Ruffin, Edmund, 1794-1865

Agriculturalist and prominent Secessionist.

From the description of Papers of Edmund Ruffin [manuscript], 1861. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647855369

Edmund Ruffin was a noted agriculturalist and publisher of Prince George and Hanover counties, Va. He was a strong defender of slavery and a secessionist.

From the description of Edmund Ruffin papers, 1784-1893. WorldCat record id: 32040042

Edmund Ruffin was an agricultural experimenter and writer-farmer. He also wrote extensively on defense of slavery and states-rights. Julian C. Ruffin was his son. For genealogical data see Edmund L. Ruffin, Descendants of Edmund Ruffin, 1932.

From the description of Accounts, 1828-1865. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122496951

American agriculturist.

From the description of Signature cut from the register of Brown's hotel : Washington, [n.d.]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270619250

Robert "King" Carter (1663-1732) was a colonial official and great landholder (300,000 acres). His sons were Robert Carter (1704-1731) and Landon Carter (1710-1778) of "Sabine Hall." Grandsons of Robert Carter included Robert "Councillor" Carter (1728-1804) of "Nomini" and Robert Wormeley Carter (1734-1797).

From the guide to the Carter Family Papers, 1667-1862., (Special Collections, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary)

Plantation owner and publisher.

From the description of Edmund Ruffin diaries, 1856-1865. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 77886478

Agriculturist and publisher.

From the description of Letter, 1863. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 36635465

Biographical Note

• 1794, Jan. 5: Born, Prince George Co., Va.
• 1810 - 1812 : Student, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.
• 1812: Served as private, War of 1812
• 1823 - 1826 : Representative, Virginia senate
• 1832: Published An Essay on Calcareous Manures. Petersburg, Va.: J. W. Campbell
• 1833 - 1842 : Edited Farmers’ Register
• 1841: Appointed member of the first Virginia State Board of Agriculture
• 1842: Became agricultural surveyor of South Carolina
• 1853: Published several pamphlets in defense of slavery
• 1854: Commissioner, Virginia State Agricultural Society
• 1855: Published Essays and Notes on Agriculture. Richmond, Va.
• 1858: Assisted in the creation of the League of United Southerners
• 1860: Published Anticipations of the Future, to Serve as Lessons for the Present Time. Richmond, Va.: J. W. Randolph
• 1865, June 17: Died, “Redmoor” estate, Amelia County, Va.

From the guide to the Edmund Ruffin Diaries, 1856-1865, (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)

Charles Campbell (1807-1876) was born on 1 May 1807, in Petersburg, Virginia, the firstborn child of parents John Wilson Campbell (d.1842), and Mildred Walker Moore Campbell. John, a bookstore owner, was also a historian. In 1831 he published the History of Virginia to 1781 . Later, he held the position of Federal Collector of Customs in Petersburg, Virginia. Mildred taught at the Petersburg Classical Academy in the 1840's. In addition to Charles, the couple also had two younger children, Alexander (Aleck) S. Campbell, and Elizabeth (Betty) Campbell Maben (d.1871).

Charles' mother, Mildred Walker Moore Campbell, was the granddaughter of Virginia lieutenant governor Alexander Spotswood (1676-1740). Mildred Walker Moore Campbell and her siblings Mary Fairfax Moore Keller, Dr. Alexander Spotswood Moore, Ann Evelina Moore Henley, William Agustin Moore, Eliza Moore McDonald, and Lavinia Moore McPheeters wrote and received numerous pieces of personal correspondence that are available in this collection.

Charles Campbell attended the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) from 1823-1825. Upon graduation he enrolled in Henry St. George Tucker's School of Law in Winchester, Virginia. However, he suffered from chronic headaches which caused him severe physical and mental exhaustion. By 1829, these health issues would force him to leave the law profession.

Following his departure from law, Campbell worked as an engineer of the Petersburg Railroad. Later he ran a private school for boys in Glencoe, Alabama. On 13 September 1836, he married Elvira N. Callaway (1819-1837) of Monroe County, Tennessee. In 1837, Elvira died shortly after the birth of a son, Callaway Campbell (b.1837). In his distress, Campbell left his son with Elivira's siblings, Thomas and Lucinda Callaway. Later, this would result in a court case to regain custody of his child.

Following the death of his wife, Campbell worked as a clerk in the office of the Collector of Custom in Petersburg, Virginia (a position he obtained from his father John Campbell). From 1840-1843, Campbell also owned, published, and edited a Petersburg newspaper, The American Statesman . He returned to teaching in 1842 by opening a classical school in Petersburg, becoming both teacher and administrator in the Anderson Seminary. He would hold these positions until the formation of free public schools in 1870.

Campbell remarried in 1850 to Miss Anna Birdsall of Rahway, New Jersey. They had four children, Mary Spotswood Campbell Robinson (b.1852), Nanny Campbell (b.1854), Charles Campbell (b.1856), and Fanny Campbell (1858-1860's).

Charles Campbell was committed to Western Lunatic Asylum at Staunton, Virginia, in 1873 where he remained until his death on July 11, 1876. He was buried at Blandford Church Cemetery, Petersburg.

Like his father, Campbell was a historian. He began contributing to journals in 1834. Some of the journals to which he frequently contributed included; The Southern Literary Messenger or The Southern and Western Literary Messenger and Review ; The Farmer's Register ; The New Yorker ; and the Petersburg Intelligencer . His most important work, however, was the History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia . This work built upon his father's book and concerned Virginia history from the colony's founding to the Revolutionary War.

From the guide to the Charles Campbell Papers, 1743-1896., (Special Collections, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary)