Bennett, Susan Smythe. "The Cheves Family of South Carolina." South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine 35 (July-October 1934): 79-95, 130-52.
CHEVES, Langdon
About this object
1776–1857
Biography
CHEVES, Langdon, a Representative from South Carolina; born September 17, 1776, in Bulltown Fort, near Rocky River, Ninety-sixth District (now Abbeville County), S.C., where the settlers had taken refuge from the onslaught of the Cherokee Indians; received his early education at his home and Andrew Weed's School near Abbeville, S.C.; joined his father in Charleston, S.C., in 1786 and continued his schooling in that city; studied law; was admitted to the bar October 14, 1797, and commenced practice in Charleston; city alderman in 1802; member of the State house of representatives 1802-1804 and 1806-1808; elected attorney general of the State in 1808; elected as a Republican to the Eleventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert Marion, having previously been elected to the Twelfth Congress; reelected to the Thirteenth Congress, and served from December 31, 1810, to March 3, 1815; succeeded Henry Clay as Speaker of the House of Representatives during the second session of the Thirteenth Congress; chairman, Committee on Ways and Means (Twelfth Congress), Committee on the Naval Establishment (Twelfth Congress); declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1814 to the Fourteenth Congress and also the position of Secretary of the Treasury tendered by President Madison; resumed the practice of law; elected associate justice of law and appeal in December 1816; resigned in 1819; declined to accept an appointment as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; elected president of the Bank of the United States March 6, 1819, and held this office until 1822, when he resigned; chief commissioner of claims under the treaty of Ghent; resided in Philadelphia and Washington 1819-1826 and in Lancaster, Pa., 1826-1829; returned to South Carolina in 1829; engaged extensively in the cultivation of rice in South Carolina and Georgia; tendered an appointment by the Governor of South Carolina to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John C. Calhoun, but declined; delegate to the Southern convention at Nashville, Tenn., in 1850 and to the State convention at Columbia, S.C., in 1852; died in Columbia, S.C., June 26, 1857; interment in Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, S.C.
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
[ Top ]External Research Collections
South Carolina Historical Society
Charleston, SC
Papers:
1735-1941, approximately 21 linear feet.
The papers consist of correspondence, property records, legal records, financial records, research notes, historical and genealogical papers, and other items documenting the activities of Langdon Cheves as an attorney, land owner and manager, investor and investment manager, as well as his personal and family life.
Papers:
1777-1864, 6.5 linear feet.
The collection contains personal, business, and legal papers of Langdon Cheves, including records of the Bank of the United States and other financial records, plantation records and correspondence, and legal correspondence and documents pertaining to Langdon Cheves's law practice in Charleston, South Carolina and Pennsylvania, including records of the law firm of Peace & Cheves.
Papers:
In the Seth Wheaton Papers, 1822, 1 item.
A letter from Langdon Cheves to Seth Wheaton written on July 18, 1822. Langdon Cheves writes concerning the selection of board members.
Papers:
In the Langdon Cheves West Papers, 1941, approximately 40 items.
Correspondents include Langdon Cheves.
Papers:
In the Account of an incident relative to the declaration of war with Great Britain, 1858, 1 item.
This account concerns the differences between President James Madison and a group of U.S. Congressmen, including Langdon Cheves, over declaring war on England or France in 1812. The account was related by Langdon Cheves to William Ford DeSaussure, who related it to John Boone DeSaussure.
Emory University
Robert W. Woodruff Library
Atlanta, GA
Papers:
In the Hill-Hoffman South Carolina Documents Collection, 1766-1807.
Subjects covered in the papers include Langdon Cheves.
George Washington University
Special Collections, Gelman Library
Washington, DC
Papers:
In the Benjamin Henry Latrobe Papers, 1820, 1 item.
A letter from Benjamin Henry Latrobe to Langdon Cheves written on January 12, 1820. Benjamin Latrobe encloses for Langdon Cheves, president of the Bank of the United States, a bill from the British consul for some cement, of a type in use in England, for possible use on new Bank of the United States.
The Johns Hopkins University
Special Collections, Milton S. Eisenhower
Library
Baltimore, MD
Papers:
In the Edward M. Greenway Collection, 1737-1876, 1.25 linear feet.
Subjects covered in the papers include Langdon Cheves. A register for the papers is available in the repository and online.
Library of Congress
Manuscript Division
Washington, DC
Papers:
In the Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection, 1830, 1 letter.
A letter from Langdon Cheves written in 1830.
The Morgan Library
Department of literary and Historical
Manuscripts
New York, NY
Papers:
1812, 1 item.
A letter from Langdon Cheves to John Stone written on December 9, 1812.
Papers:
1824, 1 item.
A letter from Langdon Cheves to Richard Smith written on October 1, 1824.
Papers:
1831, 1 item.
A letter from Langdon Cheves to Dr. Furth written on December 29, 1831.
Papers:
In the Horace Binney Papers, 1822, 1 item.
A letter from Horace Binney to Langdon Cheves written on September 28, 1822. Horace Binney writes that he will make an arrangement with the counsel of the Schuylkill Bank for convening the referees.
University of Florida
Library West, George A. Smathers
Libraries
Microfiche:
ca. 1777-1940, approximately 5000 items on 202 microfiche.
The papers contain personal letters, financial and business papers, essays, and speeches of Langston Cheves. Also included are papers by and relating to the Cheves family.
University of North Carolina
Southern Historical Collection
Chapel Hill, NC
Microfiche:
ca. 1777-1940, approximately 5000 items on 202 microfiche.
The papers contain personal letters, financial and business papers, essays, and speeches of Langdon Cheves. Also included are papers by and relating to the Cheves family.
Papers:
In the Cheves and Wagner Family Papers, 1814-1919, 160 items.
The papers include correspondence from Langdon Cheves, chiefly about family and plantation matters. A finding aid is available in the repository and online.
Papers:
In the William Lowndes Papers, 1754-1941, 1 linear foot.
Correspondents include Langdon Cheves. A finding aid is available in the repository and online.
University of Pennsylvania
Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Philadelphia, PA
Papers:
In the Bank of the United States letters and minutes, 1819-1842, 3 volumes.
Other authors include Langdon Cheves.
University of South Carolina
South Caroliniana Library
Columbia, SC
Papers:
In the Cheves Family Papers, 1808-1934, 74 items.
Correspondents include Langdon Cheves.
University of Virginia
Albert H. and Shirley Small Special Collections
Library
Charlottesville, VA
Papers:
In the Richard Cutts Papers, ca. 1753-1886, 185 items.
Other authors include Langdon Cheves.
Papers:
In the Samuel Smith Papers, 1729-1924, 3 feet.
Correspondents include Langdon Cheves. The papers are also available on microfilm
Yale University Library
Microform reference
New Haven, CT
Microfiche:
ca. 1777-1940, approximately 5000 items on 202 microfiche.
The papers contain personal letters, financial and business papers, essays, and speeches of Langston Cheves. Also included are papers by and relating to the Cheves family.
[ Top ]
Bibliography / Further Reading
------. "The Return of the Mace." South Carolina Historical Magazine 58 (October 1957): 243-45.
Cheves, Langdon. Aristides; or, A Series of Papers on the Presidential Election. Charleston, S.C.: P. Freneau, 1808.
------. Letter of the Hon. Langdon Cheves, to the Charleston Mercury, on Southern Wrongs, Sept. 1844. Charleston: N.p., 1844.
------. Letter to the Hon. Langdon Cheves, to the editors of the Charleston Mercury. [Charleston: Printed by Walker & Burke, 1844].
------. An oration, delivered in St. Philip's Church, before an assemblage of the inhabitants of Charleston, on the Fourth of July, 1810, in commemoration of American independence; by appointment of the Seventy-six association, and published at the request of that society. Charleston: Printed by E.S. Thomas, no. 115, East-Bay, [1810].
------. Speech of Hon. Langdon Cheves, in the Southern Convention, at Nashville, Tennessee, November 14, 1850. [Nashville? Tenn.]: Southern Rights Association, 1850.
Diffenderfer, F. R. "Langdon Cheves." Historical Papers and Addresses of the Lancaster County Historical Society 11 (January 1907): 45-58.
Haskell, Louisa Porter. Langdon Cheves and the United States Bank. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1897.
Hensel, W. U. "A Reminiscence of Langdon Cheves." Historical Papers and Addresses of the Lancaster County Historical Society 15 (April 1911): 120-22.
Huff, Archie Vernon. "Langdon Cheves and the War of 1812: Another Look at 'National Honor' in South Carolina." In Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association 17 (1970): 8-20.
------. Langdon Cheves of South Carolina. Tricentennial Studies, No. 11. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1977.
Wright, David McCord. "Langdon Cheves and Nicholas Biddle: New Data for a New Interpretation." Journal of Economic History 13 (Summer 1953): 305-19.
Committee Assignments
- House Committee - Ways and Means - Chair