rest by the new made grave of his wife, near the resting place of
his father and his mother and his soldier boy brother, in the family
burying ground at the old home place near Pendleton, South Carolina.
"When a great man dies For years beyond our ken The light he leaves
behind him lies Upon the paths of men."
Pendleton
PREVIOUS to the year 1768 the only court held in South Carolina was
in the City of Charleston. In that year the State was divided into six
districts, and Courts of General Sessions and Common Pleas were thereafter
established and held in each of the said districts. The judges were
authorized to build court houses and other necessary public buildings in
some convenient place in each. A court house was established at
Ninety-Six, at Cambridge, (See State Statutes, Vol. 7, p. 197.)
At the close of the Revolutionary War all the territory embraced in
the present counties of Greenville, Anderson, Oconee and Pickens belonged
to the Cherokee Indians, although embraced within the State
lines.
Many adventurous white people had founded settlements within this
territory, and, for their protection from the Indians, the State had built
forts in several places, and maintained garrisons therein. All of this
territory, except the extreme upper portion of Oconee and Pickens counties
was ceded to the State by the Cherokees shortly after the close of the war
by a treaty negotiated by Gen. Andrew Pickens near his home on Seneca
River.
Tradition points out a large oak tree, near the banks of the Seneca
River, under which General Pickens met the Cherokee chiefs and made with
them the treaty by which the State secured the exclusive possession of
this territory.
In 1816, General Statutes, Vol. U, p. 252, another treaty was
concluded in the City of Washington by which the Cherokee Indians ceded to
the State the remaining parts of the land lying above the old Indian
boundary, and within the limits of the State lines as they now exist.
By Act of March 16, 1783, commissioners were appointed to divide
the six judicial districts into counties of not more than forty miles
square for the purpose of establishing county courts. Andrew Pickens,
Richard Anderson, Thomas Brandon, Levi Keysey, Philemon Waters, Arthur
Simpkins and Simon Berwick were appointed commissioners to divide the
District of Ninety- Six, (Vol. 4, p. 561). By Act of 1785, Vol. 4, p. 661,
the several districts were divided into counties. The District of
Ninety-Six was divided into the counties of Abbeville, Edgefield,
Newberry, Laurens, Union and Spartanburg; and the Justices of Peace were
authorized to locate and build court houses and jails, and to levy taxes
to pay for the same. And the lands ceded to the State by the Cherokee
Indians, embracing the present counties of Anderson, Greenville, Pickens
and Oconee were attached temporarily to the adjoining counties of
Abbeville, Laurens and Spartanburg. Pendleton County, as afterwards
established, was attached to Abbeville County, and for the time being was
in the judicial district of Ninety-Six, which by the way explains why we
find some of our land deeds styled Ninety-Six.
Acts of 1789, Vol. 7, p. 252, sets forth as follows:
"Whereas, the people residing in that part of the lands
ceded to the State by the Cherokee Indians, north of the Indian boundary
and between the Seneca and Saluda rivers, have experienced many
inconveniences by being attached to Abbeville County, which renders it
necessary to establish it into a separate county. Therefore, be it
enacted, That the same be laid off into a county to be called Pendleton
County. The other part of the said ceded lands was laid off into a county
to be called Greenville County.
Pendleton was named
in honor of Judge Henry Pendleton, a native of Virginia, who rose to
distinction in this State by reason of his great ability and patriotism.
By Act of 1789, Vol. V., p. 105, the new counties of Pendleton and
Greenville were allowed representation in the legislature, each to have
one senator and three members in the lower house. At the same session
commissioners were appointed to locate a court house for the County of
Pendleton. The commissioners were Andrew Pickens, John Miller, John
Wilson, Benj. Cleveland, Wm. Halbert, Henry Clark, John Moffett and Robert
Anderson. These commissioners purchased from Isaac Lynch a tract of land,
about as near the center of the County of Pendleton as practicable,
containing eight hundred and eighty-five acres. And the same was conveyed
to the said commissioners in trust for the County of Pendleton, as appears
by deed dated April 8, 1790, and recorded in book "A," page 1.
Upon this tract of land the Town of Pendleton is located. This
tract of land, or a part of it, was laid out into streets and village
lots, which were numbered, and the remainder of the tract was divided into
what were called "out-lying" lots.
The first court house was
located on what is called the Tanyard Branch, near the culvert under the
big fill on the Blue Ridge Railroad which crosses the old public road
leading from Pendleton to old Pickens Court House.
The first court held in Pendleton County was held by the
magistrates on the second day of April, 1790. Andrew Rowe was employed to
erect a temporary log court house, 18 feet by 25 feet. John Miller was
elected clerk of the court. On the 10th day of May, 1790, the first
quarterly court was held in the new court
house.
Present: Magistrates Robert Anderson, John Wilson and William
Halbert. The following grand jury was drawn, to serve at the next court,
namely: David Hamilton, Lewis Daniel Martin, Jonathan Clarke, Thomas
Garvin. William McCharles Yates, Robert Dowdle, Alex. Oliver, Benjamin
Horsce, Isaac Lynch, John Polluck, Joseph Kennedy, Duncan Cameron, Joseph
Brown, James Gates, John Grisham, Sr., James Hamilton, William Mackey,
Jacob Vance, and Samuel McCullom. At the same time the following petit
jury was drawn to serve at the next court, namely: David Pruitt, James
Davenport, Abel Anderson, John Dixon, Robert Stevenson, James Carton, John
Martin, William Troop, Eli Kitchens, Elisha Gaillard, William Pilgrim,
James Embree, Samuel Porter, Richard York, Andrew Riddle, Hamilton
Montgomery, Benjamin Norton, Richard Lancaster, William Gra1-4, John
Burton, Philemon Hawkins, Alexander Ramsey, William Steele, William Lewis,
John McCutchin. Alexander McCrery, John Tweety, 0. Smith, Thomas Moss, and
John Mayfield.
Samuel Lofton exhibited
to the court his commission from the Governor as sheriff, which was
ordered recorded. The county courts exercised a wide jurisdiction. Among
other things they laid out all the public roads in the county.
By the Act of 1791, Vol. 7, p. 262, Gen. Andrew Pickens, Col.
Robert Anderson, Capt. Robert Maxwell, John Bowen, James Harrison, Maj.
John Ford and John Hallum were appointed to purchase land and superintend
the building of a court house and jail for the district of Washington.
Washington District was composed of the counties of Pendleton and
Greenville. The court house was located at Pickensville, near the present
Town of Easley.
By the Act of 1792, Vol. V,
p. 210, it was enacted, that the village in Pendleton County where the
court house and jail of Washington District have been located, shall be
called Pickensville, so named in honor of General Pickens. Here were held
the Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions for a few years only.
By the Act of 1798, Vol. VII, p. 283, the name County was changed
to District. And at the court house in each of the several districts there
shall be held, after 1800, Courts of Sessions and Common Pleas, to possess
and exercise the same powers and jurisdiction as is held by the district
courts. By the same Act, it was enacted that the court for Pendleton
District should be held at Pendleton Court House. And that the several
courts of General Sessions of the Peace, Oyer and Terminer, Assizes, and
General Jail Delivery, and Common Pleas, now established in this State,
are hereby and forever abolished. The new courts established by this Act
were called Courts of Sessions and Common Pleas. By the Act of 1799, Vol.
VII, p. 291, county courts as they then existed, were also abolished.
By the Act of 1799, Vol. VII, p. 299, it was enacted, that all laws
then of force relative to the district courts shall be construed to relate
to the new districts and the courts thereof. By the Act of 1868, the name
"District" was changed back to "County."
The first court house for the
Courts of Sessions and Common Pleas for Pendleton District, was located In
the present public square of the Town of Pendleton, in the hollow near the
public well. The jail remains as it was then built. These two buildings
were built of brick. In 1826, at the time when Pendleton District was
divided into Pickens and Anderson, the commissioners were engaged in
erecting a new court house, where the Farmers' Hall now stands. The
Pendleton Farmers' Society purchased the old, and the new court house
being built then erected, and with the material of the old, finished the
new, which is still owned by the Pendleton Farmers' Society.
The records of the Court for Washington District, are said to be
found in the Clerk's office at Greenville. The records of the Courts held
at Pendleton may be found in the Clerk's office at Anderson.
The following are the names of some of the lawyers who practiced in
the Courts at Pendleton, namely: Pickens and Farrar, Warren R. Davis and
Lewis, Taylor and Harrison, Yancey and Whitfield, B. J. Earle, Geo. W.
Earle, Bowie and Bowie, Robert Anderson, Jr., Saxon, Yancey &
Shanklin, Saxon & Trimmier, T. J. Earle, Z. Taliaferro, Choice, Earle
& Whitner, Thompson, Tillinghasy Norten, George McDuffie. Doubtless
there were others, these are all that can be found.
The Lynch tract of land, upon which the Town of Pendleton was
located, at the time of its purchase, was bounded on all sides by lands
still belonging to the State.
But, it was located on the
main thoroughfare or Indian trail, from Ninety-Six to Fort George, located
further up in the lands formerly belonging to tine Indians-Keowee being
their chief town, and lying on the west bank of the beautiful river by
that name. The lands for many miles surrounding were slightly rolling and
very rich and fertile, with numerous water courses traversing them. As
shown by the profile of the railroad, from Belton to Walhalla, Pendleton
is situated in a basin, and in altitude above the sea, is considerably
lower than Belton. The Blue Ridge Mountains are distant about twenty-five
miles, and the spectacle they present to the eye is grand and magnificent.
Lord Lowther of England was so much impressed with this mountain view that
he caused a large dwelling house to be erected on the highest point in the
town. This dwelling is still in a good state of preservation, and is now
owned and occupied by Mrs. William Henry Trescott and her daughters.
At the close of the Revolutionary War, many families from
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina settled in Pendleton
District. Gen. Andrew Pickens, Col. Robert Anderson, Col. Benjamin
Cleveland, Samuel Earle, Samuel Warren, and Horse Shoe Robertson were of
this distinguished number. They, and many others, were attracted by its
salubrious climate and its rich and fertile soil. The native forests were
covered with a heavy growth of wild pea vine, which furnished a luxurious
pasture winter and summer for horses, cattle and game. Pendleton soon
became from its location the great trading center for a large and
extensive territory, and very naturally, the business men of the town, of
all avocations, became rich. The lands contiguous to the town were in
great demand, and were very early purchased by men of means. Their owners
built large and comfortable dwellings thus early and farmed with great
success. These farmers practiced a generous mode of living, satisfied with the
increase of their slave population.
Early in the eighteenth
century many of the wealthy residents of the low lands, along the sea
coast, were also attracted by the great advantages which the Town of
Pendleton afforded as a summer resort and came to Pendleton to spend the
summer. They also purchased farms and erected large, and some of them,
very fine residences for summer homes. But many of them became permanent
residents. So it came about that all the old citizens of Pendleton, in
speaking of Pendleton, called the country for miles around the "Town of
Pendleton. It was quite natural that these low country gentlemen should
bring with them the refined customs and manners of. the French Huguenots,
which took root and spread among the sturdy and cultured residents from
Virginia and other contiguous states, until the very name of Pendleton
became a synonym for refined and beautiful women, and for elegant,
high-toned and chivalrous gentlemen. The names of some of these families
who came from the low country to Pendleton are given. These names will
speak for themselves:
Pinckneys, Elliotts, Bees, Stevens, Chevers, Haskels,
Smiths, Tunnor, Jennings, Porchers, Ravenels, Humes, Boons, Norths,
Adgers, Potters, Darts, DuPrees, Hamiltons, Haynes, Campbells, Wilsons,
Warleys, Trescotts, Cuthberts, Gibbes, Stuarts and
Hugers.
Only a few of these families have descendants in Pendleton at this
time.
In addition to these immigrants from the low country, many other
people from various sections of the State, many of them wealthy, also came
to Pendleton to secure the benefit to be derived there in many ways. Among
them were the Calhouns, Adams, Earles, Harrisons, Pickens, Andersons,
Taliaferros, Lewis, Maxwell, Seaborns, Symmes, Kilpatricks, Rosses,
Warleys, Lattas, Shanklins, Dicksons, Sloans, Smiths, Taylors, Bensons,
Mavericks, Van Wycks, Whitners, Reeses, Cherrys, Simpsons, Hunters,
Clemsons, Millers, Gilmans, Sittons, Burts.
There were many wealthy and
influential families scattered over the territory of Pendleton.
Descendants of many of these families have been men known far and wide for
their fine characters and great ability.
Such men for instance as
James L. Orr, Benj. F. Perry, Stephen D. Lee, Joseph E. Brown and others.
It would have afforded us great pleasure to have reached out and embraced
the many distinguished families and men in this little history, but to
have done so would nave extended it beyond all reasonable bounds. It is a
well known fact that the descendants of these early settlers in Pendleton
have produced more prominent men than perhaps any other portion of this or
any other state of equal size men who have left here for other states and
have attained there high and important positions.
It might be well to pause here and inquire into the causes which
produced noticeable results. The rules or society in Pendleton were for
the protection of the women primarily. None but gentlemen were admitted
into the family circle. No matter how rich he might be, he could not
enter, and a poor man, if a gentleman, was always welcome. The standard
was character and knowledge of how to conduct himself according to the
code of a gentleman. It was as much as a man's life was worth to speak
disrespectfully of a woman or to do or say anything not permitted by the
best society. Consequently, the mothers, wives and sisters of this favored
region were respected and honored, and as a natural result they shed an
influence which in turn elevated the children, and produced a race of men
that have shed lustre upon the State and our common country. It is a
common maxim that there never was a great man unless he had a great
mother. When women are pulled down by the tongue of slander, and by a lack
of that veneration due them by the men, from the high and exalted position
in which God in his Providence has placed them, we will look in vain for
the coming of great men. There never was a breath of scandal connected
with a woman in Pendleton. The men in their intercourse with other men,
observed with profound respect the rules which a refined society
established for the government of such intercourse. These observances,
coupled with a free and generous hospitality from one and all, won for the
Town of Pendleton, lying in the lap of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains,
an extended reputation for elegance, refinement and hospitality second to
very few places in the State.
When we look back fifty years
ago, when Pendleton was in its highest degree of prosperity, we recall
with what strikes us now with peculiar force, that there never was any
jealousy or unfriendly feeling existing among the men and their families.
But all seemed to live In perfect harmony one with the other. On account
of the scattered condition of the different homes there were but few
entertainments given at night. Dinings were frequent between the various
families, and such dining as they were too. A very pretty custom was when
a family invited another in the cool of the summer evening to tea, as it
was then called. It was handed around on big waiters, out on the piazzas,
and it was not tea alone either. Weddings were memorable occasions,
everybody was invited, and a supper was served in the most lavish style.
Often there was sufficient to feed not only the guests present, but the
whole neighborhood besides.
The citizens of Pendleton
always took an active interest in everything that looked to the uplifting
of the people generally. They too were always zealous and watchful to
preserve the liberties of the country, and especially those interests and
rights that belong to every man and to the State and entire country as
well.
During the days of Nullification the people of Pendleton
were staunch supporters of Mr Calhoun, the leading spirit of that
memorable movement. And were also earnest advocates of, and active
participants in, those measures which culminated in the Secession of the
State of South Carolina from the United States in 1860. When war was
inevitable these people, almost to a man, volunteered in the army. The
young men volunteered first, and unfortunately many of our young men were
absent in college, or engaged in business in other places, and they joined
the companies being raised at those places they were then at. This and
other causes prevented the people of Pendleton from organizing local
companies, thus showing their loyalty to the great cause at stake. But the
companies of Capt. Daniels, Capt. Shanklin, Capt. Kilpatrick of Pickens,
Capt. Garlington's company, of Laurens Capt. Trenholm's Squadron, Capt.
Calhouns company, of Pickens, the Butler Guards, and so on had numerous
recruits of Pendleton boy& Before the end of the war every man in
Pendleton who was at all able to bear arms, was in the service, gallantly
fighting the battles of his country. As a result the town and surrounding
country were almost entirely denuded of men. No part of the Confederacy
suffered more perhaps than this section of the State. The teachings and
the training that these people were so familiar with could have no other
result than to create men who were more than willing to give their lives
in defense of their country. Their religious training also manifested
itself in the tender care bestowed by them upon the sick and wounded
soldiers.
Very early after the Town of Pendleton became the county
seat of Pendleton County the citizens became interested in educational
matters. In 1808, the legislature passed an act authorizing and directing
the commissioner appointed to sell the lots into which the tract of land
purchased from Isaac Lynch had been divided to turn over all the money in
their hands to certain persons therein named for the purpose of
establishing a circulating library. By the same authority other moneys and
lands were added to the library fund. In 1811, the circulating library was
incorporated and authority was given to the incorporation to buy and sell
land, and all the remainder of the Lynch tract of land unsold was by said
act vested in the said incorporation. The circulating library continued in
operation until 1825, when by act of the legislature the library was
incorporated as the Pendleton Male Academy. The brick academy was then
built upon some of the land which the legislature had given to the library.
Afterwards, about 1835, another large school house was erected near the
brick academy; which last was then turned into a dwelling for the
teachers, and the school was held in the large wooden building. Both these
buildings still remain, and are in fair condition; and a large graded
school is now held therein. The Pendleton Male Academy was for many years
a celebrated school, and was always largely patronized, particularly by
those citizens who resided within four or five miles of the town.
In 1827, there was also in Pendleton a Female Academy, in which
year the trustees thereof were incorporated as the trustees of the
Pendleton Female Academy. In the year 1828, the trustees of the Pendleton
Female Academy purchased, at public sale, the large brick jail and had it
improved and added to for an academy. This Academy also became famous, and
largely patronized both by residents and students from abroad. The
Farmers' Society owned the building adjoining the Female Academy lot,
which they sold to the Academy to better accommodate the boarding
students. This building, many years after, the Academy sold to Col. D. S.
Taylor.
There was still another school in town presided over by Miss Mary
Hunter. When established, no one now living knows. Miss Mary had been
teaching for many years before 1845, and she was then quite an old woman.
To this school all the little tots, boys and girls, in the town and
surrounding country went to learn the things Miss Mary taught, and I
venture the assertion, not one of her scholars ever forgot the
"Multiplication Table" to the very end of their days. Those who attended
this celebrated school can no doubt recall many laughable little incidents
which happened therein. The little boys and sometimes the little girls
were sent to this school on horseback attended by an old Negro man, who
returned in the afternoon and piloted them safely home. When they arrived
at the age of maturity, that is when they had grown so big Miss Mary could
not whip them, they were promoted to the Male and Female Academy. There
was frequently more than a hundred children in each of these schools. They
came principally from the homes of parents who resided within the limits
of Pendleton. They came on foot, or on horse-back, in buggies, carriages,
carryalls, hacks, and in every conceivable vehicle. As the boys grew large
enough they drove their sisters to the Female Academy, and they kept the
vehicle and horses at their school, and in the afternoon the whole
"lay-out" drove to the Female Academy, received their loads and returned home.
The men of Pendleton were ever noted for their high toned and
chivalric characters. They strictly observed all the courtesies and
amenities of life, due from one gentleman to another, and any departure
therefrom met with immediate condemnation-as with the parents, so with the
boys. There was no hazing at the Male Academy, but when a boy entered this
school he had very soon to learn that he had to be a gentleman in his
conduct. If he was not an apt student in learning the ways of a gentleman
he had more fights on his hands than he could possibly attend to. And woe
be to the boy who should make a remark reflecting upon the life or
character of a lady. It made no difference what lady either.
Thus were the boys trained in the ways of their fathers to respect
women, to honor the aged, and, in their intercourse with each other, to be
honest, upright and gentlemanly. Their training was sometimes rough, yes,
very rough, but in the end many honorable and noble men were turned out of
this old Academy.
In 1834, the Pendleton Manual
Labor School was incorporated. This school was under the direction of Rev.
John L. Kennedy, who afterwards became famous as a teacher of the youth of
the country. He afterwards taught most successfully at Pickens Court
House, Thalian Academy, and other places. The labor school continued for a
few years only. The reason given by Mr. Kennedy to the writer for its
failure was two-fold. The boys could not stand being taken out of the
school room to work in the sun. The sudden changes or other causes not
determined, brought on an epidemic of typhoid fever, which caused the
scheme to be abandoned.
It is somewhat peculiar that
the citizens of Pendleton very shortly after the termination of the
Confederate War attempted to establish a similar school but on a broader
basis. Thos. G. Clemson, R. F. Simpson, W. H. Trescott, James W. Crawford,
Dr. J. H. Maxwell, Maj. Benj. Sloan, Col. J. W. Livingston, Dr. H. C.
Miller, and R. W. Simpson attempted, in an humble way, to establish an
Agricultural School. And while their efforts failed there grew out of
their efforts influences which culminated in the establishment of Clemson
College, an institution far beyond the conception of
those who first conceived the idea.
As early as 1815 the citizens
of Pendleton began to take an active interest in the improvement of their
stock and the methods of farming. In the same year they organized a
Farmers' Society. The officers were James C. Griffin, president ; Josias
Gaillard, vice-president; Robert Anderson, secretary and treasurer; and
Joseph V. Shanklin, corresponding secretary. The resident members who
first joined the Society were Thomas Pinckney, Jr., John L. North, Andrew
Pickens, Benjamin Smith, John Miller, Sr., Charles Gaillard, John E.
Calhoun, J. T. Lewis, Thomas L. Dart, J. B. Earle, William Hunter,
Benjamin DuPre, Sr., Joseph Grisham, L. McGregor, Samuel Earle, Richard
Harrison, Patrick Norris, J. C. Kilpatrick, Joseph B. Earle, T. W. Farrar,
C. W. Miller, Samuel Cherry, John Taylor, Thomas Stribling, John Green.
The next year the following names were added:
John Maxwell, B. F. Perry,
William Hubbard, E. B. Benson, George Reese, Sr., George W. Liddell, J.
B. Perry, John Martin, T. Farrar, Warren R. Davis, William Gaston,
Joseph Reed, Elam Sharpe, D. Sloan, Jr., Samuel Warren, Leonard Simpson,
Major Lewis, Samuel Taylor.
In 1817, the following members were added to the Society: William
Steele, James Laurence, Frances Burt, John Hunter, W. S. Adair, William
Taylor, William Anderson, Joseph Mitchell, Thomas Lorton, Rev. James
Hillhouse, Benjamin Dickson, Richard Lewis, J. T. Whitfield, J. B.
Hammond, John Halbert, and Robert Lemon.
In 1818, the following
members were added: John Hall, David Cherry, John Gaillard, Charles Stony,
McKenzie Collins, George Taylor, Theodore Gaillard, Samuel Gassaway, R. A.
Maxwell, J. P. Lewis, F. W. Symmes, George Reese, Jr., Joseph Whitner,
James Faris, James 0. Lewis, Thomas Sloan, Henry McCrary, David K.
Hamilton.
Many addresses and reports of
committees are still preserved in which are shown the great interest taken
at that early date in the improvement of everything pertaining to
agriculture. This society is the oldest of its kind in the United States,
except the one organized in Philadelphia a year or two before this one,
The Pendleton Farmers' Society, in 1828,, bought the old court house and
the new one being then erected in Pendleton. And, with the material of the
old court house, completed the new building for the Farmers' Society,
which is still the property of the Society. For many years stock shows and
fairs were annually held. Improved breeds of cattle and other kinds of
stock were imported. Horses, cattle jacks, sheep and hogs in great numbers
were put on exhibition. And thus these shows were kept up for years. Ever
since the war some notable exhibition of stock has taken place. The
Farmers' Society has maintained its organization to the present time.
John Miller, who assisted in the publication and circulation of the
famous Junius' Letters in London, came to America. He published the first
daily paper ever issued in Charleston. Afterwards he made Pendleton his
home, and was elected Clerk of the County Court in 1790. Mr. Miller
commenced the publication of a weekly newspaper in Pendleton early in the
nineteenth century. The paper was first known as Miller's Weekly
Messenger, and afterwards appeared as the Pendleton Messenger, with Dr. F.
W. Symmes as editor. Dr. Symmes was a man of ability and wielded a
controlling influence in the politics of this section of the State. He was
a Democrat and a fearless advocate of Mr. Calhoun and his politics in his
remarkable career in the country. In 1849 he sold the Messenger to Burt
& Thompson, who conducted the paper for several years.
Major George Seaborn edited and published the Farmer and Planter at
Pendleton for a number of years. Major Seaborn was a native of Greenville,
and reared a large and interesting family. He took great interest in
improving the methods of farming as he found them here. His paper was not
only useful and ably edited, but it was very popular in the State.
Early in the history of Pendleton a Jockey Club was incorporated by
the legislature. A number of good citizens engaged in the sport of racing,
not because it was profitable as such, but because in that way the stock
of the country could be improved. There was no betting or immorality in
the mere act of racing. It was encouraged because it afforded amusement to
the people at large.
One small event may be
recorded without loss of temper or currency This was known as the worm
Multicallus incident. Many trees were planted, and some silk was evolved
by the silk worms. The fortunes to be made by the trees did not
materialize, but quite a number of persons, including Mrs. Samuel Reid, of
Pickens, were very successful in making silk and manufacturing it into
beautiful cloth.
One of the great events in
the history of Pendleton was the removal of Hon. John C. Calhoun, from
Abbeville, to Fort Hill in 1824. Incidentally, it connects his family with
the origin of Clemson College, of which we desire to make brief mention.
The great struggle, tile fierce "War between the sections," left the
entire South barren in almost every respect. As an agricultural people we
were bereft of labor and capital, and, to add to this, our political
condition was rendered almost intolerable by the unrelenting disposition
of the North in its hour of success. Our educational institutions went
down in the general wreck. They had been too, mostly of a literary
character. Something practical in this respect was a necessity. Col.
Thomas G. Clemson, a son-in-law of Mr. Calhoun, was an eminently practical
man, and had been very thoroughly educated in this respect. He was a
scientist of very high character. Colonel Clemson was in the overthrow
with his family, and saw his way clearly as to the necessities of the
future. The education of the youth of the South must in a measure be of a
practical character; and he, in his old age, gauged the future most
successfully. He resided on a spot dear to every Southern man by its
associations. Was the future of a great people to be made certain by the
practical and scientific knowledge of Colonel Clemson? Let us see.
We have already seen that the people of Pendleton had at a very
early period, become interested in the practical character of the "Labor
School" established near town. They also redoubled their efforts after the
war to establish a more effective institution. These gentlemen were the
companions of Colonel Clemson, and has desire in this connection rekindled
their efforts. This was especially true as to Col. R. W. Simpson. He had
nobly discharged his duty as a private in the ranks of the Confederate
Army. He was not only a successful farmer, but also a lawyer of
distinction. He was often consulted by Colonel Clemson as to his business
generally and especially as to the establishment of such an institution as
Clemson College has proved to be. He wrote his will, giving in a marked
degree, the directions of Colonel Clemson in this
respect, and was his companion generally in the passing years of his
useful and eventful life.
On one occasion, Colonel
Simpson was requested by the Trustees of the College to prepare a sketch
of the life of Colonel Clemson. This he did, and read the same before the
authorities of the College.
This is a brief memorial of
Colonel Simpson to his departed friend, and we have drawn largely from it
in concluding this article.
"Col. Thomas G. Clemson was
born in the City of Philadelphia, July, 1807, died at Fort Hill, S. C.,
April 6, 1888, and was buried at Pendleton, S. C. Colonel Clemson was six
feet six inches tall. His features were handsome and his appearance
commanding. His deportment and manner were dignified and polished. His
intellect was of a high order, and he was gifted with fine conversational
powers. His views and opinions were broad and liberal and there was
nothing narrow or contracted about him.
"While possessed of ample
means he had no disposition to spend more money upon himself than was
actually necessary. His greatest desire was to take care of his property
and increase it that he might the better carry out his promise to his
wife, which was to found an Agricultural College upon Fort Hill, upon the
very spot she herself had selected for the location of the main college
building. How faithfully he redeemed his promise to his dear wife, let
Clemson College as it stands today in all of its magnificence speak.
Colonel Clemson well knew that the property donated for the purpose would
not be sufficient to build and maintain such a college as he conceived of;
but having a firm reliance upon the liberality of the State of South
Carolina, he felt assured that when the necessities of the people, growing
out of their changed conditions resulting from the effects of the war,
were properly understood and appreciated, his efforts to benefit the
farmers would be recognized, and that the State would supplement his
donation by whatever amount might be necessary to establish the dream of
his life.
He reasoned wisely and
correctly.
"Very early in life Colonel
Clemson developed a great taste for the study of the sciences, especially
chemistry, mineralogy and geology. In 1823, when hardly sixteen years old
he ran off from home, not on account of any disagreement with his parents,
but simply for adventure and to see the world. At that time, though so
young, was six feet tall and exceedingly handsome, both in form and
feature. He first went to England, but remained there only a short time
and then visited Paris. At that time France was particularly friendly
towards the United States, and this handsome young American very soon
attracted the attention of the. young nobility of the great City. Through
these young men he also became acquainted with some of the leading
officials of the City. During his stay in Paris he shouldered a musket and
joined
his young friends in several of the revolutions or outbreaks for which
that City has been famous it's gallantry displayed on these occasions
earned for him the respect and esteem of the officials, who rewarded him
with a position in the celebrated School of the Mines.
He remained at the school for four years and graduated with high
honors. During his stay in Paris he also found time to indulge his taste
for painting, and had as his teachers some of the celebrated artists of
that time.
By these means he became
acquainted with many painters both in France and Germany, which enabled
him in after years to collect the many valuable and beautiful paintings
which now adorn the walls of John C. Calhoun's old homestead at Fort Hill.
During his stay in Europe his father died and his large estate was divided
in such a way as to leave him no part of it, and just at the age of
manhood found himself penniless; but he cheerfully set to work in the
practice of his profession and very soon earned an enviable reputation.
His services as mining expert were particularly valuable, and though
established at Washington, his labors were not confined to this country
alone, but extended to Cuba and South America also. His fees were large
and he soon after amassed a comfortable fortune. At Washington he was a
conspicuous and prominent person, and he had the entry into the most
exclusive families. Miss Floride, the eldest daughter of John C. Calhoun,
was in Washington on a visit to her father, and there Colonel Clemson met
her, and subsequently they were married at Fort Hill. Mrs. Clemson was
among women what her distinguished father was among men. Her love for her
home and country was superb, and to this noble, generous and yet gentle
woman, South Carolina is as much indebted for Clemson College as to the
distinguished husband, Thomas G. Clemson.
Colonel Clemson was a great
admirer of John C. Calhoun and earnestly supported his political views and
opinions. During the administration of President Jackson he was appointed
Minister to Belgium, but having very little taste for politics, at the
expiration of his term, he returned to his home in Washington, and resumed
the work of his profession. At the beginning of the war Colonel Clemson
was residing at his home in Washington City with his family. which
consisted of his wife and his son, John C. Clemson, and daughter, Floride
Clemson the son and daughter about grown. It was well known to the
authorities that the sympathies of Colonel Clemson were with the South,
and for this reason his movements were closely watched, and some time in
1862 his arrest was ordered, but being warned by a friend that he would be
arrested the next day, he and his son escaped during the night, and
crossed the Potomac in a row boat. Landing on Virginia soil they did not
stop until they reached Richmond, having walked the entire distance. Upon
arriving in Richmond they both tendered their services to President Davis.
John C. was at once appointed a lieutenant in the army and assigned to
duty. Colonel Clemson was assigned to the mining department of the trans -
Mississippi. Here he remained in the service to the close of the war. At
this time Mrs. John C. Calhoun resided at Pendleton, and here Colonel
Clemson was reunited with his family, and here they resided until the
death of Mrs. Calhoun in the latter part of 1866.
Previous to the war, Mrs. Calhoun had sold their old home Fort Hill
and all her property thereon, to her son, Col. Andrew P. Calhoun, taking
his bond and mortgage for the purchase money. Of this bond and mortgage
Mrs. Calhoun willed three-fourths to her daughter Mrs. Thomas G. Clemson,
and one-fourth to Mrs. Clemson's daughter, Miss Floride, who subsequently
married Mr. Gideon Lee, of New York. The mortgage of Col. A. P. Calhoun
was foreclosed, and Mrs. Clemson bought in Fort Hill, and divided it with
her daughter, Mrs. Lee, in proportion to the interest of each under Mrs.
Calhoun's will. In 1871, Mrs. Floride Lee died, leaving one child, a
daughter. Only seventeen days after Mrs. Lee's death, John C. Clemson was
killed near Seneca by a collision of two trains on the Blue Ridge
Railroad. The loss of their only two children was a terrible shock to Mr.
and Mrs. Clemson.
Desolate, they mourned-all
the brightness had been blotted out of their lives, but unsearchable are
the Providence of God, for it was then that these two stricken sorrowing
parents determined to unite in so disposing of all they had left of their
property as to bring to their fellowmen as much happiness and prosperity
as they could have wished for themselves. They agreed to make wills to
each other, and promised that the survivor would make a will donating all
of their joint property to erect an Agricultural College at Fort Hill. In
1875, Mrs. Clemson died suddenly of heart disease, while Mr. Clemson was
absent from home. Many persons in Pendleton remember the grief of this old
and now desolate man at the grave, when the remains of the devoted partner
of his life were being laid to rest. The remaining years
of his
life Mr. Clemson spent desolate and alone, at Fort Hill. After awhile he
began to take more interest in affairs. He was fond of reading and kept
around him the leading newspapers and standard magazines, by which he was
enabled to keep in touch with his fellowmen otherwise he lived the life of
a hermit, at least for several years after the death of Mrs. Clemson.
Eventually, however, his mind became fixed upon the one purpose of
fulfilling the promise to his wife, and erecting the College they had
planned. Then he began again to visit his friends, and many were the
efforts he and his friends made to interest others in this great work.
During this time he looked carefully after his finances, and tried
to save all he could for the College. But still he provided generously for
the faithful helpers who remained with him, and wished very much to help
other poor friends in distress and did so. It was the privilege of the
writer to visit him frequently during the last two years of his life, and
during this time he talked freely of his life and experiences. He
portrayed in a manner never to be forgotten, the condition the South was
sure to be plunged into if something was not done to arrest the
destructive tendencies of the times. Education, such as we had before our
conditions were changed by the war, was all right, but not enough. To
become successful the Southern people had to become practical, and a
practical education was necessary to meet the people's necessities. During
the latter part of his life he talked a great deal about religious matters
and became very much concerned about the salvation of his soul.
He requested the ministers to visit him. One good man who was with
him to the last, said that beyond a doubt he had made his peace with his
God, and his last words were in behalf of the poor and suffering. Can the
people of South Carolina ever forget Thomas G. Clemson and the great work
he helped to accomplish for them? If this is possible visit Fort Hill and
look around you!"
This is the faithful tribute
of Colonel Simpson to his friend. Thomas G. Clemson.
Clemson College has been partly burned, and has been rebuilt.
Additions have been made from time to time. Recently large additions have
been planned, and very soon more than eight hundred young men can be
educated at this College along practical lines. The College is in a very
prosperous condition.
This book did not have an
index. I have made the following index to help you find the families
Col. Simpson has
sketched . |
