Gov. William Bowen Campbell

Gov. William Bowen Campbell

Male 1807 - 1867  (60 years)

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  • Name William Bowen Campbell  [1, 2, 3, 4
    Prefix Gov. 
    Born 1 Feb 1807  Mansker's Creek, Sumner, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Gender Male 
    Died 19 Aug 1867  Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Buried Cedar Grove Cemetery, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I7433  Campbell Genealogy
    Last Modified 19 Apr 2024 

    Father David Campbell,   b. 4 Mar 1781, Abingdon, Washington, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 18 Jun 1841, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 60 years) 
    Mother Catherine Bowen,   b. Mar 1785, Gallatin, Sumner, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Mar 1868, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 82 years) 
    Married 10 Apr 1806  Sumner, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F2450  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Frances Isabella Owen,   b. 5 Feb 1818, Carthage, Smith, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 22 Mar 1864, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 46 years) 
    Married 10 Sep 1835  Carthage, Smith, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Mary Campbell,   b. Abt 1839, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [natural]
     2. Margaret Campbell,   b. Abt 1845, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [natural]
     3. William Campbell,   b. Abt 1846, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [natural]
     4. Fanniie Campbell,   b. Abt 1851, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [natural]
     5. Joseph Campbell,   b. Abt 1853, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [natural]
     6. Owen Campbell,   b. Abt 1856, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [natural]
     7. Lemuel Campbell,   b. Abt 1859, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [natural]
    Last Modified 15 Sep 2023 
    Family ID F2889  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • The youngest son, David, born March 4, 1781, was a most estimable man and commanded the respect of all who knew him. He married Catharine Bowen, a daughter of Captain William Bowen (a brave soldier of the Revolution) and a granddaughter of General William Russell, who was also a statesman and patriot in those “times that tried men's souls.” This David Campbell and his wife, Catharine Bowen, were the parents of William B. Campbell, who was a captain in the Florida war, was in Congress six years, colonel of 1st Tennessee regiment in the Mexican war, judge and governor of Tennessee.

      source: Pilcher, Margaret Campbell. “Sketch of Captain David Campbell.” The American Historical Magazine and Tennessee Historical Society Quarterly, Volume 8, Number 2. Nashville, TN: Goodpasture Book Company, 1903.

    • GOVERNOR WILLIAM B. CAMPBELL

      William B. Campbell was born in Sumner County, on Mansker's Creek, February 1, 1807; was reared on a farm; completed his education at Abingdon, Va., under his uncle, Governor David B. Campbell, with whom he studied law; commenced practice at Carthage in 1829. In 1831 was elected by the Legislature Attorney General for the Fifth District. He resigned the same year and moved to Sparta; returned to Carthage in 1835 and was elected a member of the Legislature. He married Miss Fannie I. Owen. In 1836 he was elected Captain of a company for the Creek War. During the seven months he was in command of his company he fully sustained the reputation for courage and skill of his distinguished ancestors and other members of the Campbell family at King’s Mountain and elsewhere. In 1837 he defeated William Trousdale for Congress, and again defeated him in 1839; re-elected in 1841 without opposition, and at the end of his term retired tc private life and the practice of law. Soon afterwards he was made Major General of militia. When the war with Mexico began he was elected Colonel of the First Tennessee. In that war he won distinction, as did his regiment at Monterey, Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo and other engagements. The regiment was called the “Bloody First,” and well it merited the title. Soon after the return of the troops from Mexico Colonel Campbell was by unanimous vote elected to succeed Judge Abram Caruthers as Circuit Judge. In 1851 he was nominated by acclamation as the Whig candidate for Governor. In this election he was again opposed by William Trousdale, and again defeated him. At the end of his term he refused renomination. In 1853 he moved from Carthage to Lebanon and accepted the presidency of the Bank of Middle Tennessee. In 1861 he canvassed the State in opposition to secession. On July 23, 1862, he was commissioned a Brigadier General in the Union Army, which office he resigned two months later. In 1865 he was elected to Congress, but was not permitted to take his seat until in June, 1866. He died at Lebanon August 19, 1867.

      For two centuries the Campbell family has been prominent in Virginia and Tennessee. They participated in the early Indian wars, the French and Indian war, Dunmore's war, and in the Revolution. In the battle of King's Mountain were eight members of the family, one of whom was the commander-in-chief. In the War of 1812, in the Mexican War, and in the Civil War they were conspicuous for their bravery.

      Governor Campbell left seven children. The eldest, William B., died unmarried just after leaving college. The eldest daughter Mary O., married D. C. Kelly. They left one son, David C. Kelly, who married Jane Cowan of Hendersonville, Sumner County. The second daughter, Margaret H. Campbell, married James S. Pilcher, an attorney at law, practicing at Nashville. They have three children: Stuart, Campbell and Frances Pilcher. The third daughter, Fannie A. Campbell, married J. M. Bonner, a Nashville lawyer; they have three children: Campbell, Moses and Mary Bonner. The three living sons of Governor Campbell are: Joseph A., who married Alice Hall; they have three daughters, Frances, Mary and Jessie B. Campbell. They live near Lebanon, at “Campbells,” the old homestead that has been in the family for many years. Owen Campbell married Susie Towson. They live on a farm four miles from Lebanon. The youngest child of Governor Campbell – Lemuel R. Campbell – married Johnnie Marshall. They have three sons: William B., Matthew M. and Russell Campbell. Lemuel R. Campbell is a lawyer, practicing in Nashville, but resides on his farm, four miles from the city.

      source: Cisco, Jay Guy. Historic Sumner County, Tennessee with Genealogies of the Bledsoe, Cage and Douglass Families, and Genealogical Notes of Other Sumner County Families. Nashville, TN: Polk-Keelin Printing Company, 1909.

  • Sources 
    1. [S3247] William Bowen Campbell, Gravestone Photo, Died Aug. 19, 1867, Cedar Grove Cemetery, Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee, USA, Find A Grave, Inc., (Name: Find A Grave, Inc. PO Box 522-107, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA 84152, http://www.findagrave.com;).

    2. [S3268] 1860 United States Federal Census, District 10, Lebanon Post Office, Wilson County, Tennessee, National Archives Microfilm Roll M653_1280, National Archives and Records Administration, (Name: Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009;).

    3. [S5] Historic Sumner County, Tennessee with Genealogies of the Bledsoe, Cage and Douglass Families, and Genealogical Notes of Other Sumner County Families, Jay Guy Cisco, (Nashville, TN: Polk-Keelin Printing Company, 1909).

    4. [S7] “Sketch of Captain David Campbell.” The American Historical Magazine and Tennessee Historical Society Quarterly, Volume 8, Number 2, Margaret Campbell Pilcher, (Nashville, TN: Goodpasture Book Company, 1903).