Bolivar County Mississippi Biographies and Biographical Sketches

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CAMPBELL, William R. Biography

"William R. Campbell (deceased), who was one of the representative citizens of Bolivar county, was born at Argyle plantation, Washington county, Miss., in September, 1842, and his father, William R. Campbell, Sr., was a native of the blue grass regions of Kentucky. The elder Campbell came to Mississippi when there were very few settlers, engaged in merchandising at Vicksburg, was married there, and there resided until 1842, when he moved to Washington county, the same state. He located on a large tract of land, made many improvements and became prominently identified with the interests of the county. He was of Scotch extraction. Our subject’s maternal grandmother, Rebecca Horner, was a native of Denmark. William R. Campbell, Jr., attained his twenty -first birthday in Washington county, received his education at Emmettsburg and other towns in Virginia and finished by taking a course in a commercial college at St. Louis. One year later he entered the Confederate army, in Captain Clark’s company, was second lieutenant of a cavalry company and before the close of the war was promoted to the rank of captain. He was aide-de-camp to a commander at Chickamauga and was in that corps for some time. After the war he followed planting for two years on his mother’s plantation, and in 1807 was married to Miss Sophia Johnson, of Lexington, Ky. In 1808 he came to Bolivar county, located on the plantation where his widow now resides, and here made many and vast improvements, clearing about two hundred acres. He soon became quite prominent in politics, and after taking charge of the sheriff’s office for the man elected to that position, was himself elected to that position in 1877, serving faithfully and efficiently until his death in April, 1878. He left live children, who are named as follows: William R., Stella, Louise, Sallie and Charles. Mr. Campbell was a member of the Christian church, and his widow and children hold membership in that church at the present time. Mrs. Campbell has a line plantation, five hundred acres, with four hundred acres under cultivation, and this plantation, Woodlands, is situated two miles from Lamont and is kept in excellent condition. [Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, Chicago, The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891.]