We find George Campbell shortly after the civil war living in Duck Hill, Mississippi. During this time of reconstruction newly emancipated blacks were making real progress. They had entered politics and many had taken up positions of influence and power all over the south. Naturally this did'nt sit right with the former plantation owners and enslavers. There were Union troops stationed throughout Mississippi and the Freedmen's Bureau was established to aid newly emancipated African Americans and some recently improvished whites. This was the enviroment in the year 1867 where on record we find George Campbell registering to vote in Duck Hill, Mississippi. It is important to note that Duck Hill was apart of Carroll County, Mississippi until the year 1870.
On the voter's list mentioned above there are names that become familiar to us as neighbors, friends and possible relatives of George Campbell. Names like Armstead, Anderson, Nelson and Jefferson Campbell come to mind. However there was a name that appears along side George's names on tax lists and census records from the 1860's through the 1890's and that was Jacob Campbell. To understand the enviroment that George and his family endured in Duck Hill one can read the Freedmen's bureau records of complaints. These records are rife with reports of racial attacks and kidnapping of black children for the purposes of forced labor. Because Jacob Campbell lived near George Campbell for many decades we can use a report involving him to get a glimpse at life in Duck Hill right after the civil war. Just 1 year before we find George Campbell bravely registering to vote, In August of 1866 Jacob Campbell made a complaint about a violent attack. It was witnessed that Jacob's wife who was "Heavy with child" was tied to a tree near Duck Hill and whipped. When Jacob Campbell tried to stop the attack he was beaten with clubs by the men who were viciously attacking his pregnant wife. One of the men involved in this attack was John Jordan. John Jordan came from a slaveholding family in and near Duck Hill. Interestly and oddly enough George Campbell and children always lived near this Jordan family and evidence suggest that at one point in time George's wife may have been enslaved by the Jordan family.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
As we seek to find information about the life of George Campbell we must use the scarce records available to us. One year after registering to vote we find George on the 1868 Tax List for Duck Hill. Here he is listed along with other "FREEDMEN". On this record we find our ancestor George paying a 50 cent tax on a firearm that he owned. Possibly his firearm from the war. He also paid $2.00 taxes on himself. The total of $2.50 that George Campbell paid in taxes in 1868 is worth approximately $90 today counting inflation.
George Campbell and many of his children often used the surname Cameron. Atleast 3 of his sons used the Cameron surname on their marriage licenses and some identified as Camerons on census records. Many of George Campbell's progeny who have DNA tested have found that their Campbell genetics is also matched with distant cousins who are progeny of people who were on the Cameron plantations in Cumberland, Moore and Harnett counties in North Carolina. I have personally been able to triangulate these many distant DNA matches and isolate the connection specifically to George Campbell. It is likely that a man by the name of Allen Cameron who moved to Mississippi from North Carolina in the 1830's brought enslaved people with him. One being George's mother or father. George most likely used this surname Cameron to indentify with the family left behind and broken apart due to the domestic slave trade in the United States. On the 1869 tax list for Duck Hill we find George listed as George Cameron. Here he is paying taxes on a dog that he owned.
In 1870 we have not located George on the federal census but we did locate Jacob Campbell in Duck Hill. We also have record of George Campbell still in Duck Hill in the year 1870. We find him again enumerated as George Cameron on the 1870 tax list for Duck Hill. He pays taxes on some property that he owned which included 1 cow and 3 pigs. Next to him on this tax list you can find those same familiar names of Sandy,Westly, Jasper, Jefferson and Armstead Campbell. You can also find these Campbells enumerated on the 1870 census for Duck Hill, MS.
Oral history informs us that although George Campbell's children did'nt all have the same mother they all knew and loved each other as siblings. We will find them living with and around each other as they migrated and lived out their lives. ~
On the 1880 federal census the enumerator for Duck Hill only identified people by their first initial and Surname. Here we find George Campbell again enumerated under the surname Cameron. We find some of his children living with him and his wife and some living with their mother next door. Turning one or two pages to view the nieghbors you'll find familiar names such as Jacob Campbell and the Jordan family.
We know from records that some of George Campbell's children started leaving Duck Hill for places like Coffeeville as early as 1886. We know that George Campbell left Duck Hill by the year 1890 because we find him in Lodi, Mississippi on the 1890 tax list for Montgomery county, Mississippi. Here he is listed under the surname Cameron. This year in Lodi George was paying taxes on two cows and one horse that he owned.
In 1892 George's son Odis starts to appear as head of the home on tax list in Lodi so that suggests that's most likely the year that George Campbell left Montgomery county for Coffeeville where his son Sellers Campbell Sr had moved to some number of years prior. On the 1900 census George Campbell can be found in Coffeville living near many of his children such as Hess,Shelby and Herman. Some of his children such as Cliff, Dewitt and Richard were living in Lodi while other such as Annie Eliza, Solon and John were still living in Duck Hill. In George Campbell's home in Coffeeville was his wife Lethia, their two daughters Patient and Doshie Campbell, and also George's grandchildren Clara and Beanna Williams.
As of right now we are unsure of when and where George Campbell may have passed away or where he may have been buried. Hopefully further research may lead to more information about the life of our ancestor George Campbell.
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