Thomas G. Clemson, son-in-law of John C. Calhoun, once lived in Coleman Township, near Red Bank. Mr. Calhoun often visited Mrs. Clemson, and while on these visits it was that I had the good fortune to see Mr. Calhoun several times; and also Mr. Clemson. It was during the time that Mr. Calhoun’s Dahlonega gold mines were at their best. Mr. Clemson was telling how rich the mines were, and by way of illustration he took off an old fur cap which he was wearing, and said that on one occasion he brought up from the mine in which they were digging five hundred dollars’ worth of gold in that cap.
After Mr. Calhoun’s death in 1850, Mr. Clemson sold his farm in Edgefield to Colonel Alfred Deering, and moved to Pendleton. By will, Mr. Clemson gave to the State a portion of that property in Pendleton for the purpose of establishing an Agricultural College, which has been named Clemson College in honor of the founder.
Source: Chapman, John Abney; History of Edgefield County from the earliest settlement to 1897; Newberry, S.C.: E. H. Aull, 1897.