James Campbell (1682 - bef. 1754)

Born 1682 in Kilmachrenan, Donegal, Ireland

Descendants

Died before 22 Mar 1754 before age 72 in Augusta County, Colony of Virginia

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This is the profile of James Campbell of Augusta County, Virginia, who left a Will dated 1753.

Biography

James Campbell was born about 1682.^[1]

He passed away before 22 March 1754, presumably in Augusta County, Virginia.^[2]

Will & Probate

[portions of the Will and Court Record are difficult read, especially the interesting parts like date written!]

Last Will and Testament of James Campbell^[2]
[place listed?].
[date listed? what is the source for the date 5 November 1753?].
Augusta County, Virginia.
22 March 1754 (proved).

• His Will appears to list his age as 71 years old.

[Transcript made by Betty A. Grove: original spelling and punctuation, paragraphing added for clarity.]

The Last will and Testament of James Cambell aged about Seventy one years of age and now under the hand of Almighty God sore and Heaveyly afflicted but in perfect strength of Reason and memory as foloweth to wit

I in the first place Commit my soul to got who Gave it and my Body to the Earth from whence it Came to be Buried in a Decent manner and the Charges Thereof to be Defrayed off the whole of what Estate God hath Given me, and

Secondly I leave to my son Daniel Campbel Two Hundred acckers of the Land I now inoy (enjoy?) to be Laid off on the North East Line which two hundred accrs I allow to Take in my Dweeling house wherein I now Live with the whole ye medow and Cleare Land appertaining to the Same, in Case he Ever Come to Clame the Same.

I also alow my wife Margret Three Cowes for hir Uss Such as she Sees Cause to Chuse and one nyne year old bay meare which Runeth now about John McClures and one horse Colt a yearling past.

I also alow my wife and my Grand Child Elisabeth White to have Thire maintainance with the above Said three Cows and ye above Said meare and horse Colt with one Cow which I Leave and appoint for the Said Elizabeth white off the above Said premisasess During ye life or Incombrancy of my wife who is to have the Care of said Elisabeth White During my wife’s Life but none Els to have any Command over Said Child but hir only

I also alow for the said Elisabeth White one bay meare now four years old Now running about John McClurs and to be Keeped and maintained on ye Said two hundred acckers which twoo hundrd accrs with all and singular the Convenciences and appurtaniancess thereunto Belonging

I allow to my Grand Son James Steele to be and Remain in his hands and Custody until my son Daniel Campbell Come if Ever and if he never Come I alow the said Twoo hundred accers and the apportainances thereunto Belonging to be and Remain as whole and Sole property of him the Said James Steel

I also alow the Remianing part of my Land to be Equaly Divided Quanity and Quality Between my son John Campell & lsaac White both of whome I appoint to alow Daniel Campbell or James Steel to use of such particular timber off their parts as the needsesety of the two hundred accers first mentioned whall Requiar etc:

And in Case Daniel Campbell my son Come to Clame his property of said two hundred accers above maide mention of I appoint my son John Campbell and my son in Law Isaac White to make and allow James Steel my Grand son to be a Sharer with them in one full third part of Each of theire Shares

I alow my wife to Receive all Debts Due or Coming to me with all the Houshould plemihing (Plenishing?) and to inoy (enjoy?) or dispose it as she sees fitt.

[The Will continues for what appears to be 12 lines, the text becoming increasingly difficult to read. The last line appears to include the signature of James Campbell. If the signatures of Witnesses are listed there, they are extremely difficult to read.]

Signed: James Campbell.
Witnesses: [?].
Executors: Samuel Steel, Isaac White.

At a Court continued and held for Augusta County the 22 day of March 1754. This Last Will and Testament of John [sp] Campbell Deceased being Presented into Court was proved by the oaths of the witnesses thereto named which is ordered to be Recorded And on the motion of Samuel Steel & Isaac White the Exec'rs therein named who made Oath according to Law — Certificate is Granted them for obtaining probate thereof in Deed form they giving Security whereof they Robert Cunningham & John Ramsey their security Entered into and acknowledged their bond according to Law.^[2]

At the same Court, Samuel Steel, Isaac White, John Ramsey, and Robert Cunningham entered bond for the Probate of the Estate of James Campbell, deceased.^[2]

The Inventory and Appraisement of his estate was performed by John Finley, Archibald [sp?] Steward, Thomas Steward, and Albert [?] Finley. At a Court held for Augusta County the 15 day of May 1754, This Inventory & appraisement of the Estate of James Campbell Dece'd being Returned into Court is ordered to be Record. Test.^[3]

Land

18 Feb 1746: James Davis to James Campbell, £64 current money Virginia; 500 acres more or less in Beverley Manor [sic. s/b 570 acres according to original deed in Orange County] deed to Davis by Beverley, 21 Feb 1738. James Davis. Witnesses, Samuel Gay, Wm. Henderson. Acknowledged, 19 Feb 1746. ^[4]

18 Nov 1787: John Campbell, Sr., to James Steel ...for and in consideration of £45 ... a tract containing 186 acres ...in Beverley Manor being part of 570 acres formerly property of James Campbell, deceased, and sold to James Steel by consent of said John Campbell, joining John Cloid's part of said tract. Teste: Geo. Hutcheson Ben. Stuart, Andrew Fulton, Robert Bell. ^[5]

(Comment: This refers to the land acquired by James Campbell in 1746, and refers to his son John Campbell, and grandson James Steele, both referenced in James Campbell’s will. Also note that while many online genealogies suggest son John Campbell died much earlier – this seems to show John was alive and well in 1787.)

Children

[each of these children need a reliable source establishing the parent-child relationship]

Children of James Campbell & Margaret Beard:

• Mary "Polly, m: Moses White
• John, m: Rebecca white
• Daniel
• Margaret; m: Samuel Steele

Research Notes

Vital Statistics

Birth
An unsourced birth date of about Nov 1674 was previously listed. An unsourced birth place of Drumbroden, Londonderry, Ireland is listed. This place is similar to that listed on his Find a Grave memorial.

His Will appears to list his age as 71 years. If so, and using the death date before 5 Nov 1753, he presumably was born about 1682.

Death
An unsourced death of before 5 Nov 1753 in Augusta County, Virginia was previously listed.

To Do

To Do: Need to add sources to the Chalkley references.

Land

FAMILY LANDS: The following map shows the location of family acreage in Augusta County, Virginia. It shows 570 acres James Campbell purchased from James Davis in 1746, and shows 325 acres his son John acquired in 1745. And it shows the location of the Tinkling Spring Meeting House, where there is a large monument naming James Campbell as one of the pioneers into this part of the Shenandoah Valley. And in green it shows the land of a neighbor John McClure, who is mentioned in James’ 1753 will as taking care of a horse that James wants to give to his granddaughter Elisabeth White.

The Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church is still active, and the nearby river takes a distinctive turn in the property of son John. That makes it easy to overlay these lands onto a modern map:

So, in today’s world, it appears that James’ land is the location of the “Eagle’s Nest Airport”, that appears to serve the modern communities of Fisherville and Waynesboro, Virginia. Rent a car there, and drive about 22 miles southwest to the community of “Steeles Tavern”. This is where James Campbell’s son-in-law and daughter, Samuel Steele and Margaret, settled. And there the Steele’s next-door neighbor was Robert Alexander, whose son Peter married Samuel Steele’s daughter Elizabeth Jannett “Jenney” Steele.

1744: TINKLING SPRING MEETING HOUSE: James’ early presence is commemorated by a marker at Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church: “Sacred to the Memory of the Immigrants to this Valley who turned the Wilderness into Habitations: On November ye 12th 1744 these were assessed 12 shillings per family for building the first Tinkling Spring Meeting House… (in) John Finley’s Quarter… James Campbell… Samuel Steel… Isaac White… John McClure…”.

(This establishes presence no later than 1744, and establishes first known connection to sons-in-law Samuel Steele and Isaac White, and neighbor John McClure.)

1746: CONSTABLE CAMPBELL? (Chalkley, Volume 1, Augusta Court Records, Vol 1, Page 181): “March 19, 1746/7. James Campbell and John McCown appd. Constables.”

1748: ROAD WORK: (Chalkley, Volume 1) “August 17, 1748. David Edmiston appd. overseer of road from Tinkling Spring to Stuart and Christian's Road, with these: James and John Campbell (and others).”

(Similar road Campbell maintenance references are found for March 21, 1753 and November 24, 1753 – property owners were expected to maintain the roads passing near their property.)

1752: SERVICE IN MILITIA? (Chalkley, Volume 1) “August 19, 1752. James Campbell, qualified Captain of Foot (soldiers)”.

1753: APPRAISER (Chalkley, Volume 1) “August 17, 1753: (named as appraiser, estate of James Robinson)”

1753: PROBATE BOND 18 August 1753: James Campbell (Administrator), William Anderson, and John Smith bound to Court for Augusta County for the estate of Patrick Lynch, deceased.^[6]

1754: INDENTURED SERVANTS? (Chalkley, Volume 1) “November 21, 1754: Indenture by Church Wardens binding John Cole to James Campbell is assigned to Saml. McMurty.” (Comment: This is just a few days after James’ death. I believe that as a consequence of his death, an orphan previously bound to James is sent elsewhere.)

(Chalkley, Volume 1) “November 22, 1754: Maxwell McCormick, servant of James Campbell.” (Comment: Context is quite unclear, but suspect this also has something to do with the status of an indentured servant impacted by James’ death.)

MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS: (Chalkley, Volume 1, From Augusta County Court Records, Order Book No. V, Page 38, March 18, 1755) “Margaret Campbell makes oath that the left ear of her son, James Beard was bitten off by a horse.” (Comment: Margaret’s maiden name was “Beard”, and I believe this suggests one of her sons was named “James Beard Campbell”. Think this helps confirm that Margaret was indeed a “Beard”.)

(Chalkley, Volume 1, County Court Judgments) “Simpson vs. Campbell.--March 12, 1756. To the Worshipful bench of Augusta, we humbly request that you will take particular notice of Margaret Campbell (Cambal), for it is plainly known to all the inhabitants of the lower end of the Cowpasture that she is a common liar and troublesome to all them that she is in neighborhood with, and furthermore it is known that she will swear anything that comes into her mind, which the subscribers by report will make appear.--Hugh Morton, James Montgomery, Wm. Mortain, Wm. Memory, Edward Edwards, Agnes Memory, Wm. Gillespy, Mary Gillespy, Patrick Carrigan, James Beard, James Scot, Samuel McMorry, Margaret Cohiren, James Arbuckle, Thomas Simson, Robt. Gillespy, Margaret Arbuckle, Anne Montgomery, Thomas Fitzpatrick. This was an attachment vs. James Campbell by James Simpson, 17th March, 1756 (five days after above petition.

Sources

1. ↑ See Birth.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} County Court, Augusta County, Virginia, Will books, 1745-1871; index to wills, 1745-1903, Will books, v. 2 1753-1760; database with images, FamilySearch (images 114-115).
3. ↑ County Court, Augusta County, Virginia, Will books, 1745-1871; index to wills, 1745-1903, Will books, v. 2 1753-1760; database with images, FamilySearch (images 118-119).
4. ↑ James Davis to James Campbell:
   "Deed books, 1745-1866; index to deeds, 1745-1930" Catalog: Deed books, 1745-1866; index to deeds, 1745-1930 Deed books, v. 1 1745-1749 Deed books, v. 1A 1789-1801
   Film number: 008189996 > image 100 of 480
   FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CSL6-MQ87 (accessed 16 November 2023)
5. ↑ John Campbell to James Steele-186 acres in Beverley Manor:
   "Deed books, 1745-1866; index to deeds, 1745-1930" Catalog: Deed books, 1745-1866; index to deeds, 1745-1930 Deed books, v. 25-27 1785-1794 Film number: 008189999 > image 620 of 836 FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CSLD-13B5-C (accessed 24 March 2024)
6. ↑ County Court, Augusta County, Virginia, Will books, 1745-1871; index to wills, 1745-1903, Index to wills 1745-1903 Will books, v. 1 1745-1753; database with images, FamilySearch (images 580-581).

See also:

• Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850
• Find A Grave: Memorial #106189339 for Capt James Campbell (1682–1753).