Draft:Charles Collins Campbell

Charles Collins Campbell
Born	(1762-03-12)12 March 1762 Fort St George, Madras, India
Died	9 May 1822(1822-05-09) (aged 60) Barville Park, Bathurst District, Cape Colony
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Branch	British Army
Rank	Major general
Commands	Commander of the Forces in Newfoundland
Spouses	Harriet Fraser Elizabeth Lane Mary Harriet Andrews
Children	17

Charles Collins Campbell (12 March 1761 – 9 May 1822) was a British Army major general and colonial administrator who served as Commander of the Forces in Newfoundland. He subsequently became a leader of the 1820 Settlers to South Africa, directing a party of settlers aboard the Salisbury. He died at his property, Barville Park, in the Cape Colony shortly after arriving in South Africa.

Through common descent from Sir Dugald Stuart and Elizabeth Ruthven, Campbell was a second cousin once removed of Tory statesman John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, the first Scottish prime minister following Acts of Union in 1707.

Early life and family

Campbell was born in Fort St George, Madras, India, in 1762 and was baptised there on 25 March 1762. He was the son of Colonel Charles Campbell and Susannah de Morgan. His father was associated with the Campbell family of Barbreck in Argyll, Scotland, and had inherited the Hartfield estate in Sussex. The Campbells of Barbreck were a cadet branch of the chiefly Campbell family of Lochawe, a precursor to the Earldom and Dukedom of Argyll. Campbell was a direct descendant of both James V and Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven. Campbell's mother, Susannah de Morgan, was from the prominent Anglo-Indian de Morgan family, strongly affiliated with the East India Company.

Campbell married his paternal first cousin once removed, Harriet Fraser, daughter of Major Fraser of the Indian Army and Isabella Hook, at Edinburgh on 17 February 1786. Their marriage was subsequently dissolved by an Act of Parliament in 1799. The private Act, commonly known as Campbell's Divorce Act 1799, dissolved Campbell's marriage to Harriet Fraser and permitted him to marry again.

Campbell married Elizabeth Lane at St George's, Hanover Square, London, on 2 July 1799. Parish records explicitly state that their marriage followed the parliamentary dissolution of Campbell's previous marriage. Lane died at Park Square, Leeds on 3 February 1813.

Following Lane's death, Campbell married Mary Harriet Andrews at St John's, Newfoundland, on 13 May 1816.

Military career

Campbell served in the British Army and attained the rank of major general. Before attaining his later rank, he served as an inspecting field officer of a recruiting district. A surviving note on his application to emigrate to the Cape states that he had subsequently served on the staff in Newfoundland until 1816.

Campbell was appointed Commander of the Forces in Newfoundland. His tenure there placed him at the head of the British military establishment on the island. A nineteenth-century record of inscriptions from Madras also describes him as the "Commander of the Forces at Newfoundland".

While in Newfoundland, Campbell married for a third time to Mary Harriet Andrews. Their first children were subsequently born in Britain, and contemporary parish records describe Campbell as a major general in the Army.

1820 Settlers

After leaving active service, Campbell applied to emigrate to the Cape Colony as part of the British government's settlement scheme of 1820. He was selected to lead a party of settlers, designated Settler Party No. 425.

Campbell's party sailed for the Cape aboard the Salisbury. The party included members of his family as well as other settlers and skilled workers. The passenger list published in the Cape Town Gazette of 15 December 1821 included Campbell, his wife Mary Harriet, several of their children and Elizabeth Susannah Campbell, his daughter from his second marriage.

The Salisbury arrived in the Cape Colony in 1821. Campbell's party was subsequently associated with settlement in the eastern districts of the Cape Colony.

Barville Park and death

Campbell established himself at Barville Park, in the Bathurst district of the Cape Colony. He died there on 9 May 1822, only a few months after his arrival in South Africa, aged 60.

An inventory of his estate was made on 20 May 1822. The record identifies him as "Major General Charles Collins Campbell" and records that he had died at Barville Park on 9 May at eight o'clock in the morning. The inventory also lists his children and other members of his household.

Campbell's death and association with Barville Park are documented in archival material held by the Cape Town Archives Repository. The National Archives of South Africa catalogue includes material relating to the Campbell family, notes concerning Barville Park, and records of Campbell's matrimonial affairs.

Family

Campbell had children by his marriages to Elizabeth Lane and Mary Harriet Andrews. Among his children who travelled to South Africa with him were Henry Charles Campbell, Ambrose George Campbell, Elizabeth Susannah Campbell, Laurence Campbell, Isabella Campbell, John Campbell, Frederick Campbell (later a Major in the Cape Mounted Riflemen), William Campbell, Edward Andrews Campbell, Harriet Campbell and Catherine Campbell.

Several of Campbell's children and descendants subsequently became established in the eastern districts of the Cape Colony. His son, Dr Ambrose George Campbell, for example, became associated with the eastern Cape and died at Port Elizabeth in 1884.

Legacy

Campbell occupies a distinctive place in the history of the 1820 Settlers. Unlike many of the settlers who travelled to the Cape as private individuals or under civilian party leaders, he was a senior British Army officer and former commander of the British forces in Newfoundland. His party combined his own family with other settlers and was one of the organised groups transported to the eastern Cape as part of the British settlement programme.

Archival records concerning Campbell and Barville Park remain in the Cape Town Archives Repository, while genealogical and settler records document his family's subsequent history in South Africa.

Further reading

Nash, M. D. The Settler Handbook. Chameleon Press. Mackay, Sue. "Campbell, Charles Collins – Extra Data". Eastern Province branch, Genealogical Society of South Africa. Snodgrass, Margaret; Gordon, Sue (2020). "Visit on Thursday 18 July 2019 to Glendower Farm, Beacon and Barville Park". Toposcope, vol. 51, pp. 24–32.

Template:DEFAULTSORT, Charles Collins Category:1762 births Category:1822 deaths Category Army major generals Category military personnel of the 18th century Category military personnel of the 19th century Category:1820 Settlers Category emigrants to the Cape Colony Category personnel from Chennai Category from the Cape Colony Category (island)