Creator: Hammond, James Henry, 1807-1864.
Collection number: 305-z
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Abstract: John Henry Hammond was a lawyer and newspaper editor of Columbia, S.C. In 1831 Hammond married Catherine E. FitzSimons, daughter of a wealthy Charleston merchant, and acquired the “Silver Bluff” cotton plantation on the Savannah River in the marriage settlement. He was elected U.S. senator in 1834 and governor of South Carolina in 1842. He returned to the U.S. Senate in 1857 but resigned his seat when Lincoln was elected. The collection includes letters from Hammond to his wife, Catherine (FitzSimons) Hammond, chiefly about the politics influencing his unsuccessful bid for governor in 1840; social and household matters in Columbia; plantation life at Silver Bluff; and family affairs. Also included is a critique of the work of furniture designer Duncan Phyfe.
Repository: Southern Historical Collection
Collection Highlights: Correspondence discusses plantation life at Silver Bluff Plantation on the Savannah River and slavery. Microfilm available.