CAMPBELL, John

1797 - 1850  (53 years)  Submit Photo / Document

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• Name	CAMPBELL, John
  Birth	1 Jun 1797	Deer Park, Orange, New York, United States
  Gender	Male
  Burial	Jul 1850	California, United States
  Death	4 Jul 1850	Sacramento, Sacramento, California, United States
  WAC	1 Nov 1934
  _TAG	Reviewed on FS
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I20486	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

  
  

  Father	CAMPBELL, Jonathon ,   b. 1 Jun 1762, Providence, Saratoga, New York, United States Providence, Saratoga, New York, United Statesd. 1849, Catron, Steuben, New York, United States (Age 86 years)
  Mother	BUTTON, Eunice Phoebe ,   b. 23 Dec 1761, Canterbury, Windham, Connecticut, United States Canterbury, Windham, Connecticut, United Statesd. 5 Jun 1847, Ridgebury, bradford, Pennsylvania, United States (Age 85 years)
  Marriage	1788	Oswego, Dutchess, New York, United States
  Notes	~SEALING_SPOUSE: Also shown as SealSp 29 Aug 1895, LOGAN.
  Family ID	F10936	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	WARDEN, Mercy ,   b. 20 Sep 1795, Seneca, Seneca, New York, United States Seneca, Seneca, New York, United Statesd. 15 Jul 1832, Bently Creek, Chemung, New York, United States (Age 36 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1815	Bradford, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States
  Family ID	F10972	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

• Photos		https://www.familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-300-46846-211-26/dist.jpg?ctx=ArtCtxPublic This is purported to be Ruth Campbell but I cannot find a source.
  		At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
  		https://sg30p0.familysearch.org/service/records/storage/dascloud/patron/v2/TH-300-46846-211-26/dist.jpg?ctx=ArtCtxPublic This is purported to be Ruth Campbell but I cannot find a source.

  
  

• Notes

  JOHN CAMPBELL AND MERCY WORDEN Compiled by Margaret S. Loosle Updated June, 2013 John Campbell was born 1 June 1797 in Deer Park, Orange Co., New York. He was the third child of Jonathan Campbell and Phoebe Button. John eventually had seven brothers and four sisters. The family moved to Bradford, Co, Pennsylvania, sometime about 1805/6. They came in with oxteams and drove in several cows. They made their first settlement on Bentley Creek, one mile from the state line. At that time they lived within the Wells Township but later that township was divided and John’s family lived within Ridgeberry (Ridgebury) Township. Little is known about John’s childhood. The family moved to Bradford County, Pennsylvania, when John was about eight years old. He did not learn to read and write according to the 1850 census probably due to the undeveloped nature of the area and the lack of schools. They spent the majority of their time clearing their land so that they could farm. None of the family held more than a few acres of improved land. However, most of the family had a lot of forested property so they probably generated income from lumbering and various associated industries. When the boundaries of the townships in Bradford County changed again in 1836 a study of the tax lists show that John lived in the South Creek Township as John Campbell was taxed in this township. South Creek Township is bounded on the north by the State of New York, on the east by Ridgebury, on the south by Springfield and Columbia, and on the West by Wells. South Creek is four miles from east to west and seven miles from north to south. It contains about twenty-eight square miles. It is most likely that John and Mercy lived in the northern part of this township. A study of the geography of this region show that it is mainly steep hills some rising over 300 feet. It was originally covered with rock-oak, chestnut, white and yellow pine, and maple. The valleys are very narrow and most would be more accurately described as ravines. Travel was difficult at best as there were no roads, only foot paths. In about 1820 the Berwick Turnpike was built along Bentley Creek. Although this was only a dirt road it was described at the time as the only decent road in Bradford County. John married Mercy Worden in 1815 or thereabouts. He would have been about 19 years old and Mercy was a year older. There is little information about Mercy but her parents were Paul Worden and Sarah. Paul had fought in the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, Mercy died in 1832 after giving birth to twins, her 10th and 11th child. John adopted out the twins and continued to live in this area for some time. Some have said that John moved around a lot during this time but there is no evidence of him leaving this area until he went with other members of the family to Nauvoo, Illinois, during the fall/winter of 1845/46. This move was precipitated by the fact that John had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly known as Mormons. The church members had built the city of Nauvoo for a place of refuge from the persecution they had experienced in other places. A number of other Campbell families had also joined the Mormon Church and had already left Pennsylvania and New York. John’s brothers, Jonathan, Benoni and Joel as well as his children, Phebe Ann, Abigail, Jared, and John Clark lived in Nauvoo. Grant was in Minnesota working in the timber industry. William, another brother, passed through Nauvoo in April/May, stopping long enough for his wife to give birth. John’s father, Jonathan Sr., was also there and it is believed that they lived on the south side of town, near the river. Many of the Mormons left Nauvoo during the winter of 1845, due to continuing persecution from the local citizens. They had determined to go to the Utah Territory where they would not be bothered by others. John was not able to leave right away but by September of 1846, John and other members of the Campbell family had moved to Burlington, Iowa, a short distance up the river since they probably did not have the resources to outfit themselves for the trip west. In the spring of 1850, John received word from his brother, Jonathan, that he had located good land north of Salt Lake at Ogden’s Hole. John was able to outfit one wagon and a team so part of the family was able to start west that year. He took with him his now grown children, Abigail and Clark, and a grand-daughter, Melissa who was Abigail’s daughter, only four years old. Unfortunately, Clark died after traveling only a short distance near Murdock, Nebraska. John is found in the Utah census taken in 1851 or 1852. His age is given as 53. Melissa’s biographer gives some insights into the life of John. She writes, “Indians were numerous in those days and there was usually an Indian camp near her grandfather’s home. He was their friend. Among Melissa’s first playmates were Indian children. They played and ate together, both in her home and in their wik-i-ups. Their lunch there usually consisted of dried berries and jerked deer meat, of which Melissa was very fond. These camps were composed of various kinds of lodges. The newer ones being made of white canvas and those more primitive were animal skins patched together and stretched over the poles, making a warm and comfortable lodge.” Effie Campbell Allred, a grand-daughter, wrote of John, “John Campbell crossed the plains about 1852. Was tall, well built and of medium complexion. He was kind, patient, honest, hospitable and trustworthy. He was well respected by the white people, and a friend to the Indians. He was a Cooper by trade and made barrels, tubs, churns, etc. He lived on the farm which joined that of Nat Montgomery on the west and north. This property later belonged to a man named Painter.” John married Huldah Theodocia Hubbard sometime in 1854-55. Mrs. Hubbard was the mother-in-law of John’s son, Grant. She had crossed the plains in 1852 with her six girls. Being of ill health at the time, the girls took turns pushing and pulling her in a hand-cart. John would have been about 59 and Huldah about 47. The couple soon left for California along with John’s son, Jared, and his family. The family shows up in the 1860 census near Sacramento with real estate of $500 and personal property of $300. No other records have been found of John and Huldah at this writing. Jared and his wife are buried in the Bellvue Cemetery near Sacramento and have headstones there. Family tradition says that John and Huldah were buried in the same cemetery but the early records were lost so no death dates have been established. At least eight of John and Mercy’s children grew to adulthood and married. Two of the children grew to at least teenage years before the records have no longer been found about their death or whereabouts. There is no record of any of the children dying as infants. This couple had at least fifty-five grandchildren. Compiled by Margaret S. Loosle, 2008 Sources: Phebe Ann Campbell Bible Record in possession of Margaret S. Loosle. US Census Records of New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and California. Tax Lists of Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Index of Deeds of Bradford County, PA. National Archive report, action of surrogate court to obtain land from US for widow and children of Paul H. Worden. Family records of Effie Campbell Allred, grand-daughter. Life sketch of Melissa Berrett, grand-daughter. Unpublished histories of the Hubbard family in possession of Margaret S. Loosle. Patriarchal Blessing of John Campbell located in the early LDS Chruch information file The Genealogy of Samuel Campbell web site, Robert H. Goodwin administrator. History of Bradford County 1770-1878 by Reverend Mr. David Craft History and Geography of Bradford Co by Clement F. Heverly 1923 Addendum: Most recent research makes some of the “facts” in this history questionable. First, John is probably the forth child in this family. Hannah, Benajiah, and Susannah were older than he was. Joel may have been older. On a trip taken in 2011 to Pennsylvania and New York, I was able to find a deed and secure an 1858 land ownership map of Bradford County from the Bradford Historical Society in Towanda, Pennsylvania. The deed appears to be for the sale of land between John Campbell and John C Campbell in 1844. It is likely the John C would be our John Campbell’s son. What the situation was is unclear to me but a comparison of the census records, the 1858 map, and the description of the property in this deed, places the land just north of Gillett in South Creek Township. Since this is in close proximity to the known settlement of the Campbells in 1805, I believe this to be the farm that our John Campbell owned while he was raising his children. Since we know that he was in Nauvoo in 1845, this sale makes sense.