Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Dissertations Department of History Fall 12-16-2019 The Draytons Of Drayton Hall: Land, Kinship Ties And The British Atlantic World Barbara Spence Orsolits Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss Recommended Citation Spence Orsolits, Barbara, "The Draytons Of Drayton Hall: Land, Kinship Ties And The British Atlantic World." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2019. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss/81 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE DRAYTONS OF DRAYTON HALL LAND, KINSHIP TIES AND THE BRITISH ATLANTIC WORLD by BARBARA SPENCE ORSOLITS Under the Direction of Glenn Eskew, Ph.D. ABSTRACT In 1675, Thomas Drayton Sr. undertook a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to the colony of Barbados in search of land and opportunities. He did not find either in Barbados, but his eldest son, Thomas Drayton Jr. immigrated to the new colony of Carolina. Drayton Jr. accumulated a large amount of capital and invested his money in rice cultivation and the importation of slaves. Drayton Jr. married Ann Fox, the daughter of his friend and mentor, Stephen Fox. Their marriage laid the foundation for the Drayton Dynasty in Carolina. Upon the death of Thomas Drayton Sr., his widow Ann became the executrix of his estate and legally became a “feme sole.” Ann Fox Drayton established tight kinship ties to several powerful planter families, who resided on the Ashley River. She taught her son youngest, John Drayton business skills, financial management, and agricultural methods. John Drayton would become one of the wealthiest and powerful planters in the South Carolina Lowcountry. He would construct the most exceptional Georgian-Palladian mansion in British North America. Drayton Hall would come to signify his elevated position in the Charleston plantocracy. Drayton identified with all things English, which he reflected in matters of taste and style. In 1784, Charles Drayton, the second son of John Drayton, assumed ownership of Drayton Hall, when he purchased the plantation from his father’s widow, Rebecca Perry Drayton. Litigation amongst the children and grandchildren over John Drayton’s will would leave him in reduced circumstances. He would redesign Drayton Hall as a “ferme ornee” or ornamental farm, which would grow provisions and livestock and cultivate rice at two outlying plantations on the peripheries of the Lowcountry. When died in 1820, Drayton Hall was his one remaining asset, which he left to his son, Charles II. After 1820, Drayton Hall entered an eclipse. The attempts of the Draytons to cultivate rice in southern Georgia were a failure. The Civil War did not destroy Drayton Hall, but the family was penniless. Phosphate mining at Drayton Hall returned the family to prosperity. In 1973, unable to maintain Drayton Hall, the Drayton family sold it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. INDEX WORDS: Barbados, Sugar, Charleston, Thomas Drayton Jr., Rice, Ann Fox Drayton, Kinship Networks, John Drayton, James Glen, Drayton Hall, William Henry Drayton, Charles Drayton, Andre Michaux, Ferme Ornee, Phosphate Mining. THE DRAYTONS OF DRAYTON HALL LAND, KINDSHIP TIES AND THE BRITISH ATLANTIC WORLD by BARBARA SPENCE ORSOLITS A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of History in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2019 Copyright by Barbara Spence Orsolits 2019 THE DRAYTONS OF DRAYTON HALL LAND, KINSHIP TIES AND THE BRITISH ATLANTIC WORLD by BARBARA SPENCE ORSOLITS Committee Chair: Glenn Eskew Committee: Richard Laub Wendy Venet Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University December 2019 iv DEDICATION I want to dedicate this work to my husband, John, who never gave up on me and encouraged me in my research and writing. He took countless trips to Charleston with me, always with a smile on his face. Moreover, to Diana Evans Berman, who has been by my side over the past twenty years. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my gratitude to Dr. Glenn Eskew, who always kept in touch with me over the years as I struggled to complete this project. Dr. Eugene Genovese always pushed me forward saying “Young lady you have to finish, this is your union card.” I still here his voice when we debated politics and baseball. He was a Giants fan and I love the Braves. My brother, Randy took several trips with me to Charleston and Drayton Hall. He saved me from being bitten by a huge water moccasin when we were by some abandoned rice fields. My friend Tristan Stubbs, who visited me in Atlanta and during breaks from the archives in Morrow became a fan of the Atlanta Braves. To Steven Goldberg, a co-worker at Delta Airlines, who over breakfast in Madrid lectured me on finishing my writing and on many trips listened to my ideas about eighteenth-century Charleston. To, Giuseppe Bellotti, for his unwavering support and encouragement. Dr. Linda King, for her comments and encouragement in my writing. Dr. Mark Barnes, who introduced me to Drayton Hall, and Jim Cothran who assigned me to do a research project on Drayton Hall’s landscape and garden history. Richard Laub first introduced me to Historic Preservation, and I am eternally grateful for his support and encouragement. Katherine, who always listens to my musings on southern history. Finally, I want to thank Dr. Wade Lawrence, former Assistant Director of Drayton Hall, who gave me the Drayton Paper’s Collection. This was a newly digitalized version of all the Drayton family papers from 1700 up until 1973 when Drayton Hall was sold to the National Trust for History Preservation. Having ready access to this material has been invaluable. Dr. Lawrence also gave me disks of his many photos and images taken at Drayton Hall. Without his help this work would have not been possible. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ V LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... IX 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 2 BARBADOS AND CHARLESTON: MIGRANTS, TRADERS, AND SLAVES ....... 9 2.1 Barbados: Paradise Lost.............................................................................................. 9 2.2 Creating a Plantation Province ................................................................................. 22 2.3 In Pursuit of a Staple Crop: The Introduction of Rice ........................................... 33 2.4 The Early Draytons: Land and the Introduction of Slavery ................................. 40 3 ANN DRAYTON ............................................................................................................. 50 3.1 Widowhood and Upholding the Male Patriarchy ................................................... 50 3.2 Plantation Mistress: Providing forAll My Slaves .................................................... 58 3.3 Ann Drayton: Business Woman and Land Speculator ........................................... 62 3.4 Ann Drayton and the Beginnings of Drayton Kinship Ties ................................... 66 3.5 The Death of the Drayton Matriarch ....................................................................... 72 3.6 Drayton Kinship Ties to the Scottish Nobility ......................................................... 76 4 JOHN DRAYTON: IDENTITY AND ENGLISH CULTURE ................................... 86 4.1 Charleston: Material Culture and Matters of Taste ............................................... 86 4.2 Patterns of Kinship Ties ............................................................................................ 92 4.3 Kinship Ties: The Bulls and Draytons ..................................................................... 97 vii 4.4 John Drayton: James Glen A True and Constant Friend ...................................... 99 5 THE GEORGIAN PALLADIAN IDEAL .................................................................. 103 5.1 The Charles Drayton Library Inventory ............................................................... 103 5.2 The Exterior .............................................................................................................. 108 5.3 The Interior: Public and Private Spaces ................................................................ 115 6 THE DRAYTONS: AN ATLANTIC FAMILY ......................................................... 123 6.1 Lady Margaret Drayton: A Woman of Substance and Refinement.................... 123 6.2 Education and A Fractured Family ....................................................................... 125 6.3 John Drayton and James Glen: Politics and Money ............................................. 130 6.4 John Drayton and Atlantic World Material Culture............................................ 144 6.5 William Henry Drayton: The Prodigal Son Returns ............................................ 154 6.6 John Drayton: Disinheritance and Re-Marriage .................................................