Ohio History Journal

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JAMES EDWIN CAMPBELL

 

IN MEMORIAM

BY C. B. GALBREATH

 

James Edwin Campbell is dead in his 81st year.

His sudden death is a great shock to this community and

fills our hearts with profound sorrow.

He had just returned home from a testimonial dinner to

former Federal Judge John E. Sater. When the dinner was over

he chatted with old friends.

"I'll live to be a hundred," he remarked as he smiled and

talked with them.

One hour later he was stricken.

His two daughters and his son, Andrew O. Campbell, were

with him when he passed peacefully away at 10:30 o'clock P. M.

He lived to become and to be recognized as Ohio's best be-

loved citizen.

Such were the expressions in the press on the day

following his death in Columbus where he had lived

in recent years and where he breathed his last Decem-

ber 17, 1924.

Spontaneous tributes came from every section of

the state and from hosts of admiring and sympathetic

friends beyond the borders of Ohio. These tributes

were so numerous, appropriate and sincere that little

is left except to quote a few that represent in a general

way the spirit of all. These celebrate his qualities of

heart and mind, his career as soldier, governor, orator,

statesman and citizen. Seldom indeed in the history of

Ohio has the death of any man in private life called

forth such general and cordial expression of sympathy,

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respect and sincere appreciation. He had lived to win

the affectionate regard of the entire citizenship of the

state.

Governor Campbell was thoroughly devoted to his

native state and its history which he helped to make.

At the Ohio Centennial in Chillicothe, 1903, he deliv-

ered one of the principal addresses entitled "The Gov-

ernors of Ohio under the Second Constitution." It

was most appropriate that in 1913 he should be ap-

pointed one of the Trustees of the Ohio State Archae-

ological and Historical Society. He took this honor

seriously and from the date of his appointment ren-

dered valuable service to the Society. His activities

were of such a character as to make him the unanimous

choice of the Board of Trustees for its presidency, a

position to which he was elected September 25, 1918.

In this capacity he served a little more than six years.

Until the last day of his life his interest in the work

of the Society was active and unremitting. The result,

in large measure, of his labors, is seen in the fine new

wing to the Museum and Library Building which is

now nearing completion, and in the broadening activi-

ties of almost every department of the work. His com-

paratively brief administration constitutes an era of

progress in the history of the Society.

In the autumn of 1920 was inaugurated a series of

popular addresses in the audience room of the Museum

and Library Building at the annual meetings in the aft-

ernoon at the conclusion of the business session of the

Society and its Board of Trustees. Members and oth-

ers who attended these meetings will remember with

pleasure the courtly courtesy with which Governor

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James Edwin Campbell             5

Campbell presided and the never-failing good humor

with which he interspersed the proceedings. As pre-

siding officer he has had few equals in the state. In this

connection many readers of the QUARTERLY will recall

how ably and acceptably he presided at great meetings

held elsewhere under the auspices of the Society.

As President of the Society he frequently appeared

before the Finance Committees of the two houses of

the General Assembly to speak in behalf of the biennial

budget requests. His tactful and original remarks on

these occasions and his plea for a larger interest in the

history of the state was always effective and has had

much to do with the larger opportunities that the So-

ciety now enjoys.

He looked forward eagerly to the dedication of the

Memorial Wing to the Museum and Library Building.

From its inception he was especially interested in the

memorial room and the bronze panels recalling activi-

ties of the World War. He insisted that at the main

entrance there should be the figure of an American

doughboy of heroic size which should announce to vis-

itors and the students of the University as they passed

along the eastern entrance to the grounds the character

of this building and revive in memory the eventful days

of America's participation in the World War. He

lived to see this statue take shape and to suggest slight

changes in the clay model. The final form had his

enthusiastic approval. As the years pass by this fig-

ure should be a reminder not only of his interest in the

history of the state but of his uncompromising patri-

otism which was a controlling force in his character to

the hour of his departure.

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He himself had been a soldier in his early youth.

His earliest recollections were of the great controver-

sies that in the forum, the pulpit and the legislative hall

preceded the opening scenes of the Civil War. Devo-

tion to the Union and hostility to slavery were a part

of his heritage. He bore arms in support of these prin-

ciples. In the same spirit he cheered on the boys in blue

who went to battle for the liberation of Cuba. When

the World War came his patriotic ardor thrilled vast

assemblages with his eloquence and he gave freely of

his strength, his time and his money with no thought

of other recompense than to see the khaki-clad legions

triumphant as they marched by the million "to make

the world safe for democracy."

Those who knew Governor Campbell personally and

whose privilege it was to be associated with him in re-

cent years will remember him longest for his social

qualities, his never-failing good humor and his kindly

spirit that made him ever considerate of the feelings of

others. Sarcasm was unknown to him. He seldom

resorted to wit, in the restricted sense of that term, but

in his rare good humor, which made him a delightful

companion and the prince of after-dinner speakers, he

was unsurpassed. While he differed in many traits

from Senator Joseph Benson Foraker, the two were

probably the best extempore speakers that Ohio has

known since the Civil War.

Governor Campbell's consideration for the feelings

of his fellow-man was manifested in many ways. Often

in conversation or in the club room he would modify a

humorous remark with a kindly word to be doubly

sure that no person in his presence might take offense.

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James Edwin Campbell             7

This grew out of his large heartedness and humanita-

rian spirit, and thus it was that his ever widening host

of friends could say of him in the words of Halleck --

"None knew thee but to love thee

None named thee but to praise."

Governor Campbell, with the fine qualities so gen-

erally ascribed to him, was, of course, broadminded.

He could tolerate almost any conscientious opinion in

another short of disloyalty to the Union. His devotion

to the Republic knew no compromise. Like most Ohio-

ans who are called to the public service, he had been

at different periods of his career a sturdy partisan,

but he never permitted devotion to party to mar his

personal relations with friends and neighbors. He fre-

quently, in a humorous way, referred to the political

predilections of his intimate acquaintances. "He is a

fine fellow," he would sometimes say. "The only thing

that can possibly be said against him is that he is a

Republican." He seemed especially to enjoy the friend-

ship and fellowship of those who at some time had been

arrayed against him politically. He yearned for the

good will of everybody. The writer recalls a brief con-

versation with him on the morning of his eightieth

birthday, which was observed with a great manifesta-

tion of the good will of his fellowmen. Knowing that

he was accustomed to come to his office rather early in

the morning the writer called early in order to be the

first to extend personal congratulations. After the ex-

change of greetings the Governor said: "I don't know

what my Democratic friends will say of the congratu-

lations that I have been receiving from a distance.

Some of them are from big Republicans. I have here a

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telegram from Uncle Joe Cannon with whom I served

in Congress; a cablegram from Myron T. Herrick, our

ambassador to France, and last but not least a very

cordial message from Warren G. Harding, President

of the United States, who is now on the Pacific Coast."

Recalling the fact that the Governor had once

been a Republican the writer answered:  "It is emi-

nently proper, Governor, that you should receive these

telegrams. When you were a young man you were an

ardent Republican and voted for Abraham Lincoln, and

for General Grant when he was first a candidate for

the presidency. Recalling the service that you ren-

dered the party in these early days of your political

career, Republicans naturally feel kindly and grateful."

With some remark to the effect that it took him a

long time to get his political eyes wide open, the Gov-

ernor smiled with evident satisfaction as he glanced

over a great sheaf of congratulatory messages that

were pouring in from every section of the United

States.

Governor Campbell had acquired in large measure

the quality of perpetual youth. He was never old in

spirit and always seemed to be much younger than his

years indicated. At the age of four-score years it was

difficult for those who met him, even casually, to think

of him as an old man. In his youth, due to service in

the Civil War, his health was broken and his prospect

for long life was not encouraging. Life insurance com-

panies, who take no sentiment into their calculations,

rejected his application because they did not consider

him a "good risk." His optimism and his eagerness

to find fields of congenial service with his fellowmen,

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James Edwin Campbell            9

however, triumphed over bodily infirmity and gave him

long and useful years.

On the pages following these introductory lines will

be found reference to the failure of Governor Camp-

bell through many years to attain financial success. He

had no ambition to accumulate a great fortune but it

was his rational desire to earn sufficient to meet all ob-

ligations and accumulate enough to s u p p o r t h i m

through his later years. When fortune finally favored

him in his financial ventures, it afforded him a rare

opportunity to live as he desired and to set a most

worthy example for others thus fortunately situated.

His later years were devoted entirely to the public

service. He said on one occasion to a group of friends,

"I am no longer engaged in active business pursuits."

Not long afterward he was making a hasty trip from

his office to the State House in the interest of an appro-

priation that was pending for the new wing to the

Museum and Library Building of the Ohio State Ar-

chaeological and Historical Society. Rain had com-

menced to fall and the wind was blowing. If lifted

his hat and sent it rolling over the State House lawn.

The Governor followed it with quickened pace, over-

took it and came back to the walk. As he entered the

State House and shook some of the rain-drops from his

hat and coat a friend said to him, "Governor, I thought

you had retired from business, according to your state-

ment the other evening. You seem to be a pretty busy

man today." "I meant," said the Governor, "that I

had quit business for myself."

In this unselfish service he found great pleasure.

He was frequently called upon to address vast assem-

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10       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

blages but an invitation to speak to a small group in a

worthy cause seemed to be just as welcome to him. A

few months before his death he was invited to meet

with a group of men who were organizing a council

of the American Legion Fathers, made up of fathers

whose sons had served in the World War. He very

willingly became a charter member of the organiza-

tion, was a guest at one of the early meetings and

promised to deliver a formal address later before the

American Legion and the Council at Memorial Hall.

Examples might be multiplied indicative of his kindly

interest in the activities of the city in which his later

days were spent. And thus it was that to the last

hour of his life he continued to make friends and gained

the good wishes not only of all who knew him but of

all who knew of him. When he was called to his final

rest he had abundantly earned the tribute paid him by

admiring friends and associates who sincerely regretted

that they should see and hear him no more and whose

sadness and appreciation is expressed, though inade-

quately, in the following lines:

 

OUR GOVERNOR

Our Governor has gone away;

Our wintry sky is cold and gray;

A lover of humanity,

Ben Adhem in our midst was he;

We grieve because he could not stay.

The state has crowned his brow with bay;

And still we own his gentle sway;

Though absent he shall ever be

"Our Governor."

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James Edwin Campbell           11

 

"He was the people's friend," they say,

A patriot, tried in the fray;

He wore his harness joyously

And to the last taught us to see

How best to spend life's fleeting day --

"Our Governor."

 

JAMES EDWIN CAMPBELL

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

James Edwin Campbell has been and is one of the

prominent figures in the political, professional and social

life of Ohio. For more than half a century he has been

a practicing attorney and a recognized leader in state

politics. He won additional fame by breaking a long-

continued Republican succession to the office of gov-

ernor of Ohio.

Governor Campbell was born at Middletown, Ohio,

July 7, 1843. His parents were Dr. Andrew and Laura

P. (Reynolds) Campbell. His father was a descend-

ant of Alexander Campbell who came to Virginia in

1753. His mother was the daughter of John P. Rey-

nolds, once a publisher in the state of New York and

afterwards a prominent citizen of Middletown. The

ancestor of Mr. Reynolds, Jonathan Reynolds, emi-

grated to America from Plympton Earl in the county

of Devonshire, England, in 1645. On his arrival in

America he settled near Plympton in Plymouth Colony,

now a part of Massachusetts. Governor Campbell is

sixth in descent from Jonathan Reynolds. The de-

scendants of the Reynolds family are now numerously

represented in Rhode Island and New York where

some of them have filled important positions in state

and national councils.

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Governor Campbell's paternal great-grandfather,

Andrew Small, was a Revolutionary soldier. At the

age of eighteen he accompanied General Montgomery

in his ill fated expedition against Quebec and suffered

severely with his comrades in that memorable retreat.

His grandfathers, Samuel Campbell and John Parker

Reynolds were soldiers in the War of 1812. In a col-

lateral line Governor Campbell is related to John

Parker who commanded the Minute Men at the battle

of Lexington.

The Campbell family has been prominent in Amer-

ica since colonial times.   Alexander Campbell, the

great-grandfather of James E. Campbell, was born in

Argyllshire about 1745 and came to Virginia at the age

of eight years. His son, Samuel Campbell, was born

in 1781 and came to Ohio in 1795. He was a soldier

in the War of 1812. Andrew Small, great-grandfather

of James E. Campbell, was born in 1757 and came to

Ohio in 1796. He was an ensign in the Revolutionary

War and served three and one-half years. His daugh-

ter, Mary Small, born 1786, married Samuel Campbell.

To them were born five sons and two daughters, brief

notices of whom follow:

Andrew Small Campbell, the eldest, born in 1807, was the

father of the subject of this sketch. James Edwin Campbell, on

January 4, 1870, married Elizabeth Owens, daughter of Job E.

Owens of Hamilton. They became the parents of four children:

Elizabeth, who married John M. Taylor; Andrew Owens, who

married Ella Heffner; Jessie, who married Doctor J. J. Coons;

and James Edwin, Jr., a captain in the World War.

Lewis Davis Campbell, born 1811, was colonel of the 69th

O. V. I. in the Civil War. Before and after his military service

he had been a congressman. He was the first Republican chair-

man of the Ways and Means Committee; minister to Mexico;

vice-president of the Constitutional Convention of 1873. He

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James Edwin Campbell                  13

married Jane H. Reily, daughter of John Reily, a Revolutionary

soldier and a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1802.

His daughter Catherine, born in 1841, married Oscar Minor, a

colonel in the Civil War. Another daughter, Josephine Reily,

born in 1850, married Estes G. Rathbone, a state senator, fourth

assistant postmaster general and director of posts in Cuba.

William Harrison Campbell, born in 1813, served as state

senator. His two daughters, Mary and Ella, became successively

the wives of Henry L. Morey, a captain in the Civil War and a

member of Congress. Gouverneur Campbell Morey, born in

1867, a son of Henry L. and Mary Morey, is a lawyer in Ham-

ilton.

Edwin Ruthven Campbell, born in 1817, founded the Cincin-

nati Times. His daughter, Rose Campbell, born in 1859, married

Charles F. Cisle, a manufacturer in Hamilton. Her son, Harry

E. Cisle, born in 1899, was a soldier in the World War.

Catherine Campbell, born 1819, married Robert Reily, colonel

of the 75th 0. V. I. in the Civil War, who was killed at Chancel-

lorsville. Robert Riley was the son of John Reily, a Revolution-

ary soldier and member of the Constitutional Convention of 1802.

James Lewis Reily, son of Robert and Catherine Reily, was a

lieutenant in the 8th 0. V. I. in the Civil War and died while in

service.

Abner Caruthers Campbell, born in 1824, was a manufac-

turer of firearms during the Civil War.

Mary Campbell, born 1829, married Samuel B. Woodward.

Their son, Edwin Campbell, born in 1861, is a paper manufac-

turer in Middleton; Edwin Campbell Woodward had a son and

a daughter; Thomas Campbell, first lieutenant in the World War

and envelope manufacturer at Middleton, and Harriet, who mar-

ried Ewing Reginald Philbin, first lieutenant in Rainbow Divi-

sion, World War. The daughter of Mary and Samuel B. Wood-

ward, Lily Campbell, is the widow of Clarence Harding, a paper

manufacturer.  To Lily and Clarence Harding were born

two sons, Edwin Forest, 1886, a graduate of West Point and

lieutenant colonel in the regular army; and Justin Woodward,

1888, a major in the World War and representative in the Legis-

lature from Warren County.

Governor Campbell was educated in the public

schools of his native town and later received private in-

struction from Rev. John B. Morton, a former teacher

and for many years the pastor of the Presbyterian

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Church at Middletown. He later studied law and

taught school. In the summer of 1863 he volun-

teered in the Union army and became a master's

mate on the gun-boats Elk and Naiad, serving with the

Mississippi and Red River flotillas and taking part in

a number of engagements. His health gave way in the

arduous service in the southern climate, but he re-

mained in the army until compelled to leave to save his

life. He returned home when discharged in an emaci-

ated condition. He gradually recovered his health and

was able in the winter of 1865 to resume the study of

law in the office of Doty and Gunkel of Middletown.

Later in this year he was admitted to the bar.

For a time he was bookkeeper in the First National

Bank, at Middletown, and subsequently served eight

months as deputy collector in the Internal Revenue

service of the Third Congressional District under Gen-

eral Ferdinand Van Derveer, the collector of the dis-

trict. In the spring of 1867 he began the practice of

law. From 1867 to 1869 he was United States Com-

missioner. In 1875 and again in 1877 he was elected

prosecuting attorney of Butler County. In 1879 he

was a candidate for the Ohio State senate and was de-

feated by only twelve votes.

During the Civil War and up to 1872 he was af-

filiated with the Republican party. In the Greeley cam-

paign with many other Republicans he joined the Dem-

ocratic party with which he has been continuously and

prominently identified ever since.

In 1882 he was elected to the Forty-eighth Congress,

but owing to a contest over the seat, which was finally

decided in his favor, he did not enter upon the duties

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of the position until July 20, 1884. He was re-elected

to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses, his term of

service closing March 3, 1889. In that year he was

nominated by the Democratic party for governor of

Ohio. After a campaign, notable in the political annals

of the state, he was elected by a substantial majority

over his gifted and resourceful opponent, Joseph Ben-

son Foraker, who was a candidate for a third term.

Governor Campbell ran many thousand votes ahead of

his ticket and was the only Democratic candidate

elected.

In the two years that he served in the high office to

which he had been elevated by the electors of Ohio, he

accomplished a number of notable reforms and his ad-

ministration has been recognized as distinctly and

sanely progressive. A notable achievement was the en-

actment of a law providing for the use of the Austra-

lian ballot, which for the first time in the history of the

state gave every voter the opportunity to prepare and

cast his ballot in secret. Prior to this time political

"workers" at almost every voting precinct in the state

prepared ballots and often accompanied the elector to

the ballot box to be sure that he voted the ticket placed

in his hands. The achievement of this reform that en-

abled the voter unawed and undisturbed to exercise the

"freeman's will" at the ballot box was one of the most

beneficent legislative acts that followed the close of the

Civil War. Governor Campbell in his message fa-

vored the enactment of a law providing a permanent

tax levy for the Ohio State University. The General

Assembly acted favorably on this advice, and thus was

inaugurated the system of special levies for the higher

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James Edwin Campbell        17

educational institutions of the state, -- a policy now

followed to the great advantage of the other universi-

ties of the state and the normal schools that were sub-

sequently established. The state institutions were the

objects of especial interest to Governor Campbell and

reforms were introduced in a number of them.

While Governor Campbell was a strict party man

and his Democracy was at no time questioned, he be-

lieved in enforcing upon that party a strict responsi-

bility to the people for the trust they had bestowed

upon it. Having been convinced that the city of Cin-

cinnati was suffering from maladministration of the

local organization of that party, which had placed dis-

honest men in power in that city, he called the Gen-

eral Assembly in special session to legislate out of ex-

istence the governing body of the city, which had be-

trayed the trust of the people. When he did this he

understood that his action would alienate from him in

the coming election many voters of the Democratic

party in southwestern Ohio, but his duty was clear and

he did not hesitate.

In 1891 he was renominated for governor, but was

defeated by William McKinley, afterward President of

the United States.  His defeat was brought about

in part by the Democratic defection in Cincinnati. Had

he been re-elected, it is clearly within the realm of prob-

ability that he, and not Grover Cleveland, would have

been elected President in 1892.

Governor Campbell and William McKinley, although

opposed politically and rival candidates for the

governorship, were personal friends.  The campaign

in which McKinley was elected is memorable because

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of the debate between the two candidates, at Ada, and

the high plane upon which it was conducted. Each of

the candidates, with courtly courtesy to his competitor,

defended his party platform and the party principles

and avoided all personality.

James E. Campbell was again nominated for the gov-

ernorship in 1895 and defeated by Governor Asa S.

Bushnell. In 1906 he was nominated for Congress

but was defeated, and in 1908 he was his party's choice

for United States senator but again defeated. He met

all of these defeats in the years in which the tide was

strongly in the direction of the Republican party. For

the last sixteen years of his life Governor Campbell had

retired from the more arduous political activities but

was still prominent in the councils of his party. He

had been chairman of the Ohio delegation in the Dem-

ocratic National Conventions that nominated Wood-

row Wilson, James M. Cox and John W. Davis. His

chief services were rendered more and more outside

of the realm of party politics and in this wider field he

has manifested a public spirit that endeared him to a

constituency that includes the entire state without ref-

erence to creed or party. From 1897 to 1910, by ap-

pointment of Governor Andrew L. Harris, he served

on the commission for codifying the laws of Ohio. At

the conclusion of this service he resumed the practice

of law in Columbus. He was later appointed on the

executive mansion board and aided very materially in

the purchase, on reasonable terms, of the fine gover-

nor's mansion on East Broad St. Throughout the

World War he was especially active and served as a

member of the Ohio Branch of the Council of National

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20       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Defense. He was active also in contributing to and

raising funds for the Red Cross and all other war ac-

tivities. While the war was in progress he gave prac-

tically all his time to this work and was in frequent de-

mand for addresses at the great war meetings in the

state capital.

Governor Campbell was a member of the Masonic

order, the order of Elks, the Columbus Club, the Scioto

Country Club, the Presbyterian Church, the Grand

Army of the Republic, the American Legion Fathers

and the Kit-Kat Club of Columbus, of which he had

been President.

In recent years he was fortunate financially and

gradually abandoned the active practice of the law to

devote his entire time to the public service. In this

field he was especially happy in the realization that he

was every day winning in larger degree the affec-

tionate regard of the good people of Ohio. The po-

litical contests of past years, with the disputes and dif-

ferences that they inevitably engender, were forgotten,

while the genial personality and generous service of

James E. Campbell was more generally recognized with

every passing day.

On July 7, 1923, the citizens of Columbus planned

a notable celebration in honor of the eightieth anni-

versary of the birth of James E. Campbell. On this oc-

casion he was hailed as the first citizen of the capital

city of the state. He was the recipient of hundreds of

messages from   distinguished men throughout the

United States and some from foreign lands. Among

those who sent greetings were President Warren G.

Harding; former President Woodrow Wilson; Chief

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James Edwin Campbell                 21

Justice William Howard Taft; and all the former gov-

ernors of Ohio still living, including Myron T. Her-

rick, ambassador to France. Among those who deliv-

ered addresses at the banquet in the evening were Gov-

ernor Donahey, former Governor James M. Cox, for-

mer Secretary of War Newton D. Baker and Honor-

able Claude Meeker, private secretary to James E.

Campbell when he was governor of Ohio. At the con-

clusion of the program General Edward Orton, Jr., pre-

sented to Governor Campbell an artistically wrought

book signed by the guests and bearing this character-

ization on the inner cover:

A patriot of the War of 1861-65, a statesman of long service,

a former governor of Ohio, an outstanding man of affairs, a

courteous and unassuming gentleman whom we delight at all

times to honor for what he is even more than for what he has

done.

EDITORIAL TRIBUTES

GOVERNOR CAMPBELL

Dear old Governor Campbell! How he will be missed! He

probably had more friends in Columbus than any other man.

To know him was to love him. To meet him in the most casual

way was numbered among the day's pleasures. We saw him

just the other day, trudging along East Broad Street like a man

of half his good old age. But his progress was rather slow at

that, so many people wished to stop and exchange a word or two

with him. Physically, as well as in other respects, he was a re-

markable man. He was 81 and yet he did not impress one as

being old. In the speech he made three hours before he died

he said, somewhat facetiously no doubt, that he expected to live

to be 100.  We wish he might have done so, if he could have

continued himself. But there is a melancholy satisfaction in the

knowledge that, since it was time for him to go, he went swiftly

and without suffering.

Such popularity as Governor Campbell enjoyed must be

founded on true worth. Above all else, he had character. At

one time in his life, a rather long time, financial fortune went

against him and he became somewhat heavily involved in debt.

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22         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Friends stood by him in his difficulties and smoothed the way for

him but it became the ambition of his life to pay every dollar he

owed, secured or unsecured. And, when the tide turned in his

affairs, he did pay off every dollar, reckoning the interest on each

loan scrupulously and sometimes literally forcing the money upon

old friends who did not even recall the transactions of which he

had kept so careful record. Honesty, in the broadest sense of the

term, is at the bottom of all true character and Governor Camp-

bell was as honest a man as ever trod on shoe leather. He was

honest in politics, honest in his profession, honest in his mind.

There never lived a friendlier man. Everybody who knew

him, even by sight, loved him and how could it have been other-

wise when he loved everyone he knew and, we imagine, everyone

else? His delightful personality was infinitely more than a pleas-

ant manner and a happy way. It was rooted in real friendliness.

He thought well of humanity, even when not at its best, and did

about as much as a man could do within the sphere of his personal

influence to encourage it in its disappointments and help it along

in its struggles. We do not believe he ever did an unkind act or

harbored an intolerant thought. He was generous with his money,

with his time, with his strength and behind every act of generosity

was real kindness of heart.

Governor Campbell had a distinguished career in public life.

He served three terms in Congress and was elected governor of

Ohio at a time when the election of a Democrat to that office was

considered almost a miracle. Though he had held no conspicuous

public office for more than 30 years and desired none, his interest

in politics and his devotion to his party never waned. His last

active political service was to head the Ohio delegation at the

Democratic national convention of 1924 -- no mean feat for a

man whose 81st birthday fell at the time those prolonged and

exciting proceedings were under way. On more than one occa-

sion in the last 35 years the name of James E. Campbell was

seriously considered in connection with the Democratic nomina-

tion for the presidency.

But the great legacy left by Governor Campbell is not the

memory of the distinctions which came to him or his notable

public service but the memory of the man himself. The man

himself is what really leaves the impress, be his circle of influence

large or small. Because this man himself was what he was, in

uprightness, in friendliness and in a charm of personality which

made sterling qualities beautifully attractive and emulable, the

years he spent here make Columbus a better city and Ohio a bet-

ter state and add something which will never be lost, for the

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James Edwin Campbell                 23

 

benign influence of a good life which has been lived continues in-

directly to be felt forever, to the sum of the world's goodness

and happiness.

-- Ohio State Journal.

 

Wednesday evening ex-Governor Campbell cheered and de-

lighted with his genial presence the dinner given as a testimonial

to Judge Sater, in view of his recent retirement from the federal

bench. For many years, few dinners of the kind have been given

in Columbus without his presence, and there has been no guest

who has done more than he to add the appropriate charm, grace

and dignity to such social occasions.

But the charm of that voice, mellowed by age and yet always

fresh and warm with an inextinguishable glow carried down

from youth, will be heard no more, except as it lingers in the

memories of his countless friends. "There's nothing in the world

like friends," he told the attorneys gathered to do honor to ex-

Judge Sater at the Athletic club rooms -- and three hours later,

at his home, he passed to join the multitude of his friends who

had already gone on. It was a peaceful end of a happy day, and

he himself could not have wished the final day to come otherwise.

It was a long, a busy and an always useful life that James

E. Campbell had led, since the time when he was admitted to legal

practice, 59 years ago, just at the close of the Civil War. His

public service began with two terms as prosecuting attorney of

Butler County, in the latter seventies, was continued by six years

in Congress, and rounded out by the governorship, to which he

was elected in 1889. His official conduct was simply the natural

outworking of his character -- scrupulously honest, frank and

straightforward, fair to political opponents and supporters alike,

industrious and efficient. His failure to secure re-election to the

governorship was only the expression of the strong Republican

trend which was rarely broken in Ohio in those times, and was

not incompatible with the sincere respect in which he was per-

sonally held by those who opposed him in matters of political

opinion and action. He was an outstanding member of Congress

from the beginning of his service at Washington, and one among

the few outstanding governors who have sat in the state house

since the Civil War.

All that, however, is so far in the past that his hosts of

friends today think of him as they have known him during the

years of his ripening age here in Columbus -- ripening and mel-

lowing, and yet, as we have already said, never losing the fresh

flavor of youth. To any friend who had had the good fortune to

read Cicero's immortal essay in defense of Old Age, how often

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24        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications WHAT THIS MAN TOOK WITH HIM Ireland in Columbus Evening Dispatch, December 19, 1924.

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James Edwin Campbell                 25

ex-Governor Campbell's later years recalled those delightful pages

to mind! How surely and emphatically he would have won the

approval of the old Roman in that firm retention of the appro-

priate qualities of youth, notwithstanding the growing effect of

age upon his physical powers! And how Cicero would have

commended the good sense with which he continued cheerfully

to use the measure of physical strength still left to him, with no

giving way to vain regret for powers that were gone! And how

often he gave concrete illustration of Cicero's picture of the aged

man surrounded by youthful listeners, eagerly learning the les-

sons that age had gathered along the pathway of years wisely

spent!

How remarkably he retained his intellectual grasp, and his

power of studious application, was well illustrated only a month

ago in the scholarly and thorough paper which he read before

the Kit-Kat Club on the early history of Ohio and its admission

into the Union. This, with other papers of its kind presented

on various occasions, suggests that if destiny, in his young man-

hood, had turned him into the pathway of historical research, he

had it in him to have made one of the country's great historians,

with all the accuracy and thoroughness of the best of the type,

and possibly with the highest level of them all in the quality that

gives life to the historical page no less than truth. But no one

who had known James E. Campbell will quarrel with destiny for

not making him something else than he was. Even the adversi-

ties which buffeted him during one brief period of his life are

not entirely to be regretted, since they only served to call out the

reserve strength and unconquerable will that fought them down,

and to show forth, as soon as the victory was won, how impos-

sible it was for his fine sense of honor to disregard an obligation

of conscience.

He was a firm believer in the underlying principles of our

American democracy, never blind to its errors and imperfections,

but never pessimistic as to its ultimate outcome; and perhaps his

faith in it was based in no small degree upon his gratitude for

the opportunities which it had given to him, and his belief that

others, if so disposed, could find under it, as under no other form

of government, the widest opportunity for development of their

own powers and for helpful service to their fellows. The younger

generation of business men and professional men of Ohio will

do well to study the career of James E. Campbell; and perhaps

one of the most useful lessons which they may glean from it is

that mere material wealth is not the prime element in the highest

success.

-- Columbus Evening Dispatch.

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26         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

TRIBUTE

One of the graceful figures of Columbus life passed on

with the death of former Governor Campbell whom the city

mourns with his family.

Soldier, statesman, orator and kindly spirit, he leaves an in-

delible impress on the community which was his home for so

long.

Few gatherings of any moment were complete without Gov-

ernor Campbell. And he was always glad to tell his fellow-

townsmen at these meetings his whimsical, though meaty, philos-

ophy of life which he had formed through many useful years.

It is significant that only a few hours before his death he

had spoken at a testimonial dinner to a comrade in the law. The

act was typical of Governor Campbell and the hosts of those who

knew him and admired his high character and genial bearing feel

they have lost a real friend.

-- Columbus Citizen, December 18, 1924.

 

Death is no respecter of the holiday spirit. Former Governor

Campbell died suddenly. He was a man who "came back" finan-

cially. And he leaves behind a tradition of honor and honesty

because his character never had to "come back". After all that

something spoken of as character in a man is the main thing. So

Governor Campbell is buried with sorrow and pride today.

Columbus Citizen, December 20, 1924.

 

OBSEQUIES

(Columbus Evening Dispatch).

For four brief hours Saturday the state of Ohio claimed its

honored dead. And then, with impressively simple rites in the

church which he had loved so well the last sad words were pro-

nounced over the body of James Edwin Campbell, ₃8th governor

of Ohio, and, surrounded by the friends and loved ones with

whom he had been associated in the eventful years of his long

life, the casket bearing his mortal remains was lowered to its

final resting place in Green Lawn cemetery.

The state which did him honor in life claimed him for a

brief spell in death. There, under the great seal of the state of

Ohio, which forms a part of the skylight of the capitol rotunda,

his body lay in state from 9 A. M. until 1 P. M., guarded well by

soldiers, old and young, while men and women who had known

him as the "grand old man of the state and the first citizen of

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James Edwin Campbell                 27

 

Columbus" formed an almost endless procession past the funeral

bier. They came singly and in groups, those friends. High dig-

nitaries of the state and nation stood in line behind the meek and

the lowly. All had a single purpose -- to pay their respects to

"Uncle Jim".

 

COMRADES STOOD WATCH

At either end of the bier stood a khaki-clad youth with rigid

muscles, alert and attentive over the precious treasure. Bayonets

were fixed on the ends of the rifles which they held at attention.

To the right and left of the casket stood two boys in blue, their

grayed locks showing from beneath their military caps. Theirs

was not the attentiveness of the youthful guards, for they came

there not to guard the body of Governor James E. Campbell, but

to honor Comrade Campbell, hero of the Mississippi squadron

of the U. S. Navy. They were the boys of the Old Guard

The east and west entrances to the statehouse were closed

and bolted, and alert traffic officers guided the long procession

through the north and south doors to the funeral bier.

It was all too brief, that period in which the state honored

its dead. Then the casket was borne tenderly to the Broad Street

Presbyterian church, where the final services were held by Rev.

Dr. S. S. Palmer, its pastor.

 

 

BODY LEAVES HOME

Early Saturday morning a platoon of cavalrymen from

Troop B, 107th Cavalry, rode to 78 Hamilton Avenue, the late

home of Governor Campbell, and in the presence of Governor

Donahey and other high state officials the casket was carried to

the funeral car by ranking officers of the Ohio National Guard

under the command of Adjutant General Henderson. Those who

acted as military pallbearers were: Lieutenant Colonel O. E.

Hardway, Lieutenant Colonel E. P. Lawlor, Lieutenant Colonel

J. M. Bingham, Lieutenant Colonel J. C. Volka, Captain C. W.

Goble and Captain C. W. Youse.

Westward on Broad Street the hoofs of their horses clat-

tered on the cold pavements, the cavalrymen escorted the hearse

with its precious burden to the north entrance of the capitol

grounds. In platoon front formation the cavalrymen deployed

and presented sabers while the flag-draped casket was carried

into the building, escorted by the Old Guard and state officials,

past the ranks of the guard of honor chosen from Co. I, 166th

Infantry.

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28        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications   Captain R. W. Knauss was in charge of the cavalry escort and Captain W. F. Forsythe commanded the infantrymen. The Old Guard detail of seven men was commanded by Captain J. H. Rittenhouse, while Captain of Police James Reisland commanded the officers detailed by Chief French.     HONORARY PALLBEARERS Honorary pallbearers were: Governor Vic Donahey, former Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, former Governors Judson Harmon and James M. Cox, Claude Meeker, Dr. W. O. Thompson, Brigadier General Edward Orton, Jr., Colonel Thomas E. Powell, E. R. Sharp, Sr., Robert F. Wolfe, Foster Copeland, Dr. Andrew Timberman, Allen An- drews of Hamilton, Joseph H. Dowling of Dayton, Judge Walter H. Kinder of Findlay, Maurice Hague, Osman C. Hooper, Joseph Schonthal, Lowry F. Sater, Arthur C. Johnson, William E. Hut- ton of Cincinnati, Judge Robert H. Day of the Ohio Supreme Court, T. P. Linn, Judge James E. Johnson of Springfield, Dr. T. A. Dickey of Middletown and Homer Gard of Hamilton. The state's participation in the funeral ended after the body had been removed from the capitol. The family decided against the formal governor's salute by the artillery.

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