John Campbell, Sr.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5234135

A Patriot of the American Revolution for SOUTH CAROLINA (Soldier). DAR Ancestor #: A018653

Son of Douglas Neil Campbell and Mary Campbell

Father of:
James Campbell 19 Jul 1769 - 1816 - mar Elizabeth Parnell
Henry Campbell 24 May 1771 - 13 Oct 1838 - Mar Margaret Darby
Elizabeth Campbell 8 May 1773 - 16 Sep 1848 - Mar Samuel Martindale
Samuel Campbell April15, 1775 - Sep 25, 1828 - mar Margaret Cobb
Mary Campbell 13 Jan 1777 - 1801 - mar Joseph Little
Jonathan C Campbell 8 Sep 1778 - 18 Jan 1849 - Mar Rachel Burns
Lillice Campbell 1 May 1780 - 13 April 1847 - Mar Zadock Hurley
Rachel Campbell Mar 2, 1782 - Feb 19, 1822 - mar Samuel Owen & Samuel Compton
Hester Catherine "Kitty" Campbell March 2, 1782 to Sept 4 1856 - Mar Isaac Waldrop
John C Campbell 5 Nov 1785 - 28 Mar 1854 - Mar Mary Carson/cason & Lydia Pearson
Rebecca Campbell 24 mar 1791 - 1850 - mar Benjamin Allen
Jeremiah Campbell 11 sep 1793 -

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John Campbell Revolutionary War papers, 17 pages:

In some places, unreadable text is simply replaced with the word unreadable.

Page 01, the card: John Campbell. Service: S.C. Number: R1634

Page 02:
Original Claim
State of Ohio
Pike County
On this 14th day of November 1826 personally appeared in open Court the same Court being the court of Common pleas for the County of Pike, being a court of record for the county aforesaid John Campbell, resident in said County, aged sixty seven years who being first sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the provisions made by the act of Congrefs of the 18th March 1818 and of the 1st May 1820. When the said John Campbell enlisted for the term of eighteen months on or abut the 12th day March in the year 1778 as well as he can remember in the State of South Carolina in the company commanded by Captain Gilfort (possibly Tilfort) in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Nelson in the line of the State of South Carolina on the Continental Establishment, that he continued to serve in the said corps until the expiration of said eighteen months, when he was discharged from the said service, at unreadable in the State of South Carolina. That he was in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse and that he has no other evidence now in his unreadable of his said service. His discharge having been consumed by fire in his house which was burnt down in 1823. And in pursuance of the act of 1st May 1820 I do solemnly swear that I was a resident citizen of the United States on the 18th March 1828. And that I have not since that time, by gift, sale or in any manner disposed of my property or any part thereof with intent thereby, so to diminish it as to bring myselfe within the provisions of an act of Congrefs entitled "An Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the Land and Naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war, passed on the 18th March 1818. And that I have not nor has any person in trust for me any property or

Page 03: securities, contracts or debts due to me. Nor have I any income other than what is contained in the schedule hereto annexed and by me subscribed...
Sworn to and declared on the 14th Nov. 1826 Before one the Subscriber in open Court.
Hallam Hempstead (or something like that, it's difficult to read)
John Campbell. His mark: X

Schedule
The following is a true and correct list of all my property of every description to wit...
Eight geese worth about $1.25
1 old bed 6.00
1 iron skillet & pot 1.50
3 old cups 3 plates & 2 iron spoons .50
$9.25
Given under my hand this 14th day of November 1826
John Campbell. His mark: X

State of Ohio
Pike County
I Hallam Hempstead (both names hard to read) clerk of the Court of Common pleas for the county aforesaid as hereby certify that it appears, to the satisfaction of the Court, that the said John Campbell did serve in the Revolutionary war, as stated in the preceding declaration, against the common enemy, for the term of nine months, under one engagement, on the continental establishment. I also certify that the foregoing oath and the schedule thereto annexed are truly unreadable from the unreadable of the said Court. And I do further certify that is the opinion of the said court that the total amount in value of the property exhibited in the aforesaid schedule is nine dollars and twenty five cents.

In testimony whereof I have here unto set my hand affixed the seal of the said court at unreadable on the 21st day of November 1820.
Hallam Hempstead

Page 04:
Rev. & 1812 Wars Section.
Feb. 17, 1925
Honorable Lee S. Overman,
United States Senate
My dear Senator:
In response to your letter of the fourteenth instant, and the enclosed letter of Mr. James E. Henderson of Cherokee, N.C., I have the honor to advise you that if Mr. Henderson desires photostat copies of the original declaration of John Campbell of the South Carolina Troops, War of the Revolution, who applied for pension for Pike County (not Warren) Ohio, Rejected File 1634, the same will be furnished him under the provisions of the act August 24, 1912, at the rate of fifteen cents a page, with twenty-five cents extra for certification, if that is desired. The number of pages to be copied is two.
The proper amount should be forwarded to this Bureau by money order drawn to the order of the Secretary of the Interior.
Very truly yours,
Washington Gardner
Commissioner

Page 05:
Miss Mary W. Kellum
419 Chestnut Street
Lansing, Michigan
June 11, 1897

April 2, 1923. Photostat copies mailed to Mrs. Claude C. Stanley
1925 Feb. 17 unreadable L.S. Overman
unreadable of cost of copies

1634
Rejected
P.O.: John Campbell
Service: (this field and all following fields on this page left blank)
Enlisted:
Discharged:
Application filed:
Alleges:
Re-enlisted:
Attorney:
P.O.:
Recognized:
Contract:
Cert. of Dis.:
Searched for:

Page 06:
20,150
John Campbell
Pike Co. Ohio
1634
Hon. J. Thompson
A.R.
unreadable, possibly "Received": Dec. 1826
Rejected - In letter 49
Dec. 1826

Page 07:
M 233
Bureau of Pensions
Finance Division
March 16, 1923
Chief of unreadable Section
Sir:
I have this day received from Mrs. Claude Stanley cash $1.75 requesting copy as per letter herewith.
Very respectfully,
O.J. Randall
Chief of Division
Copies mailed and law division notified. April 2, '23. AWJ

Page 08:
(MF 42)
Date March 20, 1923
Name: John Campbell
No.: R1634
Photographic copies wanted of 9 pieces, consisting of 10 pages.
Remarks: (blank)
Exr.: unreadable
Law Clerk
Serial No. 8949
I was away when this was done and am afraid that all the unreadable letters and trash not a part of the claim were unreadable.

Page 09:
Cash 1.75 from
Address:
Mrs. Claude C. Stanley
1323 No. Emporia Ave.
Wichita Kansas
March 12, 1923

Page 10:
O.W. & N. Div.
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Pensions
Washington, D.C. March 19, 1897
Respectfully returned to the writer, who is requested to furnish, for purposes of identification, as much as possible of the information called for below.
D.L. Murphy
Commissioner
Full name of soldier: John Campbell
Place of residence before service (Town, county, and State, if possible): South Carolina
Place of residence after service (Town, county, and State, if possible): S. Carolina until 1809
Warren Co Ohio Waynesville
Date of death (as near as possible): Until death March 18th 1824
Christian name of widow: Hester Campbell
Did either he or his widow receive a pension? Neither one received a pension.
Remarks: Were married at Bush River S Carolina in 1765
Your name and address:
Mary W Rellum
419 Chestnut St.
Lansing Michigan

Page 11:
(date stamp): April 6 1897 Pension Office
Lansing Mich April 2nd 1897
Dear Sir
Your letter duly received. I may be mistaken about John Campbell's not being in the Army after he was home near the 1st of May 1782 for in a genealogy that was gotten up some 40 years ago I find this that John Campbell was first in the British Army and became convinced that the Americans were right and would win so he deserted the British Army and came over to the American side and fought until the war closed.

Page 12:
(date stamp): April 6 1897 Pension Office
2nd
Now I will give you a little history of this John Campbell showing why he was in the British Army. He was living in South Carolina some 20 miles from Charleston. I can't find the name of the county or nearest town unless it was Charleston when the Revolutionary War broke out and he and two other men were standing together near his home when a squad of British soldiers rode up and asked them who they were for. One said America and they shot him dead. They then asked the others.

Page 13:
(date stamp): April 6 1897 Pension Office
3rd
They said King George so they took them right past their own homes and never stopped until they were sworn in the B Army. But John Campbell became convinced that the Americans were right and would win.
So he deserted the British Army and came over to the American side. And for this reason he never went back to claim his inheritance (he was of English decent), and was an American soldier when the Rev War closed. And he lived in South Carolina until 1809

Page 14:
(date stamp): April 6 1897 Pension Office
4th
Then moved to Warren Co Ohio near Waynesville perhaps Lebanon is the County Seat.
He left South Carolina in 1809 and lived in Warren Co Ohio until March 18th 1824, date of his death. He nor his widow ever received any pension. I could give a genealogy of his descendants if necessary. Hoping to hear from you soon. I remain your well wishes.
Mary W. Rellum
419 Chestnut St Lansing Mich

Page 15:
(date stamp): April 6 1897 Pension Office
5th (and last)
There is a little history come under my notice a few days ago that may help to tell what county John Campbell lived in S Carolina as he was married to Hester Clark at Bush River at a Quaker church and (hard to read, possibly Miedlic) was the name of a Post Office near Bush River settlement and another at a place called Pominick And that there still some Campbells near that place now but we don't know whether they are descendants of John Campbell or not if so we never heard of them before.

Page 16:
(date stamp): Feb. 16 1925, Office of the Commissioner, U.S. Bureau of Pensions
United States Senate
Committee on Appropriations
Feb. 14th, 1925.
Hon. Washington Gardner,
Bureau of Pensions,
Washington, D.C.
Dear Commissioner:
Attached hereto I send you a self-explanatory letter received today from Mr. James E. Henderson, of Cherokee, N.C., and I will appreciate it if you will furnish me, for Mr. Henderson, the information requested in his letter. Please return my correspondent's letter with your reply, and oblige.
Sincerely yours,
Lee S. Overman (senator from N.C., on the Appropriations Committee)
(Note sideways on letter): Letter returned to senator

Page 17:
Hon. John Thompson of Ohio
H.R.
War Dept. Pension Office
Dec. 19, 1826

Sir,
Your letter of the 16 instant, stating that your enclosed certificate to advance the pay of an invalid, has been received but without containing any document relating to an Invalid Pension. On the 7 inst. the declaration of John Campbell of Pike Co. Ohio was received at this office in a blank envelope and would have been immediately acted on, could I have ascertained to whom to address an answer. On comparing the superscription on your letter of the 16 inst. with that on the envelope containing Campbell's declaration, I find so great a similarity that I presume you must have forwarded the declaration. I therefore now report to you in Campbell's case. His claim to a pension cannot be allowed, as the service set forth in his declaration was not on the Continental Establishment. he states he served in a regiment commanded by Col. Wilson of the South Carolina line. No colonel of that name belonged to the Continental troops and the law of March 18, 1818 under which he claims, provides for those only who served on the Continental establishment. His declaration will remain on our files agreeably to the regulations of this Department.
J.L.E.
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 Additional explanatory notes that were not part of the above 17 pages, added by your transcriber:

The Bush River is a tributary of the Saluda River, 30 mi (48 km) long, in the Piedmont region of western South Carolina in the United States. Via the Saluda and Congaree Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean.
According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known as "Bush Creek." The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "Bush River" as the stream's name in 1973.
The Bush River rises in Laurens County, just south of the town of Clinton, and flows generally southeastwardly into Newberry County, past Joanna. It joins into the Saluda River about 11 mi (17 km) south of Newberry as part of Lake Murray, which is formed on the Saluda by Saluda Dam.
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The 1939 book Our Campbell Ancestors, 1742-1937, by Sarah E. Temple, provides a fuller account of John’s Revolutionary War story. He served on both sides, starting on the British side and switching to the American side.
On page 26 the book states two variant accounts of John’s dual service existed in the family by oral tradition:
First Account: “During the War John Campbell and two other men were standing talking together when a guard of British soldiers rode up to them and sked who they were for. One said ‘America’ and was shot down where he stood. The others (including John) said ‘King George.’ They were taken past their homes and forcibly sworn into the British Army. After that, John Campbell did not see his family for ten months, although he was only thirty miles from them, and twin daughters were born during his absence [Editor: The birth of Kitty and Rachel establishes the year as 1782, conflicting with the earlier statement that he served on the American side from 1775 to 1783]. Meanwhile he became convinced that the Americans were right, and would win, assisted, as they seemed to be, by a higher power. Acting on his own conviction, at a time when he and his command were obliged to retreat, he stumbled and fell into a dry mill race. With quick thought he took off and concealed his red coat, appropriated the clothing of a dead American and quit the British forces, entirely.”
Second account: “Soon after the beginning of the Revolution he joined the British forces and fought in the interests of the King of England. He came to feel that there was justice in the claim of those who intended to make America their home the the country should be politically independent. Finally, because of conscientious scruples and a great faith in prayer, he abandoned his first affiliation and joined the opposing army.
“One evening, about dusk, having meditated on what course to pursue, he determined then and there to forsake the one force and join the other. There seemed but one way to accomplish his purpose. He pulled his sword from its sheath and cut a swath through the men about him, saying, ‘Let us die like men and not like dogs.’ As he reached the border of the camp, he tripped and fell. At the same time a bullet flew over his head. It was natural, when they saw him fall, to think that he had been shot, so they left him to die, feeling there was one less traitor to combat. John felt that Providence had spared his life.
“When all was quiet, he stealthily crept to a log and lay against it, until he felt he would be safe in making his escape. As he lay waiting, two Tories came and sat on the log by which he was hiding. In their conversation they talked of him, John, and how he had been shot in his effort to escape. Fortunately they quietly walked away, without discovering him and he was free to seek the ranks of their enemy, whom he joined in their fight for liberty.”

Concerning John’s wife Hester Clark Campbell, Our Campbell Ancestors states her grandfather Jonathan Clark “came from England about 1690 to William Penn’s Quaker Colony.” It says the papers for the 1741 marriage of Jonathan’s son Henry Clark to Elizabeth Underhill (Hester’s parents) describe Henry as “son of Jonahan Clark, late of the County of Cecil and Province of Maryland.”
Furthermore, John Campbell grew up in the Clark home and upon reaching manhood married their only daughter Hester.

The full book Our Campbell Ancestors:
https://media.geni.com/p13/70/5d/cd/f2/534448435e2febb2/our_campbell_ancestors_after_ocr_original.pdf?hash=6236af964e5c77789a436ae6ce4aa0291d0b982fd78afb52e2de00edbd296ec2.1728889199