I'll Get to Scotland Afore Ye

Andrew Campbell & Mary Gemmell Campbell

One of my first blogs on here was about my Campbell ancestors and how I'd been unable to go back any further than my great-great grandfather Andrew Campbell who immigrated to the United States about 1870.

But thanks to a distant cousin, the Scottish census, and some superbly detailed record keeping in Scotland, I've been able to push back two more generations and fill in some interesting details, too.

The journey back begins with my great-great grandfather's baptism record showing his birth date of September 27, 1845 (which I knew from family records and his grave marker in Newcastle, Texas). The baptism certificate gives Andrew's father's name as John (which I had not known) and most importantly lists his mother's maiden name, Helen Ramage, which I had not known at all.

Baptism record of Andrew Campbell (October 19, 1845)

The baptism record also gives Andrew's place of birth as Clackmannan, which is also new information, though Clackmannan is very close to Dunfermline, which is where family stories said we were from. With the names of Andrew's parents, one finds their marriage took place January 13, 1845. And with that it is fairly easy to find the family in the Scotland census, which offers a wealth of information.

In  the 1851 Scotland Census John Camble [sic], age 26, and his wife Helen, age 28, were living at 110 Store Row at Forth Iron Works in Carnock. John was a coal miner. In 1851 they had three children: Andrew, age 5 (my great-great grandfather); Margaret, age 4; and Janet, age 2.

In the 1861 Scotland Census the family is living at 83 Blair Row in Carnock. The children are listed as Andrew, age 15; Margaret, age 13; and several new children: John, age 9; William, age 7; Alexander, age 2; and Thomas, who is two months old.

Birth Record of Alexander Campbell (1858)

You may have noted that the youngest child listed in the 1851 census, Janet, is missing. Alas, she is listed in the death registry for January 1859.  A final child, Catherine Campbell, was born to John and Helen in 1865.

My great-great grandfather Andrew was 22 when he married my great-great grandmother Mary Gemmell in 1867. Both list their residences as Blair Row in Oakley.  The certificate also gives me the names of Mary Gemmell's parents (my 3rd great grandparents), James Gemmell, a labourer, and Jean Stewart.

Marriage record of Andrew Campbell & Mary Gemmell (1867)

Now comes a bit of a surprise. According to the marriage record above, they were married on October 7, 1867. But in Mary Gemmell Campbell's obituary from March 15, 1930, we find a marriage date of October 16, 1866. Regarding the discrepancy between the date of the 7th versus the 16th all I can assume is the child that wrote the obit failed to recall the anniversary correctly. The mistake in the year is more interesting, and I suspect the couple pushed the date back a year as their first child, Jean Campbell [Hardy], was born March 21, 1868 - less than six months after the actual marriage date.

Jean Campbell Hardy was a prominent resident of Newcastle, Texas (where this obituary ran). She had married Samuel Hardy who had in fact named the town and developed and financed several of the coal mines in the area. I am not sure if even Aunt Jean knew she had been conceived three months before her parents wed (I doubt it), but it is more than good reason for a fudging of the dates.

Andrew and Mary had two children in Scotland before they emigrated to the United States in 1870. Jean was the first (born March 21, 1868), and I just found a birth record for their second child, John Campbell, born July 30, 1869, in Carnock. You can read more about the thirteen Campbell children  in this earlier post.

Catherine Campbell, the youngest of John Campbell and Helen Ramage's children, married John Forsyth on December 31, 1886. They went on to have at least seven children. According to the 1891 Scotland census, her father was living with them, age 66. Helen Ramage Campbell seems to have died before 1891 - but I can't find a source thus far.

My great-great-great grandfather John Cambell died of pneumonia a few months after appearing in the above census on November 16, 1891, aged 67. I'm sure his life as a coal miner contributed a bit, too, to his death. He was living in Dunfermline, County of Fife, when he died.

John Campbell Death Record (1891)

His death certificate (above) survives, and thanks to the superb Scottish record keeping, allows me to push back the Campbells one more generation still. The death information includes the names of his parents, (my 4th great grandparents) Andrew Campbell (another coal miner) and Janet Allan. I believe I have found their marriage record, too, showing they married May 13, 1820, in Dunfermline, County Fife, Scotland.

I am deeply indebted to Alex Johnston. He is a first cousin, twice removed of the John Forsyth that married my great-great-great aunt, Catherine Campbell. He supplied me with much of the information above. In exchange I was pleased to give him a good deal of information on what happened to my Campbell ancestors that came to the United States in 1870.

The Campbells are Coming!

We've spent a couple posts on my Kirkpatrick ancestors, so today I'm going to introduce some of my Campbell relatives. So far I have had little luck tracing the line back beyond my great-great-grandparents, Andrew Campbell (1845-1919) and his wife Mary Gemell (1847-1930).

Andrew Campbell (1845-1919) and Mary Gemell (1847-1930), circa 1870

Until I scanned this photo - the only photo I have of Andrew and Mary Campbell together - I had not noticed that something seems to have happened to Andrew's left ear. According to his grandson, Jack Denton, Andrew was a Mining Engineer, though several censuses list his occupation as Coal Miner.

My family was rich with Campbell stories. Andrew and Mary were married October 16, 1866. At this time they lived in Oakley, Scotland.  They immigrated to the US around 1869. I've yet to track down their boat, but family stories always told that they traveled in "steerage." They had thirteen children, two born in Scotland - Jean and a first son John, and eleven born in the United States.

Mary Gemell Campbell - Obit

Family stories said they first settled near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. But now I have an alternate scenario where they spent a year before that in Montana. I hope I can find a way to verify that.

I know that at some point during the early 1870s Andrew made a return trip from the US to Scotland (reason unknown). Mary and the children stayed in the US. Perhaps this voyage home was what prompted the move from Montana to Pennsylvania where I know they had settled by 1874.

They had at least three more children in Pennsylvania: my great-grandmother Mary Campbell (Kirkpatrick), a daughter Ellen - the second of this name, and a son Andrew. The second John and the first Ellen, who both died in infancy, were probably also born in Pennsylvania.

In 1886 they moved to Gordon, Texas. In that same year the eldest daughter, Jean, married Samuel Hardy. The Campbells then moved to Oklahoma for eight years where five more children were born: Robina, Margaret, Katherine, Jeannette, and Thomas. Soon after Thomas's birth they moved to Bridgeport, Texas. In all these places Andrew Campbell was involved in coal mining. I am unsure exactly what he did as a mining engineer. He was almost certainly not working the mines. The family was very comfortable, taking good care of their ten children, all of whom married very well - except possibly for Thomas, whose marital status remains unknown. And the fact that Andrew could afford to travel home to visit Scotland after the immigration indicates some money as well.

In the early 1890s they moved to Bridgeport, Texas, where son-in-law Samuel Hardy was prospecting for coal. Samuel must have done very well and the Campbells likely moved to  Bridgeport to join in the good fortune. In 1908 both the Hardys and Campbells moved to the newly founded city of Newcastle, Texas. Sam Hardy became manager of the Belknap Coal Company. And Andrew immediately built a two-story stone structure called "The Campbell Building." He also built a new family home in Newcastle, where Andrew and Mary remained until their deaths - his in 1919, hers in 1930.

As I mentioned above Andrew and Mary had thirteen children in all. A family story tells that after the kids were all grown one of them asked his mother why she stopped at thirteen. Mother Campbell replied in her thick brogue: "Your father woulda had more -  but I put my foot on it!" The Campbell clan thought this was just hysterical!

The Thirteen Campbell Children

Jean Campbell (1868-1961)

The first born child, Jean was the only child born in Scotland that lived to adulthood. She married Samuel Hardy and lived to be ninety-two.

John Campbell (1869 - ?

Their second child, John, was born July 30, 1869 in Carnock, Scotland. He died in infancy after his parents immigrated to the United States in 1870. Death date unknown. [Updated JAN 22, 2014]

John, and Ellen

After the first John died, they named another son John and he died as well. After the loss of two children named John, they did not try that name again. A daughter, Ellen was born shortly after the couple arrived in the US. She also died in infancy. They tried the name Ellen again for their eighth child (see below). But they always called her "Nel," to avoid the bad luck they had had with the two Johns.

James G. Campbell (1871-1938)

James's death certificate states he was born in Towanda, Montana. This is the only reference in family papers indicating that the Campbells spent time in Montana shortly after they arrived in the USA. Towanda does have mining interest, so since Andrew was in coal mining, it's certainly possible they spent their first year in Montana. James's older sister, Jean, was the informant on his death certificate, so I tend to take her Montana reference as accurate, despite no mention of the Montana adventure in the family lore. James married a woman named Katherine. He died when he was sixty-six.

Mary Elizabeth Campbell (1875-1966)

Mary was my great-grandmother, called Mamie. She married Louis Dillard Kirkpatrick and lived to be ninety-one.

Andrew Campbell (1876-1961)

Andrew married a woman named Nellie Maud Humphrey. He lived until he was eighty-four.

Ellen Campbell (1877-1962)

Ellen, always called "Nel," married Ausburn Black and lived to be eighty-five.

Robina Campbell (1880-1973)

Robina spent most of her adult life in Artesia, New Mexico. She married Herschel Denton and lived to be ninety-three.

Margaret Campbell (1884-1967)

Margaret married J. P. Newell. She eventually moved to Tennessee where she died at the age of eighty-three.

Katherine Campbell (1887-1979)

Kate married John Albert Nelson. She lived most of her life in Fort Worth, Texas. She lived to be ninety-two.

Jeannette Campbell (1888-1924)

Jeannette married C. C. Caldwell. She died of "Brights Disease," a kidney ailment, at the age of thirty-five.

Thomas Campbell (1891- ? )

Tom was the baby of the family. He was also a bit of a black sheep, and at some point the family lost contact with him. My mom remembered him from when she was a child, probably in the 1930s. The last information I can find on him is that in 1940 he turned over a share of property to his eldest sister, Jean. I would love to know what happened to him and if he had a family.

My mom knew and remembered Grandma Campbell, Mary Gemell. She said she was her favorite of her great-grandparents. One of the stories my mom often related was that Grandma Campbell would sit on the porch of her home in Newcastle, Texas, rocking in her rocking chair, staring out at the parched flat land of west Texas. She'd rock and sigh softly, "the sea . . . the sea . . . ," remembering the ocean of her youth.

Mary Gemell Campbell with five of her daughters. L to R: Jeannette, Ellen, Katherine, Mary, & Margaret, circa 1920.

I have a small stash of photos of a Campbell family get-together that occurred in the early 1920s. One appears above, showing Grandma Campbell with five of her daughters. Jeanette Campbell Caldwell died at the age of thirty-five in 1924, so this photo must be before that date. My great-grandmother, Mary, is in the dark dress. As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, I remember my great-grandmother - but I remember Aunt Kate (standing center back) really well. She lived until 1979.

While I have not been able to trace the Campbell line in Scotland, I recently got a copy of Mary Gemmel's death certificate and found her father's name listed as James Gemell. Her mother's maiden name was listed as "Hill," but with a cryptic additional note "Maiden name unknown."

I have a few mementoes from my Campbell great-great-grandparents, but I'll talk about them in future blog posts.Clearly, researching people named Andrew Campbell from Scotland is a rather daunting task. Perhaps one of my clansmen will read this blog and say hello!