Campbells: Working Backwards

For those of you that have stayed tuned, I am shockingly impressed. In fact, doubt any of you even exist.

An email from my father's cousin has inspired me to finish my tale of the Campbells. I thought we'd start from the recent past and work our way backwards. My Campbell grandfather, Eugene Harrell, was an accountant for Mobil Oil in Dallas. Prior to that, he served the country as a bombardier in World War II. He passed away when I was quite young. I remember him as a man of few words. As my father would say, it was hard to get a word in edgewise when in the company of my grandmother.

My great-grandfather was named Rufus Elliot Campbell. Like his son, he was a man of financial numbers. He worked as a bookkeeper for banks and possibly elsewhere. He ended his days in Fort Worth, Texas, living with my grandfather and his family. At some point, Rufus had moved from Oklahoma to Texas. I have been unable to find any census records to hint at when this transition might have taken place. However, all of his children were born Oklahoma. Only three of their many children made it to adulthood: Mary, Eugene, and William Neal.

Rufus was married in 1905 in what was still referred to as Indian Territory at the time. He had immigrated from his home in Arkansas in his early twenties sometime between 1900 and 1905. What prompted him to move is open to speculation. I imagine he wanted to strike it out on his own in the world and was tempted by opportunities in new lands.

By my estimates, Rufus was the seventh of nine children. His father was John Andrew Campbell, 1849-1889. John spent most of his days and raised his family in Gravelly, Arkansas. It's a small town with around 100 people today, tucked away in the Ozarks. His younger days seem fraught with hardship. His father passed away when he was 5, and his mother likely died shortly thereafter. At the age of 12, he is found living with his 19 year old brother Robert. Both were farm laborers eking out a living. It wasn't to last long though. I have read uncorroborated notes that state that Robert was killed early on in the Civil War. I wonder whether or not John himself took up arms for the Confederacy in the waning years of the war. Or perhaps his sisters prevented him. Regardless, John seems to have overcome adversity and done well for himself in Gravelly. He got into the lumber business, married into what seems to have been a respected family, and had a prosperous household.