William Drayton

For other men with the same name, see: William Drayton (disambiguation).
William Drayton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 1st district
In office
May 17, 1825 – March 3, 1833
Preceded by Joel R. Poinsett
Succeeded by Henry L. Pinckney
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from St. Philip's and St. Michael's Parish
In office
November 24, 1806 – June 29, 1808
Personal details
Born (1776-12-30)December 30, 1776
St. Augustine, East Florida
Died May 24, 1846(1846-05-24) (aged 69)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Political party Jacksonian
Profession planter, politician
Military service
Allegiance United States United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1812–1815
Rank Colonel
Battles/wars War of 1812

William Drayton (December 30, 1776 – May 24, 1846) was an American politician, banker, and writer who grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the son of William Drayton, Sr., who served as justice of the Province of East Florida (1765–1780).

Drayton served as a United States Representative to Congress (1825–1833). Following the Nullification Crisis, as a unionist Drayton decided to move his family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1833. He lived there the rest of his life. He was appointed as president of the Second Bank of the United States.

Early life and education

The son of William Drayton, Sr. and his wife, William was born in St. Augustine, Florida, where his father served from 1765 to 1780 as the chief justice for the Province of East Florida.[1][2] In 1780 the judge lost his position due to accusations of sympathy with rebels in the American Revolutionary War; he returned with his family to Charleston.[1] He had bought property and plantations in Florida, including what became called Drayton Island.[2]

The Drayton sons were sent to England to complete their educations. Afterward, with his older brother Jacob, William studied law in Charleston.[1] Both became lawyers.

Marriage and family

About 1804 William Drayton married Anna Gadsden (d. 1814), a cousin once removed. They had four children:[1]

After Anna's death, in 1817 Drayton married Maria Heyward.[1] Two of their five children survived to adulthood. Maria Heyward Drayton was also close to her young stepchildren.:[1]

Thomas Drayton, a West Point graduate, stayed in South Carolina when the family moved north and bought a plantation at Hilton Head. He resigned from the US Army to join Confederate forces after secession. He and his brother Percival "commanded opposing forces" in the battle of Port Royal, South Carolina, when Union forces captured the forts.[1]

Career

William Drayton served in the War of 1812, where he was commissioned as a colonel (a rank he used all his life). Colonel Drayton was elected in 1824 to represent South Carolina's first district in the U.S. Congress, and served from 1825 to 1833 with repeated re-election. A unionist during the nullification controversy, in 1833 he moved his family to Philadelphia.[3]

While a unionist, Drayton continued to support slavery. In Philadelphia he wrote and published The South Vindicated from the Treason and Fanaticism of the Abolitionists (1836), a pro-slavery tract. Drayton was appointed as president of the Second Bank of the United States.

Legacy and honors

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Drayton Family Papers", including correspondence from 1783–1896, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, accessed 1 May 2012
  2. 1 2 "Drayton Island". University of Florida. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  3. ↑ biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website
  4. ↑ Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. p. 129. ISBN 0-8018-5730-9
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Joel Roberts Poinsett		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 1st congressional district
1825–1833 		Succeeded by
Henry L. Pinckney
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