In my mind, I could hear the words "remember the clue" from the game You Don't Know Jack as I waded through the mountainous stacks of documents that I have accumulated over the years. I sat at my desk looking through the documents on Archibald Campbell, the patriarch of my family thus far. I relied heavily on a book that I discovered written about my Campbell family and trusted the information that was in the book. That is, until now.
Archibald Campbell (1728-1801) lived in Bedford County, Virginia. He married a woman named Elizabeth. I searched and searched for a marriage record for Archibald and Elizabeth but couldn't find anything. The numerous county boundary changes didn't help me much either. However, Elizabeth's last name was never mentioned on a document that I found until I started remembering names listed in other documents. The author of the book stated that Elizabeth was a Baker and gave information on the Baker family. There were other's who said that Elizabeth was a Beard. Over the years I collected information on both women and when I had time I would go over the information very carefully.
I am descended from James Campbell, Archibald's first son. I have James marriage certificate to Jane Means dated April 27, 1784, Campbell County (was formed in 1782 from Bedford County), Virginia. The witnesses were Jane Means, James Robinson (Roberson), Rachel (grand-daughter of John Beard) Robinson and Elizabeth Beard. Not a Baker was named among them.
I have a copy of John Beard's will dated April 20, 1780, four years before the marriage of James Campbell and Jane Means, who also lived in Bedford County, Virginia. In the will the following were named: Rachel Robinson, James Robinson, Thomas McReynolds, Elizabeth Campbell (Beard), Charles Hall, James Campbell, and Archibald Campbell. It was Rachel Robinson that was the deciding factor for me. She was listed in her grandfather's will and as a witness for James Campbell's marriage. I didn't see any names that looked familiar in the Baker line.
Charles Hall married Agnes Campbell, Archibald's daughter. Elizabeth Beard, was Elizabeth Campbell's mother. Thomas McReynold's was related through the marriage of Archibald's daughter Nancy who married Samuel McReynold's.
My research agrees with yours on Elizabeth Beard being the first wife of James Campbell. For several reasons including her father's will. But I am led to think that Elizabeth Baker may have been a second wife. You can see my thought process on James Campbell's profile on WikiTree. His will refers to his "now wife Elizabeth" (from memory) implying that there was a former wife.
ReplyDeleteThe thought never ran across my mind that Archibald would have two wives named Elizabeth. Elizabeth Baker was from a different county than the one in which the Beards, Rutherford's, and Campbell's resided. It would have been strange to find a wife outside of their own neighborhood because of the time in which they lived. Travelling 50 miles was a major undertaking and the sojourner would have ended up staying a week or so with the family. Then my other thought is how would they have met? I read your WikiTree a long time ago. I have a copy of it in my papers somewhere. The thing about the Baker's is there is no documentation to back up the connection. I believe that I am accurate in my research.
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