San
Joaquin County
Biographies
THOMAS EUGENE CAMPBELL
A worthy native son of San Joaquin
County who is intensely interested in the development of the state and in
preserving its history and pioneer landmarks is Thomas Eugene Campbell, who was
born at Farmington, October 18, 1861. He
is a son of John A. and Sivilla A. (Funk) Campbell,
natives of Ohio and Des Moines, Iowa, respectively. John Campbell was reared in Ohio and
Wisconsin until he resolved to migrate to California. When still a young man he joined an ox-team
train and crossed the plains in the early fifties. He rode ahead and did the scouting for the
train and selected their camping places.
On one of his trips he ran across an Indian on horseback and in the
fight he killed the Indian and thus saved his train from massacre, for the
Indian would have brought the men of the tribe and annihilated the train. On his arrival in California he located in
San Joaquin County, and he became a prominent businessman at Farmington where
he kept the hotel, was postmaster and justice of the peace, as well as road overseer,
and school trustee, and was a man of progressive ideas and much influence. His death occurred May 21, 1873. The mother came to California across the
plains in 1850 in an ox-team train with her parents to San Joaquin County. She married a second time to Milo M. Church,
a substantial farmer in Farmington. She
passed away in Stockton March 20, 1920.
Thomas Eugene was the second oldest
of seven children born to John Campbell and his wife, and spent his boyhood at
Farmington where he received a good education in the public schools. From a boy he was interested in mechanics and
machinery was his delight, and as early as 1878 he worked on the old centennial
combined harvester built by Dave Young and John Hoult,
and in 1883 he worked for H. A. Benton, who built a harvester in 1883-84. Mr. Campbell followed farming in partnership
with his brother John on the Schofield ranch at Twenty Six Mile; then they ran
the Vanscroten ranch near Westley,
after which he dissolved partnership with his brother and engaged in the
general blacksmith business at Farmington and at the same time served as
constable, deputy sheriff and deputy assessor.
He helped H. A. Benton finish the building of his combined harvester in
1889 and then entered the employ of the Holt Manufacturing Company, continuing
with them for a period of ten years as expert, traveling for them over the
Northwest. Resigning his position in
1900 he removed to San Leandro where he was with the Best Manufacturing Company,
continuing with them for eight years as expert machinist, traveling eight
seasons throughout California, Oregon and Washington. During the earthquake and fire he was a
member of the Relief Committee in Alameda County and was also deputy marshal of
San Leandro. In 1908 he returned to Stockton
and had charge of building the playgrounds in this city when he was solicited
by Benjamin Holt to again enter their employ and he then spent two years with
them. As early as 1893 he went to
Washington for the Holt’s and put up the first side hill harvester and saw it
make a success. From 1917 to 1919 he
traveled as an expert for the Harris Manufacturing Company of Stockton. In 1919 he resigned to engage in contracting
and building, but later quit to accept the position of sales manager for the
Tractor Exchange in this city, a position for which his years of experience
well fitted him. In January, 1923, with
a partner, P. De Leon, he purchased the business and continued as manager.
Mr. Campbell is a prominent Odd
Fellow and a member of Truth Lodge No. 55, I. O. O. F., Stockton, since 1882,
of which he is past grand. He is also a
member of the Encampment and the Oakland Canton. He served as drill master of the degree team
in San Leandro in 1905. He is a member
of Rainbow Lodge of Rebekahs in Stockton, as well as the Knights of Pythias, in
which he has served as keeper of the records and seals.
Always a leader in local matters in
social and civil life, he is a believer in protection for Americans so is
naturally a strong Republican and always takes an active part in county, state
and national politics. He has been a
member of the County Republican Central Committee and its executive committee
in which he is very prominent and influential.
He is well and favorably known over the whole county and has done
herculean work for his friends in gaining their political ambition.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
772-775. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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