Charles C. Campbell

Charles C. Campbell was born in 1841, in Ohio City, now the west side of Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Isaac A. Campbell, who was a carpenter and joiner by trade. His maternal grandfather, Abram Hickox, was one of the first settlers of Cleveland, locating there in 1809, and at one time owned considerable property on Prospect street and Euclid avenue, which is now exceedingly valuable. He was a blacksmith, and his shop was located on the corner of Superior and Seneca streets, a site now occupied by a fine business block. His residence was at the corner of Prospect and Hickox streets, the latter thoroughfare named in his honor.

At the age of eleven years Charles C. Campbell commenced sailing on the lakes as cook on the scow Mt. Vernon, and he later shipped as boy on the schooner Watt Sherman, with Capt. Hiram Van Tassell. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted in Company D, First O. V. I., but being severely wounded he was discharged August 15, 1862, before his term had expired. He re-enlisted on September 8, of the same year, becoming a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth O. V. I., with which he served until June, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. During the year 1870 and part of the following year Mr. Campbell was a member of the Cleveland fire department, but in March, 1871, he became deputy collector and inspector at the Cleveland custom house, retaining that position until on May 5, 1878, he received his appointment to the railway mail service. He ran between Pueblo and Canyon City, Colo., from June 12 until September 19, when he transferred to the Santa Fe route, running between Atchison and Wichita, Kans. On the 9th of December he was transferred to Kansas City, and ran between that place and Denver until May, 1882, when he was transferred to Ohio, becoming connected with the Cleveland, Hudson & Columbus route. Resigning from the mail service August 15, 1882, he returned to his former position in the custom house in Cleveland, and there remained until April 30, 1886, when he was appointed lieutenant on the fire-boat J. L. Weatherly, serving as such until 1892, after which until his retirement in 1894, he was stationed at engine house No. 12.

Mr. Campbell was married, in 1866, to Miss Sarah E. Duncan, of South Brooklyn, Ohio, and to them have been born the following named children: Winifred Belle, Charles Corwin, George Allen, Jennie June and Roy Archibald. The family have a pleasant home at No. 120 Scott street, Cleveland.

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Volume I

This version of Volume II is based, with permission, on the work of the great volunteers at the Marine Captains Biographies site. To them goes the credit for reorganizing the content into some coherent order. The biographies in the original volume are in essentially random order.

Some of the transcription work was also done by Brendon Baillod, who maintains an excellent guide to Great Lakes Shipwreck Research.