The family of Colonel William Drayton (1776-1846) experienced the sectional conflicts of mid-nineteenth-century America in a very personal way. A scion of a wealthy South Carolina plantation family, the colonel enjoyed a successful legal career in Charleston and several terms as a popular representative in the U.S. Congress, until the nullification crisis of the early 1830s put him at odds with his constituents. While the majority of South Carolinians believed that states should have the right to veto federal laws they found unacceptable, Colonel William supported federal authority. Partly in reaction to the ramifications of this difference of opinion, in 1833 Colonel William moved his family to Philadelphia, where he resided until his death in 1846. The colonel's oldest son, Thomas, however, returned to South Carolina to work on the railroad and to establish a plantation at Hilton Head. When the sectional tensions that flared in the nullification crisis escalated to war, Thomas allied himself with the Confederate cause. His choice put him in opposition to his brothers, especially Percival, a career officer in the U.S. Navy. The brothers commanded opposing forces at the battle of Port Royal, South Carolina, in late 1861. Both survived the war, but Percival died in 1865 of natural causes. Thomas remained in the South, struggling to restore his lost financial stability. The colonel's two youngest sons, William Heyward and Henry Edward, found success in Philadelphia as a lawyer and a doctor. They married sisters Harriet and Sarah Coleman. The colonel's other children included Emma Gadsden Drayton, the oldest child and only daughter, and another William, William Sidney Drayton, a naval officer and later shipping businessman, who died in 1860.
From the description of Drayton family papers, 1783-1896, bulk 1830-1880. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 151377745
