Robert Campbell (Frontiersman)
Encyclopedia
For a list of other individuals by the same name, see Robert Campbell
.
Robert Campbell (February 12, 1804 – October 10, 1879) was an Irish immigrant who became an American frontiersman, fur trader and businessman. His St. Louis home is now preserved as a museum; the Campbell House Museum
.
, County Tyrone, Ireland, now preserved as part of the Ulster American Folk Park
. However his family was of Scottish descent. Although Campbell came from a family of reasonable means, he was the youngest child of his father's second wife, and therefore was due to inherit next to nothing. This prompted him to follow his older brother Hugh to America, North Carolina
specifically, at the age of only eighteen. Robert Campbell moved further west, arriving in St. Louis, Missouri
, in 1824. Later that year, he was diagnosed with consumption
, and was advised by his physician to travel further west.
, Smith assembled a group of sixty men, including experienced explorers and traders Hiram Scott, Jim Beckwourth, Moses Harris
, and Louis Vasquez
. After becoming aware of Campbell's skills and education, Smith asked him to act as clerk for the expedition.
Campbell's initial journey into the American west included a harsh winter spent with Pawnee tribesmen south of the Platte River
. After the spring thaw, the group traveled north of the Platte River to the traders' Rendezvous in Cache Valley, in modern Utah
and southern Idaho
. There Ashley sold his percentage of the expedition to Smith, David Edward Jackson
, and William Sublette
. The expedition then split into two branches. Smith struck off to the southwest while Jackson and Sublette moved northwest to the Teton
range and the Snake river
. Campbell traveled with the Jackson/Sublette party, and later wrote that the group ...hunted along the forks of the Missouri, following the Gallatin, and trapped along across the headwaters of the Columbia. (Carter, p. 298) The group wintered, once again together, in Cache Valley during the winter of 1826-27.
In late 1827, Campbell led a party into Flathead territory and suffered losses to Indian attack. Many survivors of his small group decided to winter in Flathead territory, but Campbell and two other left to contact the larger party wintering in Cache Valley. Traveling slowly due to harsh weather, they arrived at the Hudson's Bay Company
camp of Peter Skene Ogden
on the Snake River in February 1828. After leaving word of their whereabouts, Campbell returned and finished the winter with his men in Flathead territory.
In the spring of 1828 the group trapped along Clark's Fork and Bear Lake. They were attacked by Blackfeet on their way to the summer rendezvous, but suffered light losses and brought in their beaver pelts. After the summer trading, Campbell joined Jim Bridger
in a trapping expedition to Crow country in northeastern Wyoming, wintering in the Wind River area. In the spring of 1829, Campbell decided to return to St. Louis. Entrusted with forty-five packs of beaver skins by the larger group, he arrived in the city in late August. He sold the furs for ...$22,476 dollars and received payment for his services amounting to $3,016. (Carter, p. 300)
, in competition with Hudson's Bay and the American Fur Company
was profitable, as was his long formal partnership with trapper William Sublette
.
He returned to St. Louis in 1835 ending his frontiersman days. Campbell established himself as a businessman, real estate mogul and banker, and there married and raised a family.
Robert Campbell went into business with his longtime partner William Sublette
. Their business was a dry goods store called Sublette&Campbell, the same name as their fur trading business. This store provided goods for travelers to the West and also provided Indian goods to the East of the United States.
Real estate in St. Louis and Kansas City
Missouri increased Robert Campbell's riches. The Southern Hotel in St. Louis was also owned by Campbell until it burned down in 1877. In the 1840s Robert began to buy steamboats operating on the Mississippi River such as the boats the A.B. Chambers and the Robert Campbell Jr. It was aboard the A.B. Chambers that Mark Twain
had his first job as a river pilot.
in 1835. Virginia Kyle's cousin, Mary Kyle was married to Hugh Campbell, Robert's older brother. At the time they met, Virginia was 13 and Robert 31. The two were engaged when Virginia reached the age of 16 and married when Virginia was 19 on February 25, 1841, at Virginia's mother's home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Robert and Virginia were to have 13 children together. Only two of these were girls. Sadly the Campbells were to mourn the deaths of 10 of their children, having only three sons grow into adulthood. These sons were: Hugh Campbell (1847–1931); Hazlett Campbell (1858–1938); and James Campbell (1860–1890).
Robert Campbell died on October 10, 1879. Robert, his wife Virginia, and 12 of their 13 children are buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Campbell family home has been preserved as a museum called the Campbell House Museum
which has been open to the public since 1943.
Robert Campbell
-Politicians:*Robert Campbell , Australian merchant/politician from New South Wales*Robert Campbell , New South Wales politician, son of the above*Robert Campbell , New York politician...
.
Robert Campbell (February 12, 1804 – October 10, 1879) was an Irish immigrant who became an American frontiersman, fur trader and businessman. His St. Louis home is now preserved as a museum; the Campbell House Museum
Campbell House Museum
The Campbell House Museum opened on February 6, 1943, and has served the greater St. Louis area as one of the region's premier historic property museums. The museum was documented as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey between 1936 and 1941, designated a City of St...
.
Early life
Campbell was born at Aughalane House, his family's home, near PlumbridgePlumbridge
Plumbridge is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is a crossroads village, standing on the banks of the Glenelly River. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 267 people. It lies within the Strabane District Council area....
, County Tyrone, Ireland, now preserved as part of the Ulster American Folk Park
Ulster American Folk Park
The Ulster American Folk Park is an open-air museum in Castletown, just outside Omagh, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The Park explores the historical link between Ulster and America, focusing particularly on the lifestyle and experiences of those immigrants who sailed from Ulster to America...
. However his family was of Scottish descent. Although Campbell came from a family of reasonable means, he was the youngest child of his father's second wife, and therefore was due to inherit next to nothing. This prompted him to follow his older brother Hugh to America, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
specifically, at the age of only eighteen. Robert Campbell moved further west, arriving in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, in 1824. Later that year, he was diagnosed with consumption
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and was advised by his physician to travel further west.
Initial Western Expedition (1825 - 1829)
Campbell joined fur trader Jedediah S. Smith in an expedition leaving St. Louis for the Rocky Mountains on November 1, 1825. With the financial backing of William H. Ashley and his Rocky Mountain Fur CompanyRocky Mountain Fur Company
The Rocky Mountain Fur Company, sometimes called Ashley's Hundred, was organized in St. Louis, Missouri in 1823 by General William H. Ashley and Major Andrew Henry . They posted advertisements in St. Louis newspapers seeking "One Hundred enterprising young men . ....
, Smith assembled a group of sixty men, including experienced explorers and traders Hiram Scott, Jim Beckwourth, Moses Harris
Moses Harris
Moses Harris was an English entomologist and engraver.In the Natural System of Colours he examined the work of Isaac Newton and tried to reveal the multitude of colours which can be created from three basic ones...
, and Louis Vasquez
Louis Vasquez
Pierre Luis Vasquez was a mountain man and trader. He was born and raised at St. Louis, Missouri. Pierre Luis Vasquez was the son of Benito Vasquez and Marie-Julie Papin Pierre Luis Vasquez (October 3, 1798 – September 5, 1868) was a mountain man and trader. He was born and raised at St....
. After becoming aware of Campbell's skills and education, Smith asked him to act as clerk for the expedition.
Campbell's initial journey into the American west included a harsh winter spent with Pawnee tribesmen south of the Platte River
Platte River
The Platte River is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to...
. After the spring thaw, the group traveled north of the Platte River to the traders' Rendezvous in Cache Valley, in modern Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and southern Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. There Ashley sold his percentage of the expedition to Smith, David Edward Jackson
David Edward Jackson
David Edward Jackson was an American pioneer, explorer, trader, and fur trapper.He spent his early life west of the Shenandoah Mountains, in what was then part of Virginia and is now in West Virginia: he was born in Randolph County, and his parents, Edward and Elizabeth Jackson, soon moved the...
, and William Sublette
William Sublette
William Lewis Sublette Born near Stamford, Lincoln County, Kentucky on September 21, 1798. Died on July 23, 1845 in Pittsburg. W.L. Sublette was a fur trapper, pioneer and mountain man, who with his brothers after 1823 became an agent of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company exploiting the riches of the...
. The expedition then split into two branches. Smith struck off to the southwest while Jackson and Sublette moved northwest to the Teton
Teton
Teton or The Tetons may refer to:*Teton Basin or Teton Valley, todays names of historic trapper meeting and battle site *Teton, Idaho*Teton Range, part of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming**Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the Teton Range...
range and the Snake river
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
. Campbell traveled with the Jackson/Sublette party, and later wrote that the group ...hunted along the forks of the Missouri, following the Gallatin, and trapped along across the headwaters of the Columbia. (Carter, p. 298) The group wintered, once again together, in Cache Valley during the winter of 1826-27.
In late 1827, Campbell led a party into Flathead territory and suffered losses to Indian attack. Many survivors of his small group decided to winter in Flathead territory, but Campbell and two other left to contact the larger party wintering in Cache Valley. Traveling slowly due to harsh weather, they arrived at the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
camp of Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden , was a fur trader and a Canadian explorer of what is now British Columbia and the American West...
on the Snake River in February 1828. After leaving word of their whereabouts, Campbell returned and finished the winter with his men in Flathead territory.
In the spring of 1828 the group trapped along Clark's Fork and Bear Lake. They were attacked by Blackfeet on their way to the summer rendezvous, but suffered light losses and brought in their beaver pelts. After the summer trading, Campbell joined Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
in a trapping expedition to Crow country in northeastern Wyoming, wintering in the Wind River area. In the spring of 1829, Campbell decided to return to St. Louis. Entrusted with forty-five packs of beaver skins by the larger group, he arrived in the city in late August. He sold the furs for ...$22,476 dollars and received payment for his services amounting to $3,016. (Carter, p. 300)
Later career
Campbell was unique in that he had a successful career in the American west. His participation with the Rocky Mountain Fur CompanyRocky Mountain Fur Company
The Rocky Mountain Fur Company, sometimes called Ashley's Hundred, was organized in St. Louis, Missouri in 1823 by General William H. Ashley and Major Andrew Henry . They posted advertisements in St. Louis newspapers seeking "One Hundred enterprising young men . ....
, in competition with Hudson's Bay and the American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
was profitable, as was his long formal partnership with trapper William Sublette
William Sublette
William Lewis Sublette Born near Stamford, Lincoln County, Kentucky on September 21, 1798. Died on July 23, 1845 in Pittsburg. W.L. Sublette was a fur trapper, pioneer and mountain man, who with his brothers after 1823 became an agent of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company exploiting the riches of the...
.
He returned to St. Louis in 1835 ending his frontiersman days. Campbell established himself as a businessman, real estate mogul and banker, and there married and raised a family.
Robert Campbell went into business with his longtime partner William Sublette
William Sublette
William Lewis Sublette Born near Stamford, Lincoln County, Kentucky on September 21, 1798. Died on July 23, 1845 in Pittsburg. W.L. Sublette was a fur trapper, pioneer and mountain man, who with his brothers after 1823 became an agent of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company exploiting the riches of the...
. Their business was a dry goods store called Sublette&Campbell, the same name as their fur trading business. This store provided goods for travelers to the West and also provided Indian goods to the East of the United States.
Real estate in St. Louis and Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
Missouri increased Robert Campbell's riches. The Southern Hotel in St. Louis was also owned by Campbell until it burned down in 1877. In the 1840s Robert began to buy steamboats operating on the Mississippi River such as the boats the A.B. Chambers and the Robert Campbell Jr. It was aboard the A.B. Chambers that Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
had his first job as a river pilot.
Personal life
Campbell met his future wife Virginia CampbellVirginia Kyle Campbell
Virginia Kyle Campbell was an extraordinary woman who played host to members of high society in St. Louis into her home. These notable St. Louis citizens included President Ulysses S. Grant, James Eads, General Sherman, and Henry Shaw. Virginia Campbell uniquely had modern sensibilities for women...
in 1835. Virginia Kyle's cousin, Mary Kyle was married to Hugh Campbell, Robert's older brother. At the time they met, Virginia was 13 and Robert 31. The two were engaged when Virginia reached the age of 16 and married when Virginia was 19 on February 25, 1841, at Virginia's mother's home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Robert and Virginia were to have 13 children together. Only two of these were girls. Sadly the Campbells were to mourn the deaths of 10 of their children, having only three sons grow into adulthood. These sons were: Hugh Campbell (1847–1931); Hazlett Campbell (1858–1938); and James Campbell (1860–1890).
Robert Campbell died on October 10, 1879. Robert, his wife Virginia, and 12 of their 13 children are buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Campbell family home has been preserved as a museum called the Campbell House Museum
Campbell House Museum
The Campbell House Museum opened on February 6, 1943, and has served the greater St. Louis area as one of the region's premier historic property museums. The museum was documented as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey between 1936 and 1941, designated a City of St...
which has been open to the public since 1943.