After telling of the younger Joseph Campbell marrying Ann Clinch, and
Joseph's younger brother, James, marrying Ann's half-sister, Mary
Blackwell, Harry continued: "There were thirteen children in Joseph's
family and twelve in James'. My mother was one, Harriet, married David
Kemp. My father bought a farm three miles away from the Island. One of
the beauty spots of Tioga Co. looking down on the Cowanesque Valley and
the town of Nelson. I remember my mother, when I was a small boy,
sitting by the window, with maybe a tear in her eye, and telling me of
her girlhood life at the Island, and sometimes a story about the Campbells."
My records only show 12 children for Joseph and Ann, but Harry could be
right -- there could have been another child that died in infancy and
was not recorded. The records agree with Harry as to 12 children for
James and Mary. I have Harriet Campbell as the 5th of James and Mary's
12 children, b. 1832 in Nelson, d. 1903 in Farmington Twp. Harriet was
the same age as her 1st cousin, Phebe CAMPBELL Hoyt, my
great-grandmother. In 1854 Harriet m. David Cook Kemp (1831 - 1929).
Harry (1868 - 1960), was the 4th of their 6 children.
'The Island' was, of course, Beecher's Island.
"There was a story about her uncle, Robert Steel. How he had come to
Stony Fork with only a Tee Shirt and an axe on his shoulder, and had
married the other Blackwell girl, Sara."
Here the story seems garbled. The (1810 - 1884) Robert Steele that
Harry is referring to here was not Harriet's uncle. Instead Robert was
the husband of Harriet's first cousin, Mary Ann Blackwell (1816 -
1895). Mary Ann's mother WAS named Sarah -- but she was Sarah Morrison
(1795 - 1881), dau. of Sarah Boatman and John Morrison. Mary Ann's
father was William Perrin Blackwell, b. 1790 in Avening, d. 1859 in
Blackwell, Tioga Co. William was Mary BLACKWELL Campbell's
half-brother, and a son of Enoch and his 1st wife, Hannah Perrin.
As I mentioned in an earlier part, there was no "3rd Blackwell girl". I
suspect Harry was thinking of Sarah MORRISON Blackwell, but was confused
as to her parentage. Or, he was thinking of Sarah LUGG Clinch Blackwell
Campbell having 3 children, but not realized that her 3rd child was a
boy --- Mary BLACKWELL Campbell's brother, Enoch Blackwell (1814 -
1886). There have been so many Enoch Blackwells over the generations
that it can be very confusing trying to keep them all straight in your
mind. Just as with all the Joseph Campbells, James Campbells, William
Campbells, Sam Hazletts, John Hazletts, etc.
I have seen confirmation of the ax on his shoulder part of Harry's story
about Robert, but I'm not sure what Harry meant by "Tee Shirt".
Robert's arrival in Stony Fork would have taken place in 1834. Surely
they would not have had what we now consider to be a 'Tee Shirt'.
Perhaps young Robert did carry a spare undershirt as his other
possession beside the ax.
"I never heard of the Campbells in Nelson visiting each other (the
Blackwells)." The parentheses are Harry's, not mine.
It's hard to know what Harry meant by that -- who was he referring to as
'the Blackwells'? Descendants of James and Mary BLACKWELL Campbell?
Descendants of Mary's brother, Enoch Blackwell (1814 - 1884) and wife
and 1st cousin, Caroline Lugg (1842 - 1868)? Or descendants of the
elder Enoch Blackwell and 1st wife Hannah Perrin? By Harry's time
Hannah PERRIN Blackwell's descendants lived primarily in Tioga Co.'s
Morris Twp and Bradford Co.'s Burlington Twp. Harry and his parents
attended the original Campbell Reunions which ran every year from 1893 -
1942. All of the above categories were attendees. Most held leadership
positions, including Caroline LUGG Blackwell's son Enoch Charles
(Charley) Blackwell. It would seem that Harry must have know all the
family members in Nelson and many of the Morris and Burlington Twp. folks.
I remember going with my father several times to visit Charley's son,
Watrous Preston (Dutch) Blackwell (1900 - 1982). They even went fishing
together a number of times. And my parents were friendly with Leslie J.
Blackwell (1908 - 1973). Just to take the story full circle, Leslie's
father was James Leslie Blackwell (1865 - 1908). James L. Blackwell's
paternal grandparents were the Sarah Morrison and and Wm. Perrin
Blackwell mentioned above as Mary Ann BLACKWELL Steele's parents.
James' maternal grandparents were Henry Walters and Jane Morrison (1814
- 1882), a younger sister of Sarah MORRISON Blackwell.
A number of readers may be confused by now. If so, a look at our
published tree on the Internet might help.
Harry continued: "But I remember thinking that some day I would go and
see the place where Bobby Steel lived and got prosperous. A short time
ago I set out to find the place." (to be concluded in Part 6)