Northumberland-Jefferson County PA Archives Biographies.....Campbell, Azariah 1842 - living in 1899

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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com July 8, 2005, 6:48 pm



Author: Biographical Publishing Co.



AZARIAH CAMPBELL, a most respected resident of Shamokin, and a member of one of

the oldest families in Northumberland County, is a son of John K. and Catherine

(Wilhour) Campbell. He was born June 11, 1842, at the family homestead in the

Irish Valley, where his grandfather settled when the section was wild and

comparatively uninhabited country, and was only traversed by the Shamohokin

tribe of Indians.



  The grandfather of our subject, Daniel Campbell, was a native of New Jersey in

which state he was born in 1775. He removed to this state, making the journey

from New Jersey by wagon-train enduring cheerfully the severe experiences of the

early settlers of Pennsylvania who plunged through the woods, fought Indians and

tediously, but hopefully, sought new and more inviting fields. Mr. Campbell

settled on what is known as Shamokin Creek, purchasing a tract of land for which

he paid sixty-two cents an acre and cleared a farm in the midst of the woods. He

followed farming and also his trade as a wheelwright. He subsequently removed to

a site opposite Trevorton, where he cleared a farm and also worked as a

wheelwright. He died in 1862. Daniel Campbell was known as an enthusiastic and

intrepid hunter, pursuit of game being his favorite pastime when he could

relinquish his work. The section abounded in game and he delighted in trailing

the panther and bear, facing the vicious wildcat, cornering the foxy wolf or

entrapping the deer which were plentiful.



  It was on the homestead opposite Trevorton that the father of our subject,

John K., was born. He obtained the limited education which was possible in the

well-remembered "subscription school" which was then in vogue, consequently his

educational resources were confined within narrow limits when he entered manhood

and prepared to make his own way in life. He worked on the homestead farm until

about thirty-one years old when he removed to Jefferson County where he remained

five years, then returning to Shamokin, in April, 1855, where he since has

resided, following various occupations, principally the building of

coal-breakers in the mining regions. Mr. Campbell was united in matrimony to

Catherine, a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Miller) Wilhour, and to them were

born seven children, our subject being the eldest. Of these the second,

Elizabeth, is the wife of E. P. Foulke of Shamokin; George W. was killed in 1873

while employed on the Pennsylvania Railroad; William R. is an engineer and

resides at Van Wert, Ohio; Samuel B. is in the employ of the Pennsylvania

Railroad in Shamokin and has been in the service of the company for thirteen

years; Jane is the widow of Frank Bickert and resides in Shamokin; and Harriet,

who is the wife of J. J. Gillespie of Shamokin.



  Our subject, Azariah Campbell, followed farming on the homestead practically

all the time until August 13, 1862, when he responded to the nine-months' call

and enlisted in Company C, 131st Reg., Penna. Vol. Inf. He re-enlisted in 1864

in Company C., 103d Reg., Penna. Vol. Inf., and served until the end of the

Rebellion. Our subject participated in many of the most important and severe

battles of the war, including Antietam and Chancellorsville, and at the battle

of Fredericksburg he marvelously escaped death finding after the fight ended

that thirteen bullets had passed through his uniform, leaving ragged holes as

reminders that he had been in the thickest of the scrimmage.



  On his return to Shamokin at the close of the war Mr. Campbell was variously

employed until 1880 when he engaged in the huckstering business and subsequently

opened a store which he now conducts. Politically our subject is a consistent

Prohibitionist and has served three years as a councilman and one year as

assistant burgess. Possessing strong inclinations religiously, he is a valued

member of the First Methodist Church. On December 23, 1866, Mr. Campbell married

Amelia E. Hoover and to them have been born several children, including Amy,

deceased; Bessie, who was the wife of J. J. Owen and who left a son, Wilfred C.;

John J., deceased; and six others who died in their infancy.





Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

  

  Book of Biographies of the Seventeenth Congressional District

  Published by 

  Biographical Publishing Company of Chicago, Ill. and Buffalo, NY (1899)





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