COLHOUN FAMILY CEMETERY, Pickens County, SC A.K.A. Clemson, SC Version 2.3, 22-Nov-2009, P228.TXT, P228 ******************************************************************************** It's believed that the usage of any original work submittals contained within these webpages such as articles, compiling, photographs or graphics, conform to Fair Use Doctrine & Copyright Guidelines. COPYRIGHT NOTE: (1.) Works published before 1923, are considered to be public- domain. (2.) Works published 1923-1977 without a copyright notice, are considered to be public-domain. (3.) Unpublished non-copyrighted works will have Author permission for public-domain. Facts, names, dates, events, places & data can not be copyrighted. Narration, compilations and creative works can be copyrighted. Copyright law in the U.S. does not protect facts or data, just the presentation of this data. REPRODUCING NOTICE: These electronic pages may only be reproduced for personal or 501(c) Not-For-Profit Society use. Use the following names, if, you would like to give any author compiling credit. AUTHORS: Paul M. Kankula-NN8NN & Gary L. Flynn-KE8FD *********************************************************************** 05-01-15 CEMETERY LOCATION: ------------------ Call Clemson University at 864-656-4826 to obtain key to gate. $20 deposit is required. Get driving instructions from the university. Drive 1.5 miles past locked gate. Cemetery is in woods 100 yards on your right. Latitude N 34 42.264 x Longitude W 82 51.376 CHURCH/CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ From: In The Face of Change Interpretive Prospectus Clemson Experimental Forest Clemson University, SC The Plantation Era Where Reed upon her margin sees Sweet Woodburn's cottages and trees. -Walter Scott The names of the homes and plantations in the early to mid-nineteenth century on and around the Clemson Experimental Forest evoke a story of grandeur. Such imaginative names as The Oaks, Valley View, Ashtabula, "Possum Corner, Fort Hill and San Salvador reflect the period of history in which these homes flourished. San Salvador was built by Major Samuel Taylor and stood on a bluff directly across the Keowee from the site of the Cherokee town, Essennecca. The name signifies its origins as it was titled in honor of Captain Francis Salvador who was killed in the ambush at Essennecca in August, 1776. These homes were strikingly elegant and beautiful. Much has been written about their owners and the life styles which were led during this period of history. Two of the plantation homes of this era, Keowee Heights and Woodburn, are significant in the history of the Forest. Keowee Heights was built by John Ewing Colhoun originally as a summer home in the 1790's. The site of the plantation was on a high hill between the Keowee and Twelve Mile Rivers. John E. Colhoun, educated as a lawyer in Virginia, had moved to Charleston to conduct his practice. He was a cousin of the later-to-be distinguished statesman, John C. Calhoun. John E. Colhoun spelled his name with an "o" and his family followed this tradition; whereas, John C. Calhoun and his family adopted the spelling with an "a". Colhoun served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1778-1800, the State Senate, and in 1800 was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate. Unfortunately, he was unable to serve his entire term as he died in October, 1802, leaving his widow, Flouride Bonneau Colhoun, with three young children. A highly respected individual, a letter from John C. Calhoun to Andrew Pickens, Jr. on the 21st of January, 1803 reflected the following insights into the integrity of a great statesman. Let me now turn from these things to one of a more serious nature, I mean the death of our honoured relation John E. Colhoun. By his death our country has lost one of its most sincere friends; and our family one of its brightest ornaments. Mr. Colhoun by his sperited behaviour in the last congress gained himself much honour in N. England. Indeed the general tenour of his actions, al(t)hough not exhibited upon so elevated a stage as congress, yet have been such as to claim the gratitude of his country. It is probable, dear Andrew, that we shall follow the same presuits of life that he did, let us therefore be ambitious to emulate his virtues and knowledge. (Meriwether, 1959:8-9) Keowee Heights later became the residence of John E. Colhoun's son, Colonel John E. Colhoun. Colonel Colhoun, a Yale graduate, had served in the United States Navy. His sister, Floride, married John C. Calhoun. It was during the residence of Colonel Colhoun that Keowee attained its highest period of affluence. In springtime, when the dogwoods were in full bloom, the white frame house with its stately columns, was a picture book of enchantment. It was easily the most extensive and refined plantation home in the area. An excerpt from the diary of Clarissa Adger, visiting relatives at Woodburn Plantation in 1854, reveals: "We also went to John E.'s place, Keowee (home of John Ewing Colhoun, brother of Mrs. John C. Calhoun). It is most beautiful. The house is on the summit of a high hill and the grounds are in fine order. It is said to be worth $30,000." (Stevenson, 1973:71-71) As a charter member of the Pendleton Farmers Society, Colonel Colhoun was a planter, an able financier and served at one time as the state treasurer. Reportedly, the Negroes who worked the elaborate plantation told stories of Colhoun's wealth, asserting "that Colhoun was so rich he shod his horses with silver horseshoes." (Klosky, 1971-53) Martha Calhoun, Colonel Colhoun's daughter, was nicknames "Cuddie" and was reknown for her skills as an equestrian, musician, and conversationalist. Colonel James T. Bacon in his recollections of "Early Green Springs," a summer resort popular with the Colhouns and Calhouns said of "Miss Cuddie": "She was an enthusiastic, fearless, inimitable horse woman - the lightest and airiest of waltzers - she played beautifully on the piano!" (Stevenson, 1973-17) People loved to congregate to hear her play the piano, watch her ride, or marvel at her agility on the dance floor. As a composer, her Keowee Waltzes were each given a local Indian name - Jocassee, Cherokee, Seneca. An individual, Dave Sloan, recalled her marvelous skill with horses: "I once saw her mount a young blooded horse of her father's that two young Negroes with difficulty held whilst she was being seated, and when turned loose, skillfully managed him." (Sloan, 1891-77) Dave Sloan was the best friend of William Lowndes Calhoun, the youngest son of John C. Calhoun. He spent a great deal of time with the Calhouns and paints a revealing picture of life in the mid-1800's with the Calhouns and their cousins of Keowee Heights, the Colhouns. The remains of Keowee Heights are contained within the present Clemson Experimental Forest. Woodburn was the home of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, son of Thomas Pinckney, once Governor of South Carolina. Pinckney built Woodburn in the early 1800's, and its architecture and style reflect the high Southern life which ended with the Civil War. The house itself is a large, four-story, wooden structure with wide porches, pillars and double French doors on the front two porches. Slave labor worked the 600 acres of farmland surrounding Woodburn when Pinckney owned the plantation. Reverend Dr. John Adger told of his trip to Pendleton and his fascination with the "desireable farm" of Woodburn and revealed: I fell in love with Woodburn at first sight - the beautiful ride through its woods up to the house, the fine old dwelling itself, the splendid mountain view seen through its windows, the beautiful road down to the stable, running over a ridge, with trees filling a hollow on the left side, and on the right a romantic forest ravine. And, then, beyond the stable the fertile acres of bottom land... Woodburn had hold of my heart. (Stevenson, 1973:47) o----------o "Our Honoured Relation" will be available for purchase in December 2009 or January 2010. This book chronicles the lives of John Ewing Colhoun (1751-1802) and his wife FLoride Bonneau (1765-1838) with emphaisa on Colhoun's multiple civic contributions to South Carolina and the nation. Their legacy includes the enabling of John C. Calhoun, Colhoun's first cousin and son-in-law. The full name index of over 400 surnames includes the Calhoun/Colhoun and Bonneau immediate family, as well as relatives, associates, clients, consituents and courtroom and political opponents, e.g., Boisseau, DeSaussure, Galphin, Gervais, Green, Kerr, Noble, Norris, Pickens, Scarbrough, and others. The book relies to a great extent on unpublished documents, particularly the Colhoun papers in the South Caroliniana Library. 371 pages. For details, contact the author, James Green at jgreen29202@yahoo.com. TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife COLHOUN, Howard John Ewing, b. 1751, d. 20-oct-1802