magnolia plantation
SANKOFA'S SLAVERY DATA COLLECTION
Magnolia
Plantation
Location: Charleston, SC
Constructed: 1676
History: Thomas Drayton, Jr. chose the new and raw Carolina colony in preference
to the older and better established British communities then existing in the Caribbean,
Virginia, and Massachusetts. During this same time, Stephen Fox, another Barbadian,
also settled in "Charles Towne". There he acquired a tract of land along
the Ashley River, which was later named Magnolia Plantation. The marriage of Thomas
Drayton, Jr. to Stephen Fox’s daughter, Ann, resulted in Fox’s becoming the first
in a direct line of Magnolia Plantation’s family ownership that has extended through
320 years.
Associated Surnames: Drayton
Associated Free White Names
- (mid-1700's - 1760) Thomas Drayton: 1708-1760; Members of His Majesty’s
Council for three appointed terms; Royal Justice for Carolina; Member of Common
House of Assembly
- John Drayton: born at Magnolia in 1715; builder of Drayton Hall in
1740; considered at his death to be the wealthiest man in the Colony, leaving
100,000 pounds, several important plantations besides Magnolia, and over 500 slaves
- William Drayton: born at Magnolia in 1732; Justice for Carolina
- William Henry Drayton: born 1742; Delegate to the Continental Congress
in Philadelphia, where he died at the age of 37
- Charles Drayton: born in 1743; Lieutenant Governor in 1785
- John Drayton: born 1766; Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in
1798; twice Governor of South Carolina; appointed United States Judge by President
Madison; founder of the University of South Carolina
- William Drayton: born in 1776; appointed President of the Bank of
the United States in 1839
- Thomas Fenwick Drayton: born in 1808; Confederate General
- John Grimke Drayton: reverend
Associated Black Slave Names
Agriculture
Description of Associated Architecture
- Slave Cabin - An 1840 Cabin still stands near the main parking lot
where it was one of four housing plantation slaves prior to the Civil War. Today,
it has been refurbished to show visitors living conditions of pre-Civil War days.
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