James Campbell
ID # 195, (1835-)
| Birth | James Campbell was born in 1835 at Lancaster C.W. |
| Marriage | He married Melissa Vrooman, daughter of Admiral Nelson Vrooman and Rachel Coleman, on 27 July 1859 at Harrisburg, S. Dumfries, Brant Co., C.W.. MS248 reel 5 Vol. 1, page 43 Brant Co. Bridegroom James Campbell, 24, residing Montreal, born Lancaster, C.E. (actually C.W.) Father Arthur Campbell. Bride Melissa Vrooman 22, residing South Dumfries. Parents Admiral Nelson and Rachel Vrooman. Witnesses E. A. Frazer, Beverly, and J.A. Unger, Berlin. At Harrisburg, S. Dumfries, 27 July, 1859. (Unusually, for a county marriage registration, the location of the marriage is given. Almost invariably, we are left with the name of the county as the location and there are situations wherein this could be incorrect.) The record is signed by W. Lund, Wesleyan Minister. Probably, the marriage was at the residence of the bride's parents. |
| Note | At the time of their marriage in 1859, James Campbell stated that he had been born in Lancaster, Canada East (almost certainly Canada West is correct), and was resident in Montreal. He also gave his father's name as Arthur. In 1861, he was able to attend in Harrisburg during the illness of Joseph Unger, Melissa's brother-in-law, and witnessed his will. With the publishing of the 1851 census online and it's indexing by Ancestry, we find a James Campbell, age 18, son of Arthur and Mary Campbell, in Charlottenburgh Township in Glengarry County. This is likely near the Village of Lancaster, which sits on the border of Charlottenburgh and Lancaster Townships. Much of the 1851 census has not survived and we are on uncertain ground, but it would appear that this is James who married Melissa Vrooman. Of course, we have some information about their daughter Ida. We do not know if they had other children. At the time of the 1861 census, we find James and Melissa in Charlottenburgh Township in Glengarry County with their daughter Ida Catherine, age 1. Here, James is shown as a farmer and it's evident that he has Campbell family members around him, including his mother Catherine age 56. By 1871, James and Melissa are in Ottawa. Here he is shown as a merchant and daughter Ida is with them. Again, there is no evidence of other children. By 1880, Melissa, apparently a widow with daughter Ida, both born Canada, is shown in Watertown, New York. This is the last record thus found for Melissa and our last record of James was in Ottawa. The logic of the situation is that James and Melissa moved to Watertown and that he then died there. It's possible that he is buried back in Charlottenburgh, but a record for his burial has not yet been found. |
Child of James Campbell and Melissa Vrooman |
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| Last Edited | 6 Oct 2017 |