John Campbell (abt. 1743 - 1801)

Born about 1743 in Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1801 at about age 58 in Hatt Creek, Amherst, Virginia, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Lilly Martin [send private message]

Biography

On May 18, 1807, John Barnett, of Amherst County, Virginia, sold land to Bezebeel Brown, of Albermarle County, for 100 pounds. One tract consisted of land purchased by John Barnett from Thomas Phillips, lying on the north side of and joining the Tye River in Amherst County. The rest of the land consisted of two lots laid off to William and John Campbell as their parts of a larger tract which their father, John Campbell (Wag) owned at his death, lying on the waters of Hat Creek, in Amherst County. The land, consisting of 80 acres, had earlier been purchased by John Barnett from the aforesaid William Campbell. (Amherst County Deed Book K, page 577). Unfortunately, I have not had any success in locating an earlier deed from William Campbell to John Barnett.

This deed provides further evidence of the two facts we learned from the 1805 Power of Attorney I reported several months ago. The first fact provided by the P/A was that John had transferred, or sold, his interest in his father's estate to his brother, William, who was then living in Stokes County, North Carolina. The second was the fact that John appointed his brother, William, as his attorney in fact in matters dealing with the disposition of the lands inherited from John Campbell (wag). Mike Landwehr

Sources

• Regarding the family of John Campbell (wag), you are correct that one of the Chancery Court cases refers to John Jr., Frances, Clara and Margaret Campbell as "infant children", under the age of 21. In fact, the activity log for the file, maintained by the court clerk, indicates that Jacob Puckett Jr., brother-in-law of the Campbell children, was appointed guardian for the "infant defendants" in August of 1805. It would have been a very logical time to appoint a guardian for any minor children of John Campbell (wag), as the court had just appointed four men to subdivide the land owned by John Campbell (wag) at his death, so that it could be distributed to his children. The results of their efforts were reported on September 7. A guardian would be needed to transact legal matters for the minor heirs. One of the answers to the Bill of Complaint, also in August of 1805, is "the answer of John Frances Clary & Marget Campbell by Jacob Pucket Ju'r their guardian".

If I have accurately interpreted the contents of the case, and if we accept the information in the case file at face value, there appears to be evidence that John Jr., Frances, Clara and Margaret were all under the age of 21 in August of 1805.

This apparent conflict in the ages of the two John Campbells (my g-g-g-grandfather and the son of John Campbell (wag)) is only one of several issues which cause me to doubt that they were the same person.

Mike Landwher, oct 2015

Well, after reviewing what Mike had sent on John Campbell (wag) I went back to the personal property/tithable lists and the land tax records. There is a John Campbell (wag.) listed AND a John Campbell (H). I assume the H is for Hat Creek John.

John Campbell (wag) is listed in various years with sons William, George and John. I think we had assumed that this would have been the John Campbell who lived on Hat Creek who was also known as the wagoner. Based on Mike L.

Bill, I think John Campbell, Wagoneer, was about the same age as George (& Caty) and probably is the one who is mentioned in many Orders of Caroline County. Amherst Records also refer to him as brother of a William Campbell. So, John Campbell, Wagoneer, was probably born between 1721 -1725 and died in 1802. George was born about 1720 and died 1791. William who came to Amherst, I believe, was younger. They would have been born in Caroline County since it was formed in 1727 and that's where they would have reached the age of majority. When I am researching, I try to look at Caroline, King & Queen, and Essex for them. Patrick, John, Mary and Sarah were in Old Rappahannock and Essex.

I quickly pulled out the Nelson County Chancery Cause Case #1816-005 which names all of John the Wagoneer's children: William; John; Betsey the wife of Jacob Puckett; Mary/Polly the wife of John Campbell,Jr.(son of Geo. Jr. & Elizabeth Campbell); Frances the wife of Wm. Campbell (son of Geo.Jr. & Elizabeth); Clara, the wife of Crawford Puckett; and Peggy...total of seven Shirley Thompson Craft

Those of you who manage AncestryDNA tests for yourself or other family members are probably aware that Ancestry made a major change, about three months ago, in the algorithms they use to compare their dna test results, and identify matches. AncestryDNA had always been very liberal in their matching procedures, resulting in a LOT more matches than Family Tree DNA or 23andMe. But, that approach resulted in many weaker "matches" which really weren't matches at all, or were so distant as to be of little or no value. So, they tightened up their matching process, and introduced some new science into the process, and reduced the number of identified "matches" by about 80-85%. The result was elimination of many weaker matches that were of little or no value, but also some real matches that I hated to see lost. Anyway, the result is a much shorter match list, with a much higher probability that even the weaker matches on the list will be real matches, related closely enough to be of potential value.

I am fortunate that a number of you who manage AncestryDNA match lists for descendants of William and Lydia Campbell, or descendants of the John Campbell who married Aney Webster, have shared your AncestryDNA match lists with me. Specifically, I'm referring to the AncestryDNA match lists for:

1) Richard Brown, Billie Campbell, Jack Hancock (and me) -- Descendants of John Campbell

2) William Campbell, Carolyn Dawdy, Elizabeth Lawson and Ronda Smalley -- Descendants of William and Lydia Campbell

3) Winnie Shipp, JoAnn Cecil -- Descendants of both John Campbell and William and Lydia Campbell

I've been going over these (now shorter) lists, looking for matches to Campbell cousins, and to individuals who MAY be Campbell cousins. Over the next few days, I hope to get emails out to each of you who have shared your match lists with me, identifying those matches on your first page of AncestryDNA matches (your "top 50" matches), who match not only you, but also match at least two of the other Campbell descendants listed above. These matches will not necessarily be related to you through one of the two Campbell family mentioned above, but most will be. You will probably recognize some of these matches as Campbell cousins, but may not recognize some of them. Some will have extensive Ancestry family trees attached to their dna tests, others will have only a brief family tree, or no family tree, or a private family tree.

I realize that some of you will be interested in the names of some of your matches who are likely Campbell cousins, and that others of you will not be. If you find the list useful to your own research, and would like me to check another 100 of your matches for likely Campbell cousins, just drop me a line, and I'd be happy to do so. It's rather easy for me to do so at this point.

Finally, if you manage an AncestryDNA test for a descendant of one of the two Campbell families listed above, and have not shared your AncestryDNA test results with me, I hope that you'll consider contacting me, and make arrangements to do so. The sharing process is now very easy to do, and only takes about a minute to accomplish. Doing so could assist in our efforts to find the link between these two Campbell families, and I may be able to provide you with some helpful insight into some of your matches.

Best wishes, Mike Landwehr

John “Wagoner” lived or on Hatt Creek in Amherst County, but the location of his property would be in Nelson county today at a village called Roseland. Hatt creek flows through this village and into the Tye River at the junction of State Route 56 (east –west) and State Route 151 (north – South). Roseland was named after the Rev. Robert Rose, the first Minister to serve the area from Goochland to the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. When he died in 1751 he owned 26,000 acres of land granted property.

When son John and Polly married, his father signed the marriage bond as John “Wagoner “ Campbell of Hatt Creek. This was I feel sure to distinguish himself from the many other John Campbell's of Amherst county. How he fits into the other Campbell families of George and Cathy, Lawrence and Henrietta, Henry and Charity, Francis and Isabel, Moses and Jene, or even George and Margaret is unknown - but as you know he does. Lynden T. Harris, aka Bucky

In the August, 1805, term of the Amherst County Chancery Court, a suit was filed by three of the heirs of John Campbell (Wag), deceased, requesting that the Court appoint Commissioners to divide the land which John Campbell (Wag) owned at the time of his death in 1802 among his heirs.

At about the same time, in the August, 1805, term of the Patrick County, Virginia, Court, a Power of Attorney signed by John Campbell was proven in open court. The Power of Attorney read: "Know all men by these Presents that I John Campbell of the County of Patrick and Commonwealth of Virginia Hath Sold unto Wm Campbell my brother in the County of Stokes and State of N Carolina all my part Share or Parcel of an undivided tract of land containing eighty nine acres lying and being in the county of Amherst in the common wealth of Virginia it being a tract of land belonging to my father who is now deceased & to be divided amongst his representatives & I have rec'd full satisfaction for the same from the said Wm Campbell and I do by these Presents (mak braoin) constitute and appoint the above said Wm Campbell my true and lawful attorney for me & in my name and to his own proper use & benefit to (ask dun) and Sue for & recover of and from any person or persons that my claim or with hold the said hand from the lawful representatives of the S'd John Campbell Dec'd & further for me & in my name to partition to the County court of Amherst in the State aforesaid to have the s'd eighty nine acres of land equally divided between the lawful representatives of the said John Campbell Dec'd & to take all further necessary proceedings in & about the obtaining of the same as I myself might or could do were I Personally Present . . . . . “.

Back in Amherst County, the three Commissioners appointed by the Court to divide the land owned by John Campbell (Wag), deceased, completed their task, and the results were reported to the Court by the Commissioners, and by James Montgomery, Administrator of the John Campbell (Wag) estate, on September 7, 1805. The allotments were as follows:

Lot No. 1 - Clary Campbell, 9 acres Lot No. 2 - Peggy Campbell, 25 acres Lot No. 3 - Jacob Pucket Jr., husband of Elizabeth Campbell, 31 acres Lot No. 4 - John Campbell (Piney river), husband of Polly Campbell, 28 acres Lot No. 5 - Frankey Campbell, 33 acres Lot No. 6 - John Campbell Jr., 42 acres Lot No. 7 - Wm Campbell, 45 acres Twenty months later, on May 18, 1807, John Barnett, of Amherst County, Virginia, sold three parcels of land to Bezebeel Brown, of Albermarle County, for 100 pounds. Two of those parcels were lots laid off to William and John Campbell as their parts of a larger tract which their father, John Campbell (Wag) owned at his death, and lying on the waters of Hat Creek, in Amherst County. The land, consisting of 80 acres, had earlier been purchased by John Barnett from the aforesaid William Campbell. (Amherst County Deed Book K, page 577) It would appear that William Campbell, son of John Campbell (Wag), sold the 80 acres allotted to him, and to his brother, John (listed as 87 acres in the report of the Commissioners who divided the land) to John Barnett between August of 1805 and May of 1807.

A while back I reported on findings from the Nelson chancery records which identified John Campbell (Wagoneer), his children and wife Elizabeth. Based on that info we discussed the Wagoneer.

Here are synopses of 3 cases pertaining to the estate of John Campbell wagoneer.

In case #1815-003: George W. Varnum sued John Campbell based on his interest in the landed estate of John Campbell wagoneer. It also identifies this John Campbell who was known as Mine Hill John or son of Elizabeth. It also stated (supported by several depositions) that John Campbell was a resident of Stokes County, North Carolina.

In case #1816-005 John Campbell's children and heirs were identified as:

William John Elizabeth who married Jacob Puckett Polly who married John Campbell Frances who married William Campbell Clary who married Crawford Puckett Peggy

It further states that William, John, John and Polly, William and Frances, and Peggy were not inhabitants of Nelson County.

In case #1817-016 it stated that John Campbell wagoneer died about 1802. It also included the survey and distribution of his lands as follows (note this survey/distribution was dated 1805):

William Campbell: 45 acres, Lot #7 John Campbell (Piney River) who intermarried with Polly Campbell: 28 acres, Lot #4 Jacob Puckett, Jr. who intermarried with Elizabeth Campbell: 31 acres, Lot #4 John Campbell, Jr.: 42 acres, Lot #6 Frankey: 33 acres, Lot #5 Clary: 9 acres, Lot #1 Peggy: 25 acres, Lot #2

I'm not sure but I think this info was posted this year! Just thought the synopses might help a little. Sylvia Camden Ray

In the late 1700’s there were 5 or 6 John Campbell’s in Amherst County. Thank goodness at least one of them let us know how to identify him by adding the fact that he drove wagons as his job and he was proud to b called e a “Wagoner”. One who builds wagons are called “Wainwrights” and one that drive wagons are called “Wagoners”s.

When John Campbell signed the marriage bond for his daughter Polly to marry John Campbell son of George Jr he signed his name John “Wagoner” Campbell of Hatt Creek. That told us two things,. 1. That his vocation was to drive wagons and 2. He lived on Hatt Creek. Hatt Creek being in what is Nelson County today and in the Roseland area. BH

As stated in my previous message, this John Campbell, son of George and Elizabeth, married Mary Campbell about 1800 the daughter of John Hatt Creek Campbell, the Wagoneer. They moved to Scott County Va and raised their family and done their thing. Captain Marvel was accepted into the SAR via this John and George Campbell. BH

I still think that John the Waggoner is John Hatt Creek whose daughter Mary married John Campbell the son of George and Elizabeth. about 1800.. This John had another daughter underage that when he died about 1801, his son in law and wife took in Frances? the underage daughter to raise. They all moved from Amherst to Scott. I am cnfident that this John when he gave his surety for his daughter to marry John Campbell signed his name John Campbell, Waggoner of Hatt Creek. He lived on Hatt Creek in what would have been Amherst county yet.

1783 Heads of Households, Amherst Co VA: John Campbell, with 8 people.

In 1785 there were a total of 3 John Campbells, one was identified as Hatter and one identified as Wagoneer

In 1786 there were still 3 John Campbells

In 1787 the tax districts were broken into District A and District B. John Campbell (Wagoneer) and son William were listed in District A. John Campbell (H) and John Campbell son of George were listed in District B.

John Campbell Wagoneer is shown through 1802 tax records and I don't think he is shown in 1803 leading me to believe that he died after the taking of the 1802 tax and prior to the taking of the 1803 tax.

JAMES MONTGOMERY WAS THE ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE ESTATE OF THE WAGONEER

1816-005 Tobias vs Heirs of John Campbell

To the Court of Amherst County in Chancery sitting: Your Orator Tobias (a free Negro) humbly complaining showeth unto the Court that he heretofore received a Judgment at Law in the Court of said County for the sum of 52.9 pounds with interest thereon from the month of August 1807 till paid and int. 23.69 against James Montgomery, Admr. of John Campbell, deceased, late of said County, to be paid when assets should come into the hands of said Admr. and copy whereby is hereto annexed as part of this Bill. Your Orator states that the whole of the assets of said Intestate subject to the payment of said debts in the hands of said Admr. are long since exhausted as well as the means of acquiring assets further whereby your Orator's Judgment as aforesaid must ever remain unsatisfied unless the Heirs and legal representatives of said Intestate be decreed to satisfy and pay the same they being decreed certain lands of which the said Intestate did seize lying and being in the County aforesaid and have actually disposed of and rec'd. payment for the same to a larger amount that the Judgment aforesaid and whereas your Orator is advised it is a principal of law landed in strict justice the heirs should be charged with the debts of his ancestor so far as he has recd. Anything by descent, your Orator prays ;that William Campbell, John Campbell, Jacob Puckett and Betsy his wife, John Campbell Jr. and Polly his wife, William Campbell and Frances his wife, Crawford Puckett and Clary his wife, and Peggy Campbell by John Campbell Jr. her guardian, which said William, John, Betsy, Polly, Frances, Clary and Peggy are the children and heirs of said John Campbell, deceased, as well as the said Jame Montgomery Admr. aforesaid be made parties Defts. To answer the allegations set forth in this Bill to the end that said Court may pronounce such a decree touching the premises as may seem equitable and finally that the Court do grant all such other and further relief herein as the parties of the case may require. May it please the Court.

Garland Atty. For Complainant

When looking at tax records for 1787 we do find the Wagoneer with a son William.

In 1793 we find an Elizabeth Campbell with a John in her household (most likely her son).

In 1794 we find the Wagoneer with sons George and John.

John Campbell (Wagoner) lived at Roseland in Nelson County on Hatt Creek (BH)