I.R. Thursday, October 24, 1878 – S. Jerome Uhl, a portrait painter of Springfield, Ohio, is in Ironton engaged in painting a portrait of Mrs. John Campbell. Mr. Uhl is an accomplished artist.
I.R. Thursday, November 23, 1893 – MRS. JOHN CAMPBELL – HER DEATH AND SKETCH OF HER LIFE – We are called upon to mourn the death of another esteemed and venerable member of this community.
Mrs. Elizabeth C. Campbell, the widow of the late John Campbell. Her death occurred last Sunday at noon; the funeral took place at the residence Tuesday afternoon at 1 o’clock.
Rev. E. E. Moran conducted the services. Mr. E. J. Bird sang a very impressive solo entitled Zion. While the pallbearers removed the casket from the house, the choir sang “In the Sweet By and By.”
The pallbearers were W. A. Murdock, I. A. Kelly, J. M. Hill, C. A. Hutsinpillar, J. W. Campbell, Geo. T. Scott, J. L. Anderson, I. N. Henry.
It was all a very quiet, impressive service, attended by a large number of the old citizens and friends of other years, whose sighs mingled with the solemnities of death and whose thoughts ran back to the days that are no more.
The sons and daughters of the deceased were present – Messrs. Albert and Charles Campbell, Mrs. Martha Means and Miss Clara Campbell, and Miss Lillian Neal, who had gone east, returned for the sad occasion. Messrs. John G. Peebles, John C. Clarke, Robt. Ellison and Mr. and Mrs. W. N. McGugin were present from abroad.
Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell’s life was intimately connected with the early developments of this community, and we, therefore, give in full Rev. E. E. Moran’s eloquent address at the funeral, as follows:
We are met to record with sadness the removal from our midst of another of the old landmarks, who, in association with others, passed away. The remaining few were instrumental in making this city and other communities in this region what they are today.
Mrs. Elizabeth C. Campbell, daughter of James Clark and Mary Ellison, was born at Manchester, O., on April 15, 1815, and died at Ironton, O., Nov. 19, 1893, in the 79th year of her age.
After so long and useful life in many respects, filled with deeds of kindness and love, it is in the hope that she has entered upon the rest that remaineth that we think upon her departure and present these few incidents connected with her past life and history in our service this afternoon.
Her parents were of Scotch Irish stock, from the north of Ireland, and lived originally at Six Mile Cross, near Omaugh, in the county of Tyrone.
They sailed for America in 1795 and, after a six weeks voyage, reached Philadelphia, thence after a long and toilsome over-land journey to Pittsburg, they floated down the Ohio river in an old-time keelboat to the new settlement at Manchester, the fourth in the Ohio territory, as it was then known.
Her grandfather brought with him the money and bought the lands in Adams county, expecting Manchester to become the great metropolis instead of Cincinnati. In 1830, at the age of 15, she left Manchester to live with her aunt, Nancy Ellison Hamilton, wife of Robt. Hamilton, then manager of Pine Grove Furnace, Ohio.
Shortly after this, as we learn from Mother Nixon, now in her 88th year and who was present at the time, she, in company with her uncle and aunt, attended a service of Evangelistic services conducted by the Rev. Phillips in the Pogue settlement as it was then known, above Amanda furnace and now Ashland, Ky., where, yet in her girlhood, she with five or six others professed religion and united with the church. Following this, she attended seminary under the Rev. John Rankin at Ripley, Ohio, and upon the death of her aunt, was married to John Campbell on March 16th, 1837.
They removed to the Mt. Vernon furnace, where Mr. Campbell had already been the manager for two years. They remained there until 1845, when they removed with their family to Hanging Rock, and in November 1850, to the new town of Ironton, where with its interests and development, the last forty-three years of her life were spent.
Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell shared with her husband his loyalty to the Union and in his sympathy for the slave. At the breaking out of the rebellion, the first flag for volunteers raised in Ironton was made by the patriotic ladies of our city in this room where Mrs. Campbell’s remains now rest.
This being only about a week after the firing on Fort Sumpter, and the young, true, and brave-hearted volunteers being in haste to be off to the field of action and duty in their country’s service, necessitated the preparation of their colors being made on Sunday – colors that led some to victory and back to home and loved ones, and others to death for the blessings we enjoy.
Mrs. Campbell’s helpfulness of love and kindness to the poor when deserving, in which she always stood with her husband. At the same time, he lived and continued until her death. She also stood first and foremost with him and others in all that served to develop the interests and happiness of the community in its social, civil, and religious life.
Becoming a Christian, as we have already learned in her girlhood, she was soon after enrolled as one of the founders of the Presbyterian church at Pine Grove furnace, which Presbytery organized on April 23rd, 1833. The other members, by letter, were her uncle and aunt, Robert and Nancy Hamilton, John Davidson, and Charles and Isabella Porter and Mary Middlebrook, on the profession.
On removing Hanging Rock in 1845, she became one of the founders of the Presbyterian church in that place. In 1850 was one of the original founders of the church in which we still worship. She remained an honored and useful member until her death on the last Sabbath, which we trust was only a translation to the glory of the eternal Sabbath in the skies.
And as today we mourn her loss and greatly miss her presence with us in the flesh, it lends a silver lining to the dark cloud that overshadows us. As we record in grateful memory her long life of usefulness in the past, her deeds of kindness to the poor whose hearts she has made glad, her personal help and liberal generosity to the church at home and abroad, by the aid of her hands, and gifts of her means.
And now that her earthly course is run, her life ended. Work done, we would commend for our mutual limitation all that was noble, good, and true in her life and character. As in faith and hope, we now lay her away to rest from all life’s trials, sorrows, afflictions, and tears – we would listen to the voice of inspiration saying unto us.
“Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works follow them.” May her life and example in love and charity bring forth their fruits through their influence and help us fulfill all duties until the Lord shall call us to lay down the cross and take up the crown.
The Ironton Ohio News-Centennial Edition – Sunday, October 9, 1949.
Writers of historical novels could get enough materials from Ironton’s history and the history of the Hanging Rock iron region to write romantic novels from now until the end of time. Those who have been conducting research for material for local stories in connection with early Ironton history have found the job most interesting.
With so much emphasis on John Campbell, founder of Ironton, we began to wonder what Mrs. John Campbell was like . . what she looked like. In all that had been said about the founding of Ironton and the furnaces of Lawrence county, never once had we heard Mrs. Campbell’s name mentioned.
Going on the assumption that there is a woman back of every great man’s achievement, we began searching for a picture of Mrs. Campbell. What we wanted was just a picture, if nothing more, to show the folks that there was a Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell.
What we found was not only a magnificent picture but an interesting story as well. After considerable investigating, we learned that such a picture existed and that Miss Ella Culbertson of 417 South Fourth Street had it in her possession. By phoning Miss Culbertson, we obtained permission to visit her home and inspect the picture.
At the Culbertson home, we met Miss Ella Culbertson for the first time. We knew her brother Ed quite well, who died some eight years ago. Miss Ella, we discovered, was an extremely interesting woman. And the Culbertson home we likewise found to be extremely interesting. Most of the furnishings are many years removed from 1949. It’s heaven for lovers of antiques. While we do not particularly care for antiques, we can appreciate their beauty and worth.
There is a history back of practically every piece of lovely furniture in the Culbertson home. There is a history back of the home. The Culbertson’s during the great iron days, lived at Lawrence Furnace. They moved from there to Ironton 79 years ago. For a year, they lived down on the Second street. And then they bought the present home.
Miss Ella Culbertson was six years old when she moved to the present home with her parents. She is nearing 86 years old, but you’d never guess her age. She is as alert as many persons 20 years her junior. It’s a lovely old home, as substantial today as it was the day it was built. It shows, of course, years of good living.
“I remember mother saying that when we moved in here, there wasn’t a scratch on the floors,” remarked Miss Ella. Most everywhere you look, you find evidence of a past era, with minimal scattering of modern furnishings such as radios.
The living room struck our fancy. Large painted portraits hang on the wall. There is one of Miss Ella’s fathers, one of her mothers, and her grandfather. On a large table are other pictures. These we discovered were pictures of members of the Campbell family. An Ironton artist in yesteryears whose name we didn’t get painted, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell.
However, the biggest picture in the room is that of Mrs. John Campbell. A lovely piece of work in a huge frame. It seems that all frames in those days were as much a piece of art as the portraits themselves. Mrs. Campbell’s picture appeared to be a companion piece to one of Mr. Campbell, which hangs in an Ironton home today.
“How does it come that you have this large picture of Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell, Were your related?” we asked Miss Culbertson.
“We came by it rather oddly,” she said. We were not related to the Campbell but were very good friends. When the furnishings were being removed from their home-which was on Fifth street (The present Baker Funeral Home, she told us later), someone brought it to our home and said we might have it.
We were pleased to get it because it was an extremely beautiful painting in addition to being our friend. It has been hanging on the wall since.” Miss Culbertson is seen in the accompanying Morris Studio Photo sitting beneath the portrait of Mrs. Campbell.
We had started out to learn something of Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell and found the sidelights even more interesting. The story of their early life at Lawrence Furnace, of Miss Culbertson’s taking French lessons from one of the Campbell girls, little stories about some of the beautiful antique furniture, clocks, an oil lamp that was a beauty, paintings obtained on visits abroad. It was all interesting and tied in beautifully with the romantic life of Ironton shortly after the city’s birth.
For information directly bearing on Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell’s life, we later turned to Mrs. Carl Moulton. From her records, we learned that Mrs. Campbell was the former Elizabeth Caldwell Clarke of Manchester, Ohio. She had attended a seminary at Ripley, and it was at Ripley that she met John Campbell.
She was making her home with an uncle, Robert Hamilton of Hanging Rock, when not in school, and it was that situation made it possible for her and John Campbell to see each other often. The friendship at Ripley grew until, on March 16, 1837, they were united in marriage at Pine Grove furnace by Rev. Dan Young. They resided for years at Mt. Vernon furnace. From Mt. Vernon, they moved to Hanging Rock and lived in the Hamilton residence, later known as the Hempstead and McKee home.
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