Clemson University’s Founding Document Comes Home: A Look into Stewarding Thomas Green Clemson’s and Anna Calhoun Clemson’s Wills

Abstract

In March 2024, Judge Danny Singleton, newly appointed probate judge of Oconee
County, South Carolina, reviewed the last will and testament of Thomas Green Clemson
in the probate court in Walhalla, South Carolina. Recognizing the document’s historical
significance, Judge Singleton emailed Clemson University President Jim Clements, noting
that without this will, Clemson University would not exist. This correspondence was the
start of a partnership that brought Thomas Green Clemson’s and Anna Calhoun Clemson’s
probate records home to the university