Colin and Susannah (Campbell) Campbell and family, of St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick
There were a number of early Campbells in Charlotte County, including several named Colin, and so it is difficult to distinguish one from another. Colin and Susannah arrived in the county with the Loyalists and were parents of a large family, including Colin Campbell Junior, who was sheriff of the county for a time. I have no connection to these Campbells as far as I know. I found information on them while researching my husband's Campbell ancestors, who are apparently from a different family.
Some information on this family appeared in a Glimpses of the Past article in the Saint Croix Courier, a Charlotte County newspaper, in the Dec. 7, 1893 edition. The indented paragraphs and footnotes, below, are the portions of the article that are of interest here.
http://carensecord.ca/locations/NewBrunswick/Glimpses/XCIV.html
The two Colin Campbells of the St. Andrews grant were probably father and son.3 Lieutenant (afterwards Captain) Colin Campbell had been a quartermaster in DeLancey’s Second battalion.4 He came from Scotland, with his wife and two of his sons, Alexander and Colin. The latter, afterwards sheriff of Charlotte, was probably, though an infant at the time, the Colin Campbell, jr., of the grant. Captain Colin Campbell was one of the representatives of Charlotte in the first house of assembly; (being returned at a bye-election, to fill the place of Dr. Paine, who left the province in 1787.)5 He did business as a merchant in St. Andrews for some years, but was not financially successful; and finally returned to Scotland in 1808. He was a descendant of Colin Campbell, third Earl of Argyle, (ancestor of the present Duke of Argyle,) who lived about the beginning of the sixteenth century. His eldest son, Rear Admiral Donald Campbell of the British navy, married a daughter of Sir Howard Douglas; and his grandson, Admiral Colin York Campbell, is at present the head of the younger branch of the family.
Colin Campbell, the son of Capt. Campbell above mentioned, was born in Glasgow, and was not yet two years old when the grants were issued. Before reaching man’s estate he was sent home to Scotland to be educated. After his return to St. Andrews, he married a daughter of Capt. James Campbell, (of the St. George grants,)6 who was a cousin of Sir Archibald Campbell, the successor of Sir Howard Douglas as governor of New Brunswick. After representing Charlotte in the legislature for a number of years, he was made sheriff in 1833. He died at St. Andrews in 1843. The Whitlocks of St. Stephen are his grandchildren.
John Campbell of Barbeck, a nephew of Capt. Colin Campbell, had been commandant of the 74th regiment. The business begun by his uncle was carried on for a time by him as head of the firm of John Campbell & Co.
3It is difficult to distinguish them from other Loyalists of the same name, one of whom was appointed collector of customs at St. Andrews in 1824, and held the position until he was superannuated; afterwards removing to Weymouth, N. S., where he died in 1834. He was born in Inverary, Scotland, in 1752; and, with his father and his two brothers, Alexander and Archibald, who were cadets for the 73rd Highlanders, sailed for New York during the rebellion. After the close of the war, he came to Nova Scotia; and before coming to St. Andrews he practised law for a number of years at Shelburne. Still another Colin Campbell, mentioned by Sabine, lived for a time at St. John, N. B.; and his widow, a daughter of Bishop Seabury, died in New York in 1804.
4Sabine.
5Article lxxiii.
Some of this information is incorrect. A local descendant of Colin and Susannah wrote to the newspaper to state what he knew of the family and to attempt to correct some of the errors. This descendant was Duncan F. Campbell of St. Andrews, a son of John and Martha (Stuart) Campbell, and grandson of Sheriff Colin and Amy (Campbell) Campbell, and great-grandson of Colin and Susannah. (For more on John and Martha (Stuart) Campbell, see http://carensecord.ca/locations/NewBrunswick/StAndrews/tour_background.html.)
Duncan Campbell's letter, which appeared in the Dec. 21, 1893 edition of the newspaper, is copied below.
http://carensecord.ca/locations/NewBrunswick/Glimpses/XCVI.html
Mr. D. F. Campbell, of St. Andrews writes:-
‘I wrote my father, at one time, asking him about the Colin Campbell who was collector at St. Andrews, and this is his reply:-
‘You speak of Colin Campbell, whose name appears in the old records of St. Andrews. He was from Sissiboo, Nova Scotia, and was sent to St. Andrews as collector of the port, at that time an important office, and resided there many years; but retired and returned to Nova Scotia. He was also president of the Charlotte County Bank. He had a large family in Nova Scotia, and his sons filled prominent positions there.
‘My grandfather, Colin Campbell also, came to St. John in 1784, with the three younger children, (father was about 12 months old, the Colin Campbell afterwards sheriff,) as collector of that port and in other government offices. The family remained at St. John, and the boys were sent home to Scotland to be educated as they grew up, my father among the others. Donald, the eldest, went into the navy, and married a sister of Sir Howard Douglas. Alexander, the second, was a wine merchant in London. Father returned to St. John; but the other brothers remained in Scotland. Grandfather, with the rest of the family, also returned to Scotland; and father alone of a family of twelve brothers and sisters remained in the province. John and Archibald went into the army. John was killed at Corruna, a major; Archibald was severely wounded at San Sebastian, and never recovered from his injuries. He had been appointed private secretary to Sir Howard Douglas. Duncan F., for whom you are named, at the time of his death was commander of a small brig, and died of sun stroke at Gibraltar. He was the only one of my father’s brothers I ever saw, as he was twice in St. Andrews on leave of absence when stationed at the West Indies.
‘He then gives the family of his mother, who was a daughter of James Campbell, of Pennfield.
‘My grandfather, Colin Campbell, spoken of above, afterward sheriff, who died in 1843, had eleven children, all born in St. Andrews; Alexander, who died in Oakland, Cal., lately; John, my father, who died in St. Andrews in 1884; Colin, drowned in New Zealand, in 1847; James and Archie, who were lost at sea; Susan, Mrs. Thos. Watt; Margaret, Mrs. S. H. Whitlock; Mary Ann, Mrs. Andrew Stevens; Grace, Mrs. John McLeod; Jessie, Mrs. David Mowatt; and Miss Amy G. Campbell, all dead.
‘The descendants are numerous; but myself and my sister, Annie P. Campbell, now in St. Andrews, and James Campbell, of Pennfield, and his children, are the only descendants of the two Campbell families (Lieut. James and Sheriff Colin) now in the county of the name of Campbell.’
This letter is probably the single most useful source of information on this family now in existence. All the same, there is at least one error in it as well. The family clearly came to St. Andrews first, and went to Saint John some years later.
I will go through the first newspaper article, above, piece by piece.
"The two Colin Campbells of the St. Andrews grant were probably father and son.3"
This is not correct, and Sheriff Colin Campbell himself provided the evidence. The Colin Campbell Junior who received a grant of 100 acres of land in Passamaquoddy on Aug. 3, 1784 (PANB Land Grants RS686, Volume: A, page 176, Grant number 96) was not the young son of Colin Campbell discussed here, but a different man. Colin Campbell who was later sheriff of the county stated in a petition dated Apr. 16, 1816 (PANB Land Petitions RS108, film F4179) that he had earlier applied for 500 acres of land, but he received a reduced amount, "...a Reduction having been made from the Quantity asked for, in Consequence of a Lot being previously granted to a Colin Campbell Junior (since dead) supposed to have been your Memorialist."
"Lieutenant (afterwards Captain) Colin Campbell had been a quartermaster in DeLancey’s Second battalion.4"
This is also not correct, but is understandable considering the number of early Colin Campbells associated with the province. Esther Clark Wright's list of Loyalists in her book, "The Loyalists of New Brunswick," has him as Colin Campbell Senior, a merchant from Virginia, and a Lieutenant in the 74th Regiment, who went first to St. Andrews and then to Saint John. I don't think he was a merchant from Virginia. He was associated with the 74th Regiment, but may not have been an officer. (See http://carensecord.ca/locations/NewBrunswick/Lists/74thRegiment_background.html for more information on the 74th Regiment.) The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has information on this family in their reference MG 24, F 89: Campbell of Barbreck and Auchindoun Family. According to this:
"Rear Admiral Donald Campbell (1778-1856) inherited the estate of Barbreck from his father, Colin Campbell (fl. 1770-1805), and the estate of Auchindoun by entail from his great uncle, General John Campbell (fl. 1775-1795), sometime commander of the 74th Regiment. His son Colin Yorke Campbell (1812-1893) succeeded to both estates and had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy. Another son, Alexander Dugald Campbell (1834-1911), was a brigade surgeon with the British Army in India. Colin Campbell spent some years as a merchant in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where his son Colin Campbell Jr. settled."
The same source also includes,
"the letterbook of Colin Campbell of Auchindoun, 1782-1783, kept while at Halifax and Fort George, acting as commissary and secretary to his uncle, John Campbell, commander of the 74th Regiment (c. 265 pages)."
Unfortunately, this information has not been microfilmed and as such it is necessary to visit Ottawa to view it. I haven't seen the material, but the LAC sent me the above information which confirms that Colin Campbell was the nephew of John Campbell of Barbreck, who commanded the 74th Regiment, and that he was associated with the regiment. Fort George is in the Castine area of Maine, where the 74th Regiment was located during the Revolutionary War.
Colin and Susannah and his family did not appear on the roll of the 74th Regiment's members in Charlotte County taken on May 21, 1784. Instead, they are found on the list of Penobscot Loyalists dated June 10, 1784. These Loyalists gathered in the Castine area of Maine during the war, and afterwards came to what is now Charlotte County, New Brunswick. The Penobscot list shows two Campbells among the men, both named Colin. The second Colin may be the man mentioned above who received the land grant that was thought to have been given to Sheriff Colin Campbell. Among the women of the list, there are two Campbells listed next to each other: Susannah and Grace. Among the children over ten, there is one Campbell named Janet. Among the children under ten, there are four Campbells listed next to each other: Donald, Alexander, John, and Colin. There is no way to tell from the list who is connected to whom, but the available evidence suggests that Colin, Susannah, Donald, Alexander, John and Colin were a family unit. Grace's position next to Susannah in the list suggests that she was also associated with the family.
"He came from Scotland, with his wife and two of his sons, Alexander and Colin."
This is incorrect. The Penobscot list gives four sons, as noted above. Duncan F. Campbell, in his response to the newspaper article, states that Colin and Susannah came with "the three younger children." Donald, the eldest, might have been left behind in Scotland for schooling, even though his name appeared on the Penobscot list with the other three.
"The latter, afterwards sheriff of Charlotte, was probably, though an infant at the time, the Colin Campbell, jr., of the grant."
As explained above, the reference to the grant is incorrect.
"Captain Colin Campbell was one of the representatives of Charlotte in the first house of assembly; (being returned at a bye-election, to fill the place of Dr. Paine, who left the province in 1787.)5 He did business as a merchant in St. Andrews for some years, but was not financially successful; and finally returned to Scotland in 1808. He was a descendant of Colin Campbell, third Earl of Argyle, (ancestor of the present Duke of Argyle,) who lived about the beginning of the sixteenth century."
I'm not certain about this part, except that it's clear that he did return to Scotland, as his great-grandson confirms that in his letter to the newspaper.
"His eldest son, Rear Admiral Donald Campbell of the British navy, married a daughter of Sir Howard Douglas; and his grandson, Admiral Colin York Campbell, is at present the head of the younger branch of the family."
As Duncan F. Campbell noted in his letter above, Donald Campbell married a sister of Sir Howard Douglas.
"Colin Campbell, the son of Capt. Campbell above mentioned, was born in Glasgow, and was not yet two years old when the grants were issued. Before reaching man’s estate he was sent home to Scotland to be educated. After his return to St. Andrews, he married a daughter of Capt. James Campbell, (of the St. George grants,)6 who was a cousin of Sir Archibald Campbell, the successor of Sir Howard Douglas as governor of New Brunswick. After representing Charlotte in the legislature for a number of years, he was made sheriff in 1833. He died at St. Andrews in 1843. The Whitlocks of St. Stephen are his grandchildren."
This is correct as far as I know, though I am not familiar with Capt. James Campbell's connection to Sir Archibald Campbell.
"John Campbell of Barbeck, a nephew of Capt. Colin Campbell, had been commandant of the 74th regiment. The business begun by his uncle was carried on for a time by him as head of the firm of John Campbell & Co."
Barbreck is spelled incorrectly here, and the relationship is backwards, as Colin Campbell was the nephew of John Campbell. There was another John Campbell who was a merchant in St. Andrews from about 1784 on, and he may be the one who had the firm John Campbell & Co. This John Campbell may well have been related to Colin Campbell, and in fact could have been his nephew, which would explain the confusion.
There are two references above to another Colin Campbell who lived in St. Andrews for a time and who was Collector of Customs there:
"3It is difficult to distinguish them from other Loyalists of the same name, one of whom was appointed collector of customs at St. Andrews in 1824, and held the position until he was superannuated; afterwards removing to Weymouth, N. S., where he died in 1834. He was born in Inverary, Scotland, in 1752; and, with his father and his two brothers, Alexander and Archibald, who were cadets for the 73rd Highlanders, sailed for New York during the rebellion. After the close of the war, he came to Nova Scotia; and before coming to St. Andrews he practised law for a number of years at Shelburne."
"‘I wrote my father, at one time, asking him about the Colin Campbell who was collector at St. Andrews, and this is his reply:-
‘You speak of Colin Campbell, whose name appears in the old records of St. Andrews. He was from Sissiboo, Nova Scotia, and was sent to St. Andrews as collector of the port, at that time an important office, and resided there many years; but retired and returned to Nova Scotia. He was also president of the Charlotte County Bank. He had a large family in Nova Scotia, and his sons filled prominent positions there."
This Colin Campbell appears in "Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage Baronetage and Knightage," 97th Edition, 1939, under Campbell of Barcaldine, page 481. The information given there on his family confirms their connection to Nova Scotia. His first wife is listed there as the widow of Col. Samuel Campbell, of North Carolina, and his second wife was Elizabeth Hardy. His sons were John, born in 1797, and Colin, born in 1798 and married to Maria Taylor.
Duncan F. Campbell, author of the above letter about the family of Colin and Susannah Campbell, gives us the names of their six sons: Donald, Alexander, John, Colin, Archibald, and Duncan. Unfortunately, he does not name the six daughters. The information from the LAC gives Donald's year of birth as 1778, and the birthdate on the younger Colin's stone in Greenock Presbyterian Church Cemetery, St. Andrews, is given as May 10, 1783:
http://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101230054/colin-campbell
Sacred to the Memory of / Colin CAMPBELL Esq. / Born in Glasgow / May 10, 1783 / Died / Aug. 30, 1843
However, the LDS Church's International Genealogical Index (IGI) has several records of a christening of Colin Campbell, son of Colin and Susannah (Campbell) Campbell, on May 18, 1782 in Glasgow, and though no source is stated, it seems likely that he was actually born in 1782.
The order of the sons given on the Penobscot list is Donald, Alexander, John, Colin. It appears that Donald was born in 1778, Alexander in 1779 or 1780, and John in 1780 or 1781, followed by Colin in 1782. The "Vital Statistics From New Brunswick Newspapers" series has an obituary that likely belongs to the son named Archibald:
d. Turnult Scotland, Lt. Archibald CAMPBELL, 59th Regt., native of St. Andrews, age 33.
This appeared in the May 6, 1824 issue of the (Saint John) City Gazette. This would suggest a year of birth of about 1791. The obituary of the remaining son, Duncan, appeared in the June 29, 1837 issue of the St. Andrews Standard:
d. Gibraltar, 20th April, Lt. Duncan Frederick CAMPBELL of Royal Navy and youngest brother of High Sheriff of this County.
This confirms that Duncan was the youngest of the sons of Colin and Susannah.
[2023 update: When I put this together, years ago, the LDS website was quite different from its current version. The links I used then to that website no longer work so I have removed them, but I left the information that I found there.]
The LDS Church's Pedigree Resource File contains a listing of the children of Colin and Susannah. Go to http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp and do a search with Colin Campbell as father and Susannah Campbell as mother. This brings up in the Pedigree Resource File the names of the six sons listed above. However, the dates of birth are nearly all incorrect. The source of the information was the Medieval Families Unit of the LDS Church's library. It looks as if they had part of the information and made a guess at the rest. The daughters listed are Jessie, Susan, Margaret and Grace. These may well be correct as they are also names that Sheriff Colin Campbell gave to four of his daughters.
Is it possible that the Janet Campbell among the over-ten children on the Penobscot list was also a daughter of Colin and Susannah? It appears that they were married in 1777, which would rule out a daughter over ten in 1784. Once again returning to http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp, do a search for a marriage record for Colin Campbell with Susannah Campbell as spouse. Several entries come up, with dates varying from 1777 to Mar. 20, 1777, Apr. 20, 1777, and Apr. 29, 1777, in either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Only one of them notes that it is an extracted marriage record for the locality listed in the record, and that is the one that states the marriage took place on Mar. 20, 1777 in Edinburgh. The source is given as Old Parochial Registers for Edinburgh, 1595-1860, Church of Scotland. It is likely that this one is correct, then.
Colin Campbell Senior petitioned for land a number of times and was also actively involved in buying and selling land in the county. I have only looked at a sampling of the land deeds for him. (Deeds for Charlotte County are found in the county office of Service New Brunswick, at 73 Milltown Blvd, St. Stephen, NB E3L 1G5, or at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.) An early record (Book A, page 44), dated Oct. 28, 1785, involving Colin Campbell of St. Andrews and his wife Susannah, as well as John Campbell of Barbreck, explains that 200 pounds was left as a legacy to Donald, Alexander and John Campbell, sons of Colin and Susannah, by Mrs. Margaret Campbell, and was paid out by "Baillie Colin Campbell, Roseneath, last husband of the said Margaret Campbell." The LDS Pedigree Resource File, described above, contains records that fit with this information, though again there are no sources listed. Do the search as above, click on one of the children, and follow the lines back. This indicates that Colin, the husband of Susannah, was the son of Donald and Margaret (Campbell) Campbell. Donald Campbell's death occurred in 1748, according to this, and Margaret then married Colin Campbell. Likely she died before the birth of Colin Campbell Junior in 1782, since the legacy was left only to her first three grandsons.
Another record (Book A, page 368), dated July 5, 1788, referred back to the earlier one above, and involved again Colin Campbell of St. Andrews and his wife Susannah, and John Campbell of Barbreck. This one stated that Susannah's mother was also Susannah Campbell, widow of the deceased Alexander Campbell, late Merchant in Glasgow. It also mentioned Mrs. Ann Cooke, sister of Colin, and widow of James Cooke, late writer in Dumbarton. (This would have been Dumbarton, Scotland, and not Dumbarton in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.)
These connections explain some of the names of the children of Colin and Susannah. Their first son would have been named for Colin's father, Donald, and the second one for Susannah's father, Alexander. The third son, John, was no doubt named for John Campbell of Barbreck. Colin Junior must have been named for his father. It would make sense for Colin and Susannah to name daughters Margaret and Susannah after their mothers. As noted above, the Pedigree Resource File lists four daughters for them: Jessie, Susan, Margaret, and Grace, though their order of birth is uncertain. To this list we can add Ann, as indicated by the 1788 record.
The Pedigree Resouce File indicates that Colin's mother, Margaret, was the daughter of Archibald and Anne (Campbell) Campbell. If you do a search at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp with Archibald Campbell as father and Anne Campbell as mother, the Pedigree Resource File lists their children. This list includes, among others, Margaret Campbell and John Campbell of Barbreck. This would explain the uncle/nephew relationship between Colin Campbell and John Campbell of Barbreck.
Sheriff Colin Campbell's son, John, the author of part of the letter at the beginning of this piece, wrote a letter to the Bay Pilot, a local newspaper, in June, 1878. It was printed in the June 20, 1878 edition. (See http://carensecord.ca/locations/NewBrunswick/StAndrews/walkingtour.html.) In it, he gave his recollections of the people who lived in St. Andrews when he was young. It was published anonymously, but the letter was found among his effects after his death. (See http://carensecord.ca/locations/NewBrunswick/StAndrews/tour_background.html.) It's interesting that he mentions Collector Campbell on Queen St. That would be the "other" Colin Campbell, with ties to Weymouth/Sissiboo, rather than his grandfather Colin Campbell, who was collector of customs for a time in Saint John.
Colin Campbell's death notice appeared in a Saint John newspaper, the City Gazette, in the Aug. 1, 1814 edition:
d. 9th March, Cartfide, Greenoch, age 66, Colin CAMPBELL, Esq., late Surveyor and Searcher H.M. Customs of this port.
Susannah died almost twenty years later. Her notice of death appeared in the (Saint John) Weekly Observer, in the July 2, 1833 edition:
d. 13th April, Stirling, Scotland, age 71, Susannah CAMPBELL widow of Colin CAMPBELL, Esq., late H.M. Customs, Saint John.
Duncan F. Campbell's final statement about the two Campbell families is another clue for Campbell researchers in Charlotte County:
"‘The descendants are numerous; but myself and my sister, Annie P. Campbell, now in St. Andrews, and James Campbell, of Pennfield, and his children, are the only descendants of the two Campbell families (Lieut. James and Sheriff Colin) now in the county of the name of Campbell.’"
Lieutenant James was the father of Amy Campbell (the wife of Sheriff Colin Campbell), and the great-grandfather of Duncan F. Campbell. The marriage notice for Colin and Amy appeared in the (Saint John) Times or True Briton, in the July 21, 1808 edition:
m. St. Andrews, 30th ult., by Rev. Andrews, Colin CAMPBELL, jr., merchant / A. d/o late James CAMPBELL, Esq.
Duncan had already stated that Sheriff Colin Campbell was the only one of the children of Colin and Susannah to stay in New Brunswick, so the few Campbell individuals mentioned must also be the only descendants of Colin and Susannah in the county with the surname Campbell. The connection of Duncan and his sister Annie to these families is as noted above, but who was James Campbell of Pennfield and how did he fit into the families? I think that he was the James Campbell who is buried in Pennfield United Baptist Cemetery with his family:
4. CAMPBELL/ James Campbell/ Died/ Nov. 11 1899/ Aged 75 years/ Harriet J./ His Wife/ 1833-1905
(SIDE) Minnie/ Died 1861/ 1 Year 6 Mos/ Freddie/ Died 1864/ Aged 3 Mos./ James Colin/ Died 1872/ Aged 10 Years./ Nellie G/ Wife Of J.A.C. Campbell/ Died 1882/ Aged 27 Years.
This would suggest a year of birth of 1824. I think that his parents were John Gray Campbell and his wife Sophia Baldwin. Their marriage notice appeared in the (Saint John) City Gazette, in the Nov. 27, 1823 edition:
m. Magaguadavick, Charlotte Co., 18th inst., by Rev. Thomson, John Gray CAMPBELL, Esq. /Miss Sophia BALDWIN, both of that place.
The baptism record for James appears in the local Anglican church records:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nbpstgeo/stge4b1.htm
Dec. 19, 1824 James(b. Oct. 5, 1824)-2 mos. John & Sophia CAMPBELL St. George Samuel Thomson
John Gray Campbell was most likely a brother of Amy Campbell who was Sheriff Colin's wife. There is information on that family on the NBGS website under First Families [membership required for access], under James and Amy (Gardner) Campbell. John Gray Campbell is not listed there as one of the sons. However, in the probate records for Charlotte County in Book C, page 361, there is a document dated Feb. 24, 1834 which apparently shows the final distribution of the assets of the estate of James and Amy Campbell to the heirs. One of the recipients is J. G. Campbell.