John Charles Campbell (1868 - 1919)

Born 15 Sep 1868 in LaPorte, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Grace (Buckingham) Campbell — married 10 Sep 1895 in Stevens Point, Portage County, Wisconsin, United States

Husband of Olive Arnold (Dame) Campbell — married 21 Mar 1907 in Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

Died 2 May 1919 at age 50 in New York City, New York, United States

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Biography

John Campbell is Notable.

John Charles Campbell was an American educator and reformer noted for his survey of social conditions in the southern Appalachian region.

John was born in LaPorte, LaPorte County, Indiana on 15 Sep 1868. He was the son of Gavin Campbell, an engine builder born in Scotland, and Anna Barbara Kipp, who had immigrated as a child from Württemberg in the German Empire.^[1] When he was a child, the family moved to the city of Stevens Point in Portage County, Wisconsin, where his father became a superintendant at the Wisconsin Central Railroad (or whatever the successor to the bankrupt railroad was actually called in 1880).^[2] At the time of the 1880 census, they were living in a house on Plover Street.^[3]

John married Grace Hammersley Buckingham in Stevens Point on 10 Sep 1895, with her parents and John's widowed mother as witnesses.^[4] Although his occupation, at the time of their marriage, was "missionary," they may have lived in Stevens Port at least periodically. Their first child, a son they named Stuart Wallace Campbell, was born in Stevens Port on 4 May 1897,^[5] but died (also in Stevens Port) at the age of six weeks, on 14 Jun 1897.^[6]

John studied education and theology in New England. Like many other idealistic young people of his generation, he felt a calling to humanitarian work. At the turn of the century, the Southern Appalachian region was viewed as a fertile field for educational and social missions. In 1900, John was the principal and was also teaching, while Grace also taught at the Pleasant Hill Academy in Cumberland County, in the Appalachian region of Tennessee.^[7] Pleasant Hill Academy had been established in 1884 by a teacher from the American Missionary Association and supported by the Congregational Church. Its goal was to provide a broad liberal arts education to rural students on the Cumberland Plateau, while also providing them with training in agriculture and local skills.^[8]

In 1904, John accepted the position of president of Piedmont College, a private university in Demorest, Georgia. Grace died while he was at Piedmont College, in 1905.

On 21 Mar 1907, he remarried in Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. His second wife was a teacher: Olive Arnold Dame, a native of Medford.^[9] Olive would later start the John C Campbell Folk School in North Carolina in her husband's honor.

After his marriage to Olive, and after he left his position at Piedmont College, they traveled to Appalachia on a fact-finding survery of the social conditions in Southern Appalachia and the mountains of Appalachia, studying the areas from West Virginia to Georgia. John interviewed farmers while Olive collected ancient Appalachian ballads, studied the handicrafts of the mountain people and learned about their quality of life. Although they wanted to improve the Appalachians' quality of life with education, they were careful to ensure that the culture and ideals of Appalachians were preserved. The folkehøjskole, “folk high school,” had long been a force in the rural life of Denmark. These “schools for life” helped transform the Danish countryside into a vibrant, creative force. The Campbells talked of establishing such a school in the rural southern United States.

John Charles Campbell died at the age of 50 in New York City, New York on 2 May 1919. He was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, located in Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The following epitaph, a quotation from Isaiah 35:1 (King James Version), was carved on his gravestone: "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them."^[10]

After John died, Olive did not let his dream of a folkehøjskole die with him. In 1925, the John C Campbell Folk School opened. Instruction is hands-on and preserves to this day the mountain crafts, tools and entertainment of the Appalachian people. Emphasis is on learning, not grades.

Research Notes

Wisconsin Central Railroad: According to the Wikipedia article^[11] the Wisconsin Central Railroad declared bankruptcy by 1879, prior to the 1880 census in which John Campbell's father was listed as being a superintendant of the "WCRy," which the enumerator may have intended as indicating whatever successor the bankrupt company had in place. Anderson-27719 02:20, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ "Campbell, John C," est. age 3, male, white, b. Indiana, both parents of foreign birth: United States Census, 1870, LaPorte City, LaPorte County, Indiana, LaPorte Inn Post Office, Page No. 24, Family No. 190, Line 9; Line 6: "Campbell, Gavin," est. age 34, male, white, occupation: engine builder, b. Scotland, both parents of foreign birth; Line 7: "Campbell, Barbara," est. age 25, female, white, occupation: keeping house, b. Wurtemburg, both parents of foreign birth, FamilySearch.org (accessed 1 Jul 2023).
2. ↑ See Research Note: Wisconsin Central Railroad.
3. ↑ "Campbell John C," white, male, est. age 12, son, single, at school, b. Indiana, father b. Scotland, mother b. Wurtumberg [sic]: United States Census, 1880, Plover Street, Stevens Point, Portage County, Wisconsin, Enumeration District No. 146, Page No. 42, Family No. 211, Line 49; Line 46: "Campbell Gavin," white, male, est. age 44, married, superintendant, "WCRy," b. Scotland, both parents b. Scotland, FamilySearch.org (accessed 1 Jul 2023).
4. ↑ Church register: "Jno. Campbell," residence: Stevens Point, "Grace H. Buckingham," residence: Stevens Point, m. 10 Sep 1895, witnesses: Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Buckingham: "Register of Marriages," pp. 200-201, line 20: U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, Ancestry.com (accessed 2 Jul 2023 - subscription required). County register: "John C. Campbell," father: Gavin Campbell, mother: Anna B. Kipp, occupation: missionary, residence: Stevens Point, Wisconsin, b. LaPorte, Indiana; "Grace H. Buckingham," father: Wait Buckingham, mother: Fanny Hammersley, b. Flint, Michigan, m. Tuesday, 10 Sep 1895, Stevens Point, Portage County, Wisconsin, Presbyterian Church, witnesses: W. B. Buckingham, Mrs. B. Campbell, officiated by: E. B. Rankin, Pastor of Presbyterian Church: Wisconsin, U.S., Marriage Records, 1820-2004, Ancestry.com (accessed 2 Jul 2023 - subscription required).
5. ↑ Database transcript only: "[Stuart Wallace] Campbell," b. 4 May 1897, Stevens Point, Portage County, Wisconsin, male, white, father: John Campbell, mother: Grace Buckingham: Wisconsin, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1801-1928, FHL Film No. 1305144, Ancestry.com (accessed 2 Jul 2023 - subscription required).
6. ↑ "Stuart Wallace Campbell. Stuart Wallace Campbell, the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Campbell, died Monday night, aged six weeks. The funeral will probably be held Wednesday.": "Stuart Wallace Campbell," Stevens Point Journal, Tuesday, 15 Jun 1897, p. 4, column 2, Newspapers.com (accessed 2 Jul 2023).
7. ↑ "Campbell John," principal, white, male, b. Sep 1867, est. age 32, married 5 years, b. Indiana, father b. Scotland, mother b. Germany, occupation: teaching school, can read, write, speak English, rents a house: United States Census, 1900, Second District, Pleasant Hill Academy, Cumberland County, Tennessee, Enumeration District No. 8, Sheet No. 2 B, Family No. 30, Line 51; Line 56: "Campbell Grace," teacher, white, female, b. Mar 1879 [sic], est. age 31, married 5 years, bore 0 children [sic], 0 still living, b. Michigan, father b. Michigan, mother b. England, can read, write, speak English, FamilySearch.org (accessed 2 Jul 2023); also available online at Ancestry.com (accessed 2 Jul 2023 - subscription required).
8. ↑ Pleasant Hil, Tennessee, en.wikipedia.org (accessed 2 Jul 2023). See also: Colonel William Hubert Crawford: Pleasant Hill Academy (accessed 2 Jul 2023).
9. ↑ Register entry: "Campbell John Charles," age: 39, 2nd marriage, widowed, residence: Demorest, Georgia, occupation: teacher, b. LaPorte, Indiana, father: Gavin Campbell, mother: Anna B. Kipp; "Dame Olive Arnold," age: 25, 1st marriage, residence: Medford, occupation: teacher, b. Medford, Massachusetts, father: Lorin Low Dame, mother: Nancy Isabel Arnold; m. 21 Mar 1907, officiating: Charles L. Hutchins, clergyman, Concord, Massachusetts: "Marriages registered in the City of Medford for the Year Nineteen Hundred and Seven," Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915,Page No. 610, No. 31, FamilySearch.org (accessed 1 Jul 2023).
10. ↑ See photo of gravestone: Find A Grave: Memorial #19612176, John Charles Campbell (accessed 5 Jul 2023).
11. ↑ "Wisconsin Central Railroad,"] en.wikipedia.org (accessed 1 Jul 2023).

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19612176/john-charles-campbell : accessed 23 September 2021), memorial page for Dr John Charles Campbell (15 Sep 1867–2 May 1919), Find a Grave Memorial ID 19612176, citing Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Marie Benge Craig (contributor 46904757).
• "Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N4DR-Y8R : 10 March 2021), John Charles Campbell and Olive Arnold Dame, 21 Mar 1907; citing Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2,315,300. [John Campbell, Olive Arnold Dame]
• Obituary: "Stuart Wallace Campbell," Stevens Point Journal, Tuesday, 15 Jun 1897, p. 4, column 2, Newspapers.com (accessed 2 Jul 2023).
• U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Church Registers. Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (subscription required). [John Campbell, Grace Buckingham]
• "Wisconsin, County Marriages, 1836-1911," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2Z5-71XX : 22 July 2021), John A Campbell and Grace H Buckingham, 10 Sep 1895; citing Portage, Wisconsin, United States, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison; FHL microfilm 4,171,097. [John Campbell, Grace H. Buckingham]
• Wisconsin, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1801-1928 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011 (subscription required). [Stuart Wallace Campbell] [Database Transcript]
• Wisconsin, U.S., Marriage Records, 1820-2004 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022 (subscription required). [John C. Campbell, Grace H. Buckingham]

Census Returns:

• United States Census, 1870, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DZ8Y-VB?cc=1438024&wc=KPL6-MNL%3A518664801%2C519918101%2C519919001 : 10 June 2019), Indiana > La Porte > La Porte > image 24 of 168; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.)
• United States Census, 1880, "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYB9-VDC?cc=1417683&wc=XWHS-T38%3A1589394822%2C1589396029%2C1589397359%2C1589395723 : 24 December 2015), Wisconsin > Portage > Stevens Point > ED 146 > image 22 of 50; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., n.d.)
• United States Census, 1900, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-64V9-HYN?cc=1325221&wc=9B74-444%3A1030551301%2C1030861501%2C1033886801 : 5 August 2014), Tennessee > Cumberland > ED 8 Civil Districts 2-3 > image 4 of 39; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.)
• United States Census, 1910, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ML2H-CW8 : accessed 23 September 2021), John C Campbell, Demorest, Habersham, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 76, sheet 12B, family 103, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 195; FHL microfilm 1,374,208.

See Also:

• Wikipedia:John C Campbell
• Wikidata: Item Q6224324, en:Wikipedia - John C Campbell
• Wikidata: Item Q6224322, en:Wikipedia - John C Campbell Folk School
• John C Campbell Folk School website
• Wisconsin Central Railroad, enwikipedia.org (accessed 1 Jul 2023).
• Colonel William Hubert Crawford: Pleasant Hill Academy (accessed 2 Jul 2023).
• Pleasant Hil, Tennessee, en.wikipedia.org (accessed 2 Jul 2023).