ARTHUR CAMPBELL. This gentleman, who stands among the first of the successful and representative business men of Smith township, is a descendant of an old and well-known family of pioneer setters. Arthur Campbell (his grandfather) was born and reared in County Donegal, Ireland, where he was married, after which he emigrated to America. The young people came to Pennsylvania and located permanently on a farm in Smith township, Washington county, situated about two miles west of Burgettstown, then a wild and uncultivated tract of land. The following children were born to them: William (who moved to Jefferson county, Ohio, where he died), John (always lived on the home place), Robert (mentioned below), Arthur (married, and resided in Jefferson, then called Cross Creek, township), Joseph A. (a physician, who practiced in western Pennsylvania), Nancy (never married), Elisabeth (wife of James Gibson of Hanover township), and Margaret (Mrs. Thomas Elder), all now deceased. Mr. Campbell accumulated a considerable property, and was a highly esteemed citizen. He died on the old homestead. Robert Campbell was born on the home place in Smith township, this county, and in boyhood he assisted in the farm duties, and attended the subscription schools. In 1811 he was married to Jean, daughter of Ebenezer Smith, of Smith township, this county, and she bore him children as follows: Eleanor, born November 27, 1812 (became the first wife of Squire John Proudfit, of Burgettstown); Arthur, born January 20, 1815; Elizabeth, born June 20, 1818; Ebenezer, born May 4, 1820; William, born December 2, 1822 (went to California, and has not been heard from for years); Martha, born December 25, 1824, married to John McGough; Margaret, born September 25, 1827, married to Samuel Wilson, of near Gordonsville, Va.; and James, born in 1829, died at the age of fourteen years. Of these children the only one yet living is Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell settled on a part of the old home farm where he became a very successful business man. Politically he was a member of the Democratic party. He died on the farm, and his widow, who survived him many years, passed her last days among her children. Arthur Campbell received a limited education in the subscription schools of the neighborhood of his place of birth. On June 15, 1843, he was married to Eliza J. Proudfit, who was born January 2, 1817, daughter of John P. Proudfit, an early settler of Smith township. Five children were born to their union, viz.: Jane E., at home; John L., a carpenter, living at home; Amanda M., at home, and who for the past two years has suffered from rheumatism so as to be unable to walk; Elizabeth C., deceased in infancy, and Robert J., married to Lulu Mayo (a daughter of Frank and Margaret Mayo, residents of Ohio), and living in the old house on his father's farm. To them were born three little girls: Mary A., Ida M. and Nellie P. On December 8, 1892, Mrs. Eliza J. Campbell died suddenly of paralysis, and she is buried in the cemetery at Burgettstown. Mr. Campbell remained on the old farm until he was twenty-seven years of age (at which time he married), and then moved to his present place, adjoining the old home where he was born. He is a very successful agriculturist and devotes some time to the raising of fine-bred stock. In politics he is a lifelong Democrat. His wife was a member of the U. P. Church at Burgettstown.

Text taken from page 960 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed March 1997 by Neil and Marilyn Morton of Oswego, IL as part of the Beers Project. Published March 1997 on the Washington County, PA pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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